Withstanders
When weakness now do strive wi' mightIn struggles ov an e'thly trial,Might mid overcome the right,An' truth be turn'd by might's denial;Withstanders we ha' mwost to feaer,If selfishness do wring us here,Be souls a-holden in their hand,The might an' riches o' the land.
But when the wicked, now so strong,Shall stan' vor judgment, peaele as ashes,By the souls that rued their wrong,Wi' tears a-hangen on their lashes--Then withstanders they shall deaereThe leaest ov all to meet wi' there,Mid be the helpless souls that nowBelow their wrongvul might mid bow.
Sweet childern o' the dead, bereftOv all their goods by guile an' forgen;Souls o' driven sleaeves that leftTheir weaery limbs a-mark'd by scourgen;They that God ha' call'd to dieVor truth ageaen the worold's lie,An' they that groan'd an' cried in vain,A-bound by foes' unrighteous chain.
The maid that selfish craft led onTo sin, an' left wi' hope a-blighted;Starven workmen, thin an' wan,Wi' hopeless leaebour ill requited;Souls a-wrong'd, an' call'd to villWi' dread, the men that us'd em ill.When might shall yield to right as pliantAs a dwarf avore a giant.
When there, at last, the good shall glowIn starbright bodies lik' their Seaeviour,Vor all their flesh noo mwore mid show,The marks o' man's unkind beheaeviour:Wi' speechless tongue, an' burnen cheak,The strong shall bow avore the weaek,An' vind that helplessness, wi' right,Is strong beyond all e'thly might.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- unrighteous a.
- Not righteous; evil; wicked; sinful; as, an unrighteous man. [OE. unrightwise, AS. unrihtwis. See Un- not, and Righteous.]
- craft n.
- Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
- vill n.
- A small collection of houses; a village. [OF. ville, vile, a village, F. ville a town, city. See Villa.]
- unkind a.
- Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
- speechless a.
- Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Withstanders 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, Withstanders, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/withstanders.html, id L02349.
Form and metre
Withstanders is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDD, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 7 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 ABAB--CC mightA · trialB · rightA · denialB · feaer · here · handC · landC
- 2 ABAB--CC strongA · ashesB · wrongA · lashesB · deaere · there · nowC · bowC
- 3 ABABCCDD bereftA · forgenB · leftA · scourgenB · dieC · lieC · vainD · chainD
- 4 ABABCCDD onA · blightedB · wanA · requitedB · villC · illC · pliantD · giantD
- 5 ABABCCDD glowA · seaeviourB · showA · beheaeviourB · cheakC · weaekC · rightD · mightD
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 weakness now do strive wi' might | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In struggles ov an e'thly trial, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Might mid overcome the right, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| An' truth be turn'd by might's denial; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Withstanders we ha' mwost to feaer, | 8 | ········ |
| If selfishness do wring us here, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Be souls a-holden in their hand, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The might an' riches o' the land. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But when the wicked, now so strong, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Shall stan' vor judgment, peaele as ashes, | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| By the souls that rued their wrong, | 7 | ······· |
| Wi' tears a-hangen on their lashes-- | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Then withstanders they shall deaere | 7 | ······· |
| The leaest ov all to meet wi' there, | 8 | ········ |
| Mid be the helpless souls that now | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Below their wrongvul might mid bow. | 8 | ········ |
| Sweet childern o' the dead, bereft | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Ov all their goods by guile an' forgen; | 9 | ········· |
| Souls o' driven sleaeves that left | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Their weaery limbs a-mark'd by scourgen; | 9 | ········· |
| They that God ha' call'd to die | 7 | ······· |
| Vor truth ageaen the worold's lie, | 8 | ········ |
| An' they that groan'd an' cried in vain, | 8 | ········ |
| A-bound by foes' unrighteous chain. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The maid that selfish craft led on | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To sin, an' left wi' hope a-blighted; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Starven workmen, thin an' wan, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Wi' hopeless leaebour ill requited; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Souls a-wrong'd, an' call'd to vill | 7 | ······· |
| Wi' dread, the men that us'd em ill. | 8 | ········ |
| When might shall yield to right as pliant | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| As a dwarf avore a giant. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| When there, at last, the good shall glow | 8 | ········ |
| In starbright bodies lik' their Seaeviour, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Vor all their flesh noo mwore mid show, | 8 | ········ |
| The marks o' man's unkind beheaeviour: | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| Wi' speechless tongue, an' burnen cheak, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The strong shall bow avore the weaek, | 8 | ········ |
| An' vind that helplessness, wi' right, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Is strong beyond all e'thly might. | 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.