Went Vrom Hwome
The stream-be-wander'd dell did spreadVrom height to woody height,An' meaeds did lie, a grassy bed,Vor elem-sheaeden light.The milkmaid by her white-horn'd cow,Wi' pail so white as snow,Did zing below the elem boughA-swayen to an' fro.
An' there the evenen's low-shot lightDid smite the high tree-tops,An' rabbits vrom the grass, in fright,Did leaep 'ithin the copse.An' there the shepherd wi' his crook.An' dog bezide his knee,Went whisslen by, in air that shookThe ivy on the tree.
An' on the hill, ahead, wer barsA-showen dark on high,Avore, as eet, the evenen starsDid twinkle in the sky,An' then the last sweet evenen-tideThat my long sheaede vell there,I went down Brindon's thymy zide,To my last sleep at Ware.
Words in this poem
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- milkmaid n.
- A woman who milks cows or is employed in the dairy.
- copse n.
- A wood of small growth; a thicket of brushwood. See Coppice. [Contr. from coppice.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- ahead adv.
- In or to the front; in advance; onward. [Pref. a- + head.]
- twinkle v. i.
- To open and shut the eye rapidly; to blink; to wink. [OE. twinklen, AS. twinclian; akin to OE. twinken to blink, wink, G. zwinken, zwinkern, and perhaps to E. twitch.]
- 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.]
- thymy a.
- Abounding with thyme; fragrant; as, a thymy vale. Akenside.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Went Vrom Hwome 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, Went Vrom Hwome, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/went-vrom-hwome.html, id L02326.
Form and metre
Went Vrom Hwome is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. 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 7.1 syllables. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABABCDCD spreadA · heightB · bedA · lightB · cowC · snowD · boughC · froD
- 2 ABABCDCD lightA · topsB · frightA · copseB · crookC · kneeD · shookC · treeD
- 3 ABABCDCD barsA · highB · starsA · skyB · tideC · thereD · zideC · wareD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The stream-be-wander'd dell did spread | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Vrom height to woody height, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| An' meaeds did lie, a grassy bed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vor elem-sheaeden light. | 6 | ······ |
| The milkmaid by her white-horn'd cow, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wi' pail so white as snow, | 6 | ······ |
| Did zing below the elem bough | 8 | ········ |
| A-swayen to an' fro. | 6 | ······ |
| An' there the evenen's low-shot light | 9 | ········· |
| Did smite the high tree-tops, | 6 | ······ |
| An' rabbits vrom the grass, in fright, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Did leaep 'ithin the copse. | 6 | ······ |
| An' there the shepherd wi' his crook. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' dog bezide his knee, | 6 | ······ |
| Went whisslen by, in air that shook | 8 | ········ |
| The ivy on the tree. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' on the hill, ahead, wer bars | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| A-showen dark on high, | 6 | ······ |
| Avore, as eet, the evenen stars | 9 | ········· |
| Did twinkle in the sky, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' then the last sweet evenen-tide | 9 | ········· |
| That my long sheaede vell there, | 6 | ······ |
| I went down Brindon's thymy zide, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To my last sleep at Ware. | 6 | ······ |
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.