Week's End in Zummer, in the Wold Vo'K's Time
His aunt an' uncle,--ah! the kindWold souls be often in my mind:A better couple never stoodIn shoes, an' vew be voun' so good.She cheer'd the work-vo'k in their tweilsWi' timely bits an' draps, an' smiles;An' he paid all o'm at week's end,Their money down to goo an' spend.
In zummer, when week's end come roun'The hay-meaekers did come vrom groun',An' all zit down, wi' weary bwones,Within the yard a-peaeved wi' stwones,Along avore the peaeles, betweenThe yard a-steaen'd an' open green.There women zot wi' bare-neck'd chaps,An' maidens wi' their sleeves an' flapsTo screen vrom het their eaerms an' polls.An' men wi' beards so black as coals:Girt stocky Jim, an' lanky John,An' poor wold Betty dead an' gone;An' cleaen-grown Tom so spry an' strong,An' Liz the best to pitch a zong,That now ha' nearly half a scoreO' childern zwarmen at her door;An' whindlen Ann, that cried wi' fearTo hear the thunder when 'twer near,--A zickly maid, so peaele's the moon,That voun' her zun goo down at noon;An' blushen Jeaene so shy an' meek,That seldom let us hear her speak,That wer a-coorted an' undoneBy Farmer Woodley's woldest son;An' after she'd a-been vorzook,Wer voun' a-drown'd in Longmeaed brook.
An' zoo, when he'd a-been all roun',An' paid em all their wages down,She us'd to bring vor all, by teaeleA cup o' cider or ov eaele,An' then a tutty meaede o' lotsO' blossoms vrom her flower-nots,To wear in bands an' button-holesAt church, an' in their evenen strolls.The pea that rangled to the oves,An' columbines an' pinks an' cloves,Sweet rwosen vrom the prickly tree,An' jilliflow'rs, an' jessamy;An' short-liv'd pinies, that do shedTheir leaves upon a eaerly bed.She didden put in honeyzuck:She'd nwone, she zaid, that she could pluckAvore wild honeyzucks, a-voundIn ev'ry hedge ov ev'ry ground.
Zoo maid an' woman, bwoy an' man,Went off, while zunzet air did fanTheir merry zunburnt feaezen; zomeDown leaene, an' zome drough parrocks hwome.
Ah! who can tell, that ha'nt a-vound,The sweets o' week's-end comen round!When Zadurday do bring woone's mindSweet thoughts o' Zunday clwose behind;The day that's all our own to spendWi' God an' wi' an e'thly friend.The worold's girt vo'k, wi' the bestO' worldly goods mid be a-blest;But Zunday is the poor man's peaert,To seaeve his soul an' cheer his heart.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- 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.]
- stocky a.
- Short and thick; thick rather than tall or corpulent. [From Stock.]
- lanky a.
- Somewhat lank. Thackeray.
- betty n.
- Etym: [Supposed to be a cant word, from Betty, for Elizabeth, as such an instrument is also called Bess (i. e., Elizabeth) in the Canting Dictionary of 1725, and Jenny (i. e., Jane).]
- spry a.
- Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active. [U.S. [Cf. dial. Sw. sprygg lively, skittish, and E. sprag.]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- tutty n.
- A yellow or brown amorphous substance obtained as a sublimation product in the flues of smelting furnaces of zinc, and consisting of a crude zinc oxide. [F. tutie; cf. Sp. tutia, atutia, LL. tutia; all from Per. tutiya.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Week's End in Zummer, in the Wold Vo'K's Time 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, Week's End in Zummer, in the Wold Vo'K's Time, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/week-s-end-in-zummer-in-the-wold-vo-k-s-time.html, id L02068.
