Wheat
In brown-leav'd Fall the wheat a-left'Ithin its darksome bed,Where all the creaken roller's heftSeal'd down its lowly head,Sprung sheaeken drough the crumblen mwold,Green-yollow, vrom below,An' bent its bleaedes, a-glitt'ren cwold,At last in winter snow.Zoo luck betideThe upland zide,Where wheat do wride,In corn-vields wide,By crowns o' Do'set Downs, O.
An' while the screamen bird-bwoy shookWi' little zun-burnt hand,His clacker at the bright-wing'd rook,About the zeeded land;His meaester there did come an' stopHis bridle-champen meaere,Wi' thankvul heart, to zee his cropA-comen up so feaeir.As there awhileBy geaete or stile,He gi'ed the chileA cheeren smile,By crowns o' Do'set Downs, O.
At last, wi' eaers o' darksome red,The yollow stalks did ply,A-swayen slow, so heavy 's lead,In air a-blowen by;An' then the busy reapers laidIn row their russlen grips,An' sheaeves, a-leaenen head by head,Did meaeke the stitches tips.Zoo food's a-vound,A-comen round,Vrom zeed in ground,To sheaves a-bound,By crowns o' Do'set Downs, O.
An' now the wheat, in lofty lwoads,Above the meaeres' broad backs,Do ride along the cracklen rwoads,Or dousty waggon-tracks.An' there, mid every busy pick,Ha' work enough to do;An' where, avore, we built woone rick,Mid theaese year gi'e us two;Wi' God our friend,An' wealth to spend,Vor zome good end,That times mid mend,In towns, an' Do'set Downs, O.
Zoo let the merry thatcher veelFine weather on his brow,As he, in happy work, do kneelUp roun' the new-built mow,That now do zwell in sich a size,An' rise to sich a height,That, oh! the miller's wistful eyesDo sparkle at the zightAn' long mid stand,A happy band,To till the land,Wi' head an' hand,By crowns o' Do'set Downs, O.
Words in this poem
- darksome a.
- Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless.
- heft n.
- The act or effort of heaving [From Heave: cf. hefe weight. Cf. Haft.]
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- clacker n.
- One who clacks; that which clacks; especially, the clapper of a mill.
- rook n.
- Mist; fog. See Roke.
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- stile n.
- A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon. [See Style.]
- blowen n.
- A prostitute; a courtesan; a strumpet. [Low] Smart.
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- thatcher n.
- One who thatches.
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- wistful a.
- Longing; wishful; desirous. [For wishful; perhaps influenced by wistly, which is probably corrupted from OE. wisly certainly (from Icel. viss certain, akin to E. wit). See Wish.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Wheat 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, Wheat, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/wheat.html, id L02240.
Form and metre
Wheat is 65 lines in 5 stanzas of 13 lines each. 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCDCDEEEED leftA · bedB · heftA · headB · mwoldC · belowD · cwoldC · snowD · betideE · zideE · wrideE · wideE · oD
- 2 ABABCDCDEE-E- shookA · handB · rookA · landB · stopC · meaereD · cropC · feaeirD · awhileE · stileE · chile · smileE · o
- 3 ABAB-CACDDDD- redA · plyB · leadA · byB · laid · gripsC · headA · tipsC · voundD · roundD · groundD · boundD · o
- 4 ABABCDCDEEEE- lwoadsA · backsB · rwoadsA · tracksB · pickC · doD · rickC · twoD · friendE · spendE · endE · mendE · o
- 5 A-ABCDCDEEEEB veelA · brow · kneelA · mowB · sizeC · heightD · eyesC · zightD · standE · bandE · landE · handE · oB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In brown-leav'd Fall the wheat a-left | 8 | ········ |
| 'Ithin its darksome bed, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Where all the creaken roller's heft | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Seal'd down its lowly head, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Sprung sheaeken drough the crumblen mwold, | 8 | ········ |
| Green-yollow, vrom below, | 6 | ······ |
| An' bent its bleaedes, a-glitt'ren cwold, | 8 | ········ |
| At last in winter snow. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Zoo luck betide | 4 | ··˘/ |
| The upland zide, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Where wheat do wride, | 4 | ···· |
| In corn-vields wide, | 4 | ···· |
| By crowns o' Do'set Downs, O. | 8 | ········ |
| An' while the screamen bird-bwoy shook | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' little zun-burnt hand, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| His clacker at the bright-wing'd rook, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| About the zeeded land; | 6 | ······ |
| His meaester there did come an' stop | 8 | ········ |
| His bridle-champen meaere, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Wi' thankvul heart, to zee his crop | 8 | ········ |
| A-comen up so feaeir. | 6 | ······ |
| As there awhile | 4 | ··˘/ |
| By geaete or stile, | 4 | ···· |
| He gi'ed the chile | 5 | ···/˘ |
| A cheeren smile, | 4 | ···· |
| By crowns o' Do'set Downs, O. | 8 | ········ |
| At last, wi' eaers o' darksome red, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The yollow stalks did ply, | 6 | ······ |
| A-swayen slow, so heavy 's lead, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| In air a-blowen by; | 6 | ······ |
| An' then the busy reapers laid | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| In row their russlen grips, | 6 | ······ |
| An' sheaeves, a-leaenen head by head, | 9 | ········· |
| Did meaeke the stitches tips. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Zoo food's a-vound, | 4 | ···· |
| A-comen round, | 4 | ···· |
| Vrom zeed in ground, | 4 | ···· |
| To sheaves a-bound, | 4 | ···· |
| By crowns o' Do'set Downs, O. | 8 | ········ |
| An' now the wheat, in lofty lwoads, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Above the meaeres' broad backs, | 6 | ······ |
| Do ride along the cracklen rwoads, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Or dousty waggon-tracks. | 6 | ······ |
| An' there, mid every busy pick, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Ha' work enough to do; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| An' where, avore, we built woone rick, | 8 | ········ |
| Mid theaese year gi'e us two; | 6 | ······ |
| Wi' God our friend, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| An' wealth to spend, | 4 | ···· |
| Vor zome good end, | 4 | ···· |
| That times mid mend, | 4 | ···· |
| In towns, an' Do'set Downs, O. | 8 | ········ |
| Zoo let the merry thatcher veel | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Fine weather on his brow, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| As he, in happy work, do kneel | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Up roun' the new-built mow, | 6 | ······ |
| That now do zwell in sich a size, | 10 | ·········· |
| An' rise to sich a height, | 8 | ········ |
| That, oh! the miller's wistful eyes | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Do sparkle at the zight | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| An' long mid stand, | 4 | ···· |
| A happy band, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To till the land, | 4 | ···· |
| Wi' head an' hand, | 4 | ···· |
| By crowns o' Do'set Downs, O. | 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.