Where We Did Keep Our Flagon
When we in mornen had a-drow'dThe grass or russlen hay abrode,The lit'some maidens an' the chaps,Wi' bits o' nunchens in their laps,Did all zit down upon the knapsUp there, in under hedge, belowThe highest elem o' the row,Where we did keep our flagon.
There we could zee green vields at hand,Avore a hunderd on beyand,An' rows o' trees in hedges roun'Green meaeds, an' zummerleaezes brown,An' thorns upon the zunny down,While aier, vrom the rocken zedgeIn brook, did come along the hedge,Where we did keep our flagon.
There laughen chaps did try in playTo bury maidens up in hay,As gigglen maidens tried to rollThe chaps down into zome deep hole,Or sting wi' nettles woone o'm's poll;While John did hele out each his drapO' eaele or cider, in his lapWhere he did keep the flagon.
Woone day there spun a whirlwind byWhere Jenny's clothes wer out to dry;An' off vled frocks, a'most a-catch'dBy smock-frocks wi' their sleeves outstratch'd,An' caps a-frill'd an' eaeperns patch'd;An' she a-steaeren in a fright,Wer glad enough to zee em lightWhere we did keep our flagon.
An' when white clover wer a-sprungAmong the eegrass, green an' young,An' elder-flowers wer a-spreadAmong the rwosen white an' red,An' honeyzucks wi' hangen head,--O' Zunday evenens we did zitTo look all roun' the grounds a bit,Where we'd a-kept our flagon.
Words in this poem
- flagon n.
- A vessel with a narrow mouth, used for holding and conveying liquors. It is generally larger than a bottle, and of leather or stoneware rather than of glass. [F. flacon, for flascon, fr. OF. flasche, from LL. flasco. See Flask.]
- hele n.
- Health; welfare. [See Heal, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Where We Did Keep Our Flagon 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, Where We Did Keep Our Flagon, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/where-we-did-keep-our-flagon.html, id L02067.
Form and metre
Where We Did Keep Our Flagon is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% 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 --AAABB- drow'd · abrode · chapsA · lapsA · knapsA · belowB · rowB · flagon
- 2 AA-BBCC- handA · beyandA · roun · brownB · downB · zedgeC · hedgeC · flagon
- 3 AABBBCC- playA · hayA · rollB · holeB · pollB · drapC · lapC · flagon
- 4 AABBBCC- byA · dryA · catch'dB · outstratch'dB · patch'dB · frightC · lightC · flagon
- 5 AABBB--- sprungA · youngA · spreadB · redB · headB · zit · bit · flagon
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When we in mornen had a-drow'd | 8 | ········ |
| The grass or russlen hay abrode, | 8 | ········ |
| The lit'some maidens an' the chaps, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wi' bits o' nunchens in their laps, | 8 | ········ |
| Did all zit down upon the knaps | 8 | ········ |
| Up there, in under hedge, below | 8 | ········ |
| The highest elem o' the row, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where we did keep our flagon. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| There we could zee green vields at hand, | 8 | ········ |
| Avore a hunderd on beyand, | 7 | ······· |
| An' rows o' trees in hedges roun' | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Green meaeds, an' zummerleaezes brown, | 8 | ········ |
| An' thorns upon the zunny down, | 8 | ········ |
| While aier, vrom the rocken zedge | 7 | ······· |
| In brook, did come along the hedge, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Where we did keep our flagon. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| There laughen chaps did try in play | 8 | ········ |
| To bury maidens up in hay, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| As gigglen maidens tried to roll | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The chaps down into zome deep hole, | 8 | ········ |
| Or sting wi' nettles woone o'm's poll; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| While John did hele out each his drap | 9 | ········· |
| O' eaele or cider, in his lap | 8 | ····/··· |
| Where he did keep the flagon. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Woone day there spun a whirlwind by | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Where Jenny's clothes wer out to dry; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' off vled frocks, a'most a-catch'd | 8 | ········ |
| By smock-frocks wi' their sleeves outstratch'd, | 8 | ········ |
| An' caps a-frill'd an' eaeperns patch'd; | 8 | ········ |
| An' she a-steaeren in a fright, | 8 | ········ |
| Wer glad enough to zee em light | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Where we did keep our flagon. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| An' when white clover wer a-sprung | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Among the eegrass, green an' young, | 8 | ········ |
| An' elder-flowers wer a-spread | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Among the rwosen white an' red, | 8 | ········ |
| An' honeyzucks wi' hangen head,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O' Zunday evenens we did zit | 9 | ········· |
| To look all roun' the grounds a bit, | 8 | ········ |
| Where we'd a-kept our flagon. | 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.