Uncle an' Aunt
How happy uncle us'd to beO' zummer time, when aunt an' heO' Zunday evenens, eaerm in eaerm,Did walk about their tiny farm,While birds did zing an' gnats did zwarm,Drough grass a'most above their knees,An' roun' by hedges an' by treesWi' leafy boughs a-swayen.
His hat wer broad, his cwoat wer brown,Wi' two long flaps a-hangen down;An' vrom his knee went down a blueKnit stocken to his buckled shoe;An' aunt did pull her gown-tail droughHer pocket-hole, to keep en neat,As she mid walk, or teaeke a seatBy leafy boughs a-zwayen.
An' vu'st they'd goo to zee their lotsO' pot-eaerbs in the geaerden plots;An' he, i'-may-be, by the hatch,Would zee aunt's vowls upon a patchO' zeeds, an' vow if he could catchEm wi' his gun, they shoudden vleeNoo mwore into their roosten tree,Wi' leafy boughs a-swayen.
An' then vrom geaerden they did passDrough orcha'd out to zee the grass,An' if the apple-blooth, so white,Mid be at all a-touch'd wi' blight;An' uncle, happy at the zight,Did guess what cider there mid beIn all the orcha'd, tree wi' tree,Wi' tutties all a-swayen.
An' then they stump'd along vrom thereA-vield, to zee the cows an' meaere;An' she, when uncle come in zight,Look'd up, an' prick'd her ears upright,An' whicker'd out wi' all her might;An' he, a-chucklen, went to zeeThe cows below the sheaedy tree,Wi' leafy boughs a-swayen.
An' last ov all, they went to knowHow vast the grass in meaed did growAn' then aunt zaid 'twer time to gooIn hwome,--a-holden up her shoe,To show how wet he wer wi' dew.An' zoo they toddled hwome to rest,Lik' doves a-vleen to their nestIn leafy boughs a-swayen.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Uncle an' Aunt 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, Uncle an' Aunt, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/uncle-an-aunt.html, id L02062.
Form and metre
Uncle an' Aunt is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABBBCC- beA · heA · eaermB · farmB · zwarmB · kneesC · treesC · swayen
- 2 AABB-CC- brownA · downA · blueB · shoeB · drough · neatC · seatC · zwayen
- 3 AABBBCC- lotsA · plotsA · hatchB · patchB · catchB · vleeC · treeC · swayen
- 4 AABBBCC- passA · grassA · whiteB · blightB · zightB · beC · treeC · swayen
- 5 --AAABB- there · meaere · zightA · uprightA · mightA · zeeB · treeB · swayen
- 6 AABBBCC- knowA · growA · gooB · shoeB · dewB · restC · nestC · swayen
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| How happy uncle us'd to be | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| O' zummer time, when aunt an' he | 8 | ········ |
| O' Zunday evenens, eaerm in eaerm, | 9 | ········· |
| Did walk about their tiny farm, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While birds did zing an' gnats did zwarm, | 8 | ········ |
| Drough grass a'most above their knees, | 8 | ········ |
| An' roun' by hedges an' by trees | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' leafy boughs a-swayen. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| His hat wer broad, his cwoat wer brown, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' two long flaps a-hangen down; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' vrom his knee went down a blue | 8 | ········ |
| Knit stocken to his buckled shoe; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' aunt did pull her gown-tail drough | 8 | ········ |
| Her pocket-hole, to keep en neat, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As she mid walk, or teaeke a seat | 8 | ········ |
| By leafy boughs a-zwayen. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' vu'st they'd goo to zee their lots | 8 | ········ |
| O' pot-eaerbs in the geaerden plots; | 8 | ········ |
| An' he, i'-may-be, by the hatch, | 8 | ········ |
| Would zee aunt's vowls upon a patch | 8 | ········ |
| O' zeeds, an' vow if he could catch | 8 | ········ |
| Em wi' his gun, they shoudden vlee | 8 | ········ |
| Noo mwore into their roosten tree, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' leafy boughs a-swayen. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| An' then vrom geaerden they did pass | 8 | ········ |
| Drough orcha'd out to zee the grass, | 8 | ········ |
| An' if the apple-blooth, so white, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Mid be at all a-touch'd wi' blight; | 8 | ········ |
| An' uncle, happy at the zight, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Did guess what cider there mid be | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In all the orcha'd, tree wi' tree, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' tutties all a-swayen. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| An' then they stump'd along vrom there | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| A-vield, to zee the cows an' meaere; | 8 | ········ |
| An' she, when uncle come in zight, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Look'd up, an' prick'd her ears upright, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| An' whicker'd out wi' all her might; | 8 | ········ |
| An' he, a-chucklen, went to zee | 8 | ········ |
| The cows below the sheaedy tree, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' leafy boughs a-swayen. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| An' last ov all, they went to know | 8 | ········ |
| How vast the grass in meaed did grow | 8 | ········ |
| An' then aunt zaid 'twer time to goo | 8 | ········ |
| In hwome,--a-holden up her shoe, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To show how wet he wer wi' dew. | 8 | ········ |
| An' zoo they toddled hwome to rest, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Lik' doves a-vleen to their nest | 7 | ······· |
| In leafy boughs a-swayen. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
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.