Form and metre
Week's End in Zummer, in the Wold Vo'K's Time is 66 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 88% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 29% 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 AABBCCDD kindA · mindA · stoodB · goodB · tweilsC · smilesC · endD · spendD
- 2 AABBCCDDEE--FFGGHHAAIIJJKK rounA · grounA · bwonesB · stwonesB · betweenC · greenC · chapsD · flapsD · pollsE · coalsE · john · gone · strongF · zongF · scoreG · doorG · fearH · nearH · moonA · noonA · meekI · speakI · undoneJ · sonJ · vorzookK · brookK
- 3 --AABBCC----DDEEFF roun · down · teaeleA · eaeleA · lotsB · notsB · holesC · strollsC · oves · cloves · tree · jessamy · shedD · bedD · honeyzuckE · pluckE · voundF · groundF
- 4 AABB manA · fanA · zomeB · hwomeB
- 5 AABBCCDDEE voundA · roundA · mindB · behindB · spendC · friendC · bestD · blestD · peaertE · heartE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| His aunt an' uncle,--ah! the kind | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wold souls be often in my mind: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A better couple never stood | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| In shoes, an' vew be voun' so good. | 8 | ········ |
| She cheer'd the work-vo'k in their tweils | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' timely bits an' draps, an' smiles; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' he paid all o'm at week's end, | 8 | ········ |
| Their money down to goo an' spend. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In zummer, when week's end come roun' | 8 | ········ |
| The hay-meaekers did come vrom groun', | 8 | ········ |
| An' all zit down, wi' weary bwones, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Within the yard a-peaeved wi' stwones, | 8 | ········ |
| Along avore the peaeles, between | 8 | ˘/······ |
| The yard a-steaen'd an' open green. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| There women zot wi' bare-neck'd chaps, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' maidens wi' their sleeves an' flaps | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To screen vrom het their eaerms an' polls. | 8 | ········ |
| An' men wi' beards so black as coals: | 8 | ········ |
| Girt stocky Jim, an' lanky John, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' poor wold Betty dead an' gone; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' cleaen-grown Tom so spry an' strong, | 8 | ········ |
| An' Liz the best to pitch a zong, | 8 | ········ |
| That now ha' nearly half a score | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O' childern zwarmen at her door; | 8 | ········ |
| An' whindlen Ann, that cried wi' fear | 8 | ········ |
| To hear the thunder when 'twer near,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A zickly maid, so peaele's the moon, | 8 | ········ |
| That voun' her zun goo down at noon; | 8 | ········ |
| An' blushen Jeaene so shy an' meek, | 8 | ········ |
| That seldom let us hear her speak, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That wer a-coorted an' undone | 8 | ······˘/ |
| By Farmer Woodley's woldest son; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| An' after she'd a-been vorzook, | 8 | ········ |
| Wer voun' a-drown'd in Longmeaed brook. | 8 | ······˘· |
| An' zoo, when he'd a-been all roun', | 8 | ········ |
| An' paid em all their wages down, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She us'd to bring vor all, by teaele | 9 | ········· |
| A cup o' cider or ov eaele, | 8 | ···/···· |
| An' then a tutty meaede o' lots | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O' blossoms vrom her flower-nots, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To wear in bands an' button-holes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| At church, an' in their evenen strolls. | 9 | ········· |
| The pea that rangled to the oves, | 8 | ····˘··· |
| An' columbines an' pinks an' cloves, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Sweet rwosen vrom the prickly tree, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' jilliflow'rs, an' jessamy; | 8 | ········ |
| An' short-liv'd pinies, that do shed | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Their leaves upon a eaerly bed. | 8 | ········ |
| She didden put in honeyzuck: | 8 | ········ |
| She'd nwone, she zaid, that she could pluck | 8 | ········ |
| Avore wild honeyzucks, a-vound | 8 | ········ |
| In ev'ry hedge ov ev'ry ground. | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo maid an' woman, bwoy an' man, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Went off, while zunzet air did fan | 8 | ········ |
| Their merry zunburnt feaezen; zome | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Down leaene, an' zome drough parrocks hwome. | 8 | ········ |
| Ah! who can tell, that ha'nt a-vound, | 8 | ········ |
| The sweets o' week's-end comen round! | 8 | ········ |
| When Zadurday do bring woone's mind | 8 | ········ |
| Sweet thoughts o' Zunday clwose behind; | 8 | ········ |
| The day that's all our own to spend | 8 | ····/··· |
| Wi' God an' wi' an e'thly friend. | 8 | ········ |
| The worold's girt vo'k, wi' the best | 8 | ········ |
| O' worldly goods mid be a-blest; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But Zunday is the poor man's peaert, | 8 | ········ |
| To seaeve his soul an' cheer his heart. | 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.