Woak Hill
When sycamore leaves wer a-spreaden,Green-ruddy, in hedges,Bezide the red doust o' the ridges,A-dried at Woak Hill;
I packed up my goods all a-sheenenWi' long years o' handlen,On dousty red wheels ov a waggon,To ride at Woak Hill.
The brown thatchen ruf o' the dwellen,I then wer a-leaeven,Had shelter'd the sleek head o' Meaery,My bride at Woak Hill.
But now vor zome years, her light voot-vall'S a-lost vrom the vlooren.Too soon vor my jay an' my childern,She died at Woak Hill.
But still I do think that, in soul,She do hover about us;To ho vor her motherless childern,Her pride at Woak Hill.
Zoo--lest she should tell me hereafterI stole off 'ithout her,An' left her, uncall'd at house-ridden,To bide at Woak Hill--
I call'd her so fondly, wi' lippensAll soundless to others,An' took her wi' air-reachen hand,To my zide at Woak Hill.
On the road I did look round, a-talkenTo light at my shoulder,An' then led her in at the door-way,Miles wide vrom Woak Hill.
An' that's why vo'k thought, vor a season,My mind wer a-wandrenWi' sorrow, when I wer so sorelyA-tried at Woak Hill.
But no; that my Meaery mid neverBehold herzelf slighted,I wanted to think that I guidedMy guide vrom Woak Hill.
Words in this poem
- hover n.
- A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
- motherless a.
- Destitute of a mother; having lost a mother; as, motherless children. [AS. modorleás.]
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- soundless a.
- Not capable of being sounded or fathomed; unfathomable.
- sorely adv.
- In a sore manner; grievously; painfully; as, to be sorely afflicted.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Woak Hill 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, Woak Hill, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/woak-hill.html, id L02262.
Form and metre
Woak Hill is 40 lines in 10 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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.
- 2 AA-- sheenenA · handlenA · waggon · hill
- 3 AA-- dwellenA · leaevenA · meaery · hill
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When sycamore leaves wer a-spreaden, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Green-ruddy, in hedges, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Bezide the red doust o' the ridges, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| A-dried at Woak Hill; | 5 | ····· |
| I packed up my goods all a-sheenen | 9 | ········· |
| Wi' long years o' handlen, | 6 | ······ |
| On dousty red wheels ov a waggon, | 9 | ········· |
| To ride at Woak Hill. | 5 | ····· |
| The brown thatchen ruf o' the dwellen, | 9 | ········· |
| I then wer