Two an' Two
The zun, O Jessie, while his feaece do riseIn vi'ry skies, a-shedden out his lightOn yollow corn a-weaeven down belowHis yollow glow, is gay avore the zight.By two an' two,How goodly things do goo,A-matchen woone another to fulvillThe goodness ov their Meaeker's will.
How bright the spreaden water in the lewDo catch the blue, a-sheenen vrom the sky;How true the grass do teaeke the dewy beadThat it do need, while dousty roads be dry.By peaeir an' peaeirEach thing's a-meaede to sheaereThe good another can bestow,In wisdom's work down here below.
The lowest lim's o' trees do seldom growA-spread too low to gi'e the cows a sheaede;The air's to bear the bird, the bird's to rise;Vor light the eyes, vor eyes the light's a-meaede.'Tis gi'e an' teaeke,An' woone vor others' seaeke;In peaeirs a-worken out their ends,Though men be foes that should be friends.
Words in this poem
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Two an' Two is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect, Project Gutenberg ebook #21785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Barnes, Two an' Two, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/two-an-two.html, id L02307.
Form and metre
Two an' Two is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-ABBCC rise · lightA · below · zightA · twoB · gooB · fulvillC · willC
- 2 -A-ABBCC lew · skyA · bead · dryA · peaeirB · sheaereB · bestowC · belowC
- 3 -A-ABBCC grow · sheaedeA · rise · meaedeA · teaekeB · seaekeB · endsC · friendsC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The zun, O Jessie, while his feaece do rise | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In vi'ry skies, a-shedden out his light | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| On yollow corn a-weaeven down below | 10 | ·········· |
| His yollow glow, is gay avore the zight. | 10 | ·········· |
| By two an' two, | 4 | ···· |
| How goodly things do goo, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A-matchen woone another to fulvill | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The goodness ov their Meaeker's will. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| How bright the spreaden water in the lew | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Do catch the blue, a-sheenen vrom the sky; | 10 | ·········· |
| How true the grass do teaeke the dewy bead | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That it do need, while dousty roads be dry. | 10 | ·········· |
| By peaeir an' peaeir | 4 | ···· |
| Each thing's a-meaede to sheaere | 6 | ······ |
| The good another can bestow, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| In wisdom's work down here below. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The lowest lim's o' trees do seldom grow | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| A-spread too low to gi'e the cows a sheaede; | 10 | ·········· |
| The air's to bear the bird, the bird's to rise; | 10 | ·········· |
| Vor light the eyes, vor eyes the light's a-meaede. | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Tis gi'e an' teaeke, | 4 | ···· |
| An' woone vor others' seaeke; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| In peaeirs a-worken out their ends, | 8 | ········ |
| Though men be foes that should be friends. | 8 | ········ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.