Vellen o' the Tree
Aye, the girt elem tree out in little hwome groun'Wer a-stannen this mornen, an' now's a-cut down.Aye, the girt elem tree, so big roun' an' so high,Where the mowers did goo to their drink, an' did lieIn the sheaede ov his head, when the zun at his heighthHad a-drove em vrom mowen, wi' het an' wi' drith,Where the hay-meaekers put all their picks an' their reaekes,An' did squot down to snabble their cheese an' their ceaekes,An' did vill vrom their flaggons their cups wi' their eaele,An' did meaeke theirzelves merry wi' joke an' wi' teaele.
Ees, we took up a rwope an' we tied en all roundAt the top o'n, wi' woone end a-hangen to ground,An' we cut, near the ground, his girt stem a'most drough,An' we bent the wold head o'n wi' woone tug or two;An' he sway'd all his limbs, an' he nodded his head,Till he vell away down like a pillar o' lead:An' as we did run vrom en, there; clwose at our backs,Oh! his boughs come to groun' wi' sich whizzes an' cracks;An' his top wer so lofty that, now he is down,The stem o'n do reach a-most over the groun'.Zoo the girt elem tree out in little hwome groun'Wer a-stannen this mornen, an' now's a-cut down.
Words in this poem
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- drith n.
- Drought. Tyndale.
- vill n.
- A small collection of houses; a village. [OF. ville, vile, a village, F. ville a town, city. See Villa.]
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- vell n.
- The salted stomach of a calf, used in making cheese; a rennet bag. [Cf. L. vellus the skin of a sheep with the wool on it, a fleece, a hide or pelt, or E. fell a hide.]
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Vellen o' the Tree 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, Vellen o' the Tree, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/vellen-o-the-tree.html, id L02045.
Form and metre
Vellen o' the Tree is 22 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 64% of the lines. 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.1 syllables. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets.
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 --AABBCCDD groun · down · highA · lieA · heighthB · drithB · reaekesC · ceaekesC · eaeleD · teaeleD
- 2 AA--BBCCDEED roundA · groundA · drough · two · headB · leadB · backsC · cracksC · downD · grounE · grounE · downD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Aye, the girt elem tree out in little hwome groun' | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Wer a-stannen this mornen, an' now's a-cut down. | 12 | ············ |
| Aye, the girt elem tree, so big roun' an' so high, | 12 | ············ |
| Where the mowers did goo to their drink, an' did lie | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| In the sheaede ov his head, when the zun at his heighth | 12 | ············ |
| Had a-drove em vrom mowen, wi' het an' wi' drith, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Where the hay-meaekers put all their picks an' their reaekes, | 12 | ············ |
| An' did squot down to snabble their cheese an' their ceaekes, | 12 | ············ |
| An' did vill vrom their flaggons their cups wi' their eaele, | 13 | ············· |
| An' did meaeke theirzelves merry wi' joke an' wi' teaele. | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Ees, we took up a rwope an' we tied en all round | 12 | ············ |
| At the top o'n, wi' woone end a-hangen to ground, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| An' we cut, near the ground, his girt stem a'most drough, | 12 | ············ |
| An' we bent the wold head o'n wi' woone tug or two; | 12 | ············ |
| An' he sway'd all his limbs, an' he nodded his head, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Till he vell away down like a pillar o' lead: | 12 | ···˘/···/˘·· |
| An' as we did run vrom en, there; clwose at our backs, | 12 | ··········/· |
| Oh! his boughs come to groun' wi' sich whizzes an' cracks; | 14 | ··········/˘·· |
| An' his top wer so lofty that, now he is down, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| The stem o'n do reach a-most over the groun'. | 11 | ··········· |
| Zoo the girt elem tree out in little hwome groun' | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| Wer a-stannen this mornen, an' now's a-cut down. | 12 | ············ |
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