What Dick an' I Did
Last week the Browns ax'd nearly allThe naighbours to a randy,An' left us out o't, girt an' small,Vor all we liv'd so handy;An' zoo I zaid to Dick, "We'll trudge,When they be in their fun, min;An' car up zome'hat to the rudge,An' jis' stop up the tun, min."
Zoo, wi' the ladder vrom the rick,We stole towards the house,An' crope in roun' behind en, lik'A cat upon a mouse.Then, looken roun', Dick whisper'd "HowIs theaese job to be done, min:Why we do want a faggot now,Vor stoppen up the tun, min."
"Stan' still," I answer'd; "I'll teaeke ceaereO' that: why dussen zeeThe little grinden stwone out there,Below the apple-tree?Put up the ladder; in a crackShalt zee that I wull run, min,An' teaeke en up upon my back,An' soon stop up the tun, min."
Zoo up I clomb upon the thatch,An' clapp'd en on; an' slidedRight down ageaen, an' run drough hatch,Behind the hedge, an' hided.The vier that wer clear avore,Begun to spweil their fun, min;The smoke all roll'd toward the door,Vor I'd a-stopp'd the tun, min.
The maidens cough'd or stopp'd their breath,The men did hauk an' spet;The wold vo'k bundled out from he'thWi' eyes a-runnen wet."'T'ool choke us all," the wold man cried,"Whatever's to be done, min?Why zome'hat is a-vell insideO' chimney drough the tun, min."
Then out they scamper'd all, vull run,An' out cried Tom, "I thinkThe grinden-stwone is up on tun,Vor I can zee the wink.This is some kindness that the vo'kAt Woodley have a-done, min;I wish I had em here, I'd pokeTheir numskulls down the tun, min."
Then off he zet, an' come so quick'S a lamplighter, an' broteThe little ladder in vrom rick,To clear the chimney's droat.While I, a-chucklen at the joke,A-slided down, to run, min,To hidelock, had a-left the vo'kAs bad as na'r a tun, min.
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.]
- handy a.
- Performed by the hand. [OE. hendi, AS. hendig (in comp.), fr. hand hand; akin to D. handig, Goth. handugs clever, wise.]
- trudge v. i.
- To walk or march with labor; to jog along; to move wearily. [Perhaps of Scand. origin, and originally meaning, to walk on snowshoes; cf. dial. Sw. truga, trudja, a snowshoe, Norw. truga, Icel. þruga.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- spet v. t.
- To spit; to throw out. [AS. sp. See Spit.]
- 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.]
- chimney n.
- A fireplace or hearth. Sir W. Raleigh.
- lamplighter n.
- One who, or that which, lights a lamp; esp., a person who lights street lamps.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
What Dick an' I Did 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, What Dick an' I Did, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/what-dick-an-i-did.html, id L02098.
Form and metre
What Dick an' I Did is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 allA · randyB · smallA · handyB · trudgeC · minD · rudgeC · minD
- 2 -A-ABCBC rick · houseA · lik · mouseA · howB · minC · nowB · minC
- 3 -A-ABCBC ceaere · zeeA · there · treeA · crackB · minC · backB · minC
- 4 A-A-BCBC thatchA · slided · hatchA · hided · avoreB · minC · doorB · minC
- 5 A-A-BCBC breathA · spet · he'thA · wet · criedB · minC · insideB · minC
- 6 -A-A-B-B run · thinkA · tun · winkA · vo'k · minB · poke · minB
- 7 ABAB-C-C quickA · broteB · rickA · droatB · joke · minC · vo'k · minC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Last week the Browns ax'd nearly all | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The naighbours to a randy, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' left us out o't, girt an' small, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor all we liv'd so handy; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' zoo I zaid to Dick, "We'll trudge, | 8 | ········ |
| When they be in their fun, min; | 7 | ······· |
| An' car up zome'hat to the rudge, | 9 | ········· |
| An' jis' stop up the tun, min." | 7 | ······· |
| Zoo, wi' the ladder vrom the rick, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We stole towards the house, | 6 | ······ |
| An' crope in roun' behind en, lik' | 8 | ········ |
| A cat upon a mouse. | 6 | ······ |
| Then, looken roun', Dick whisper'd "How | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is theaese job to be done, min: | 7 | ······· |
| Why we do want a faggot now, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vor stoppen up the tun, min." | 7 | ······· |
| "Stan' still," I answer'd; "I'll teaeke ceaere | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O' that: why dussen zee | 6 | ······ |
| The little grinden stwone out there, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Below the apple-tree? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Put up the ladder; in a crack | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Shalt zee that I wull run, min, | 8 | ········ |
| An' teaeke en up upon my back, | 8 | ········ |
| An' soon stop up the tun, min." | 7 | ······· |
| Zoo up I clomb upon the thatch, | 8 | ········ |
| An' clapp'd en on; an' slided | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Right down ageaen, an' run drough hatch, | 8 | ········ |
| Behind the hedge, an' hided. | 7 | ······· |
| The vier that wer clear avore, | 7 | ······· |
| Begun to spweil their fun, min; | 7 | ˘/····· |
| The smoke all roll'd toward the door, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor I'd a-stopp'd the tun, min. | 7 | ······· |
| The maidens cough'd or stopp'd their breath, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The men did hauk an' spet; | 6 | ······ |
| The wold vo'k bundled out from he'th | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' eyes a-runnen wet. | 6 | ······ |
| "'T'ool choke us all," the wold man cried, | 8 | ········ |
| "Whatever's to be done, min? | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Why zome'hat is a-vell inside | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| O' chimney drough the tun, min." | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Then out they scamper'd all, vull run, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' out cried Tom, "I think | 6 | ······ |
| The grinden-stwone is up on tun, | 8 | ········ |
| Vor I can zee the wink. | 6 | ······ |
| This is some kindness that the vo'k | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| At Woodley have a-done, min; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| I wish I had em here, I'd poke | 8 | ········ |
| Their numskulls down the tun, min." | 7 | ······· |
| Then off he zet, an' come so quick | 8 | ········ |
| 'S a lamplighter, an' brote | 7 | ··/·˘·· |
| The little ladder in vrom rick, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| To clear the chimney's droat. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| While I, a-chucklen at the joke, | 8 | ········ |
| A-slided down, to run, min, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| To hidelock, had a-left the vo'k | 9 | ········· |
| As bad as na'r a tun, min. | 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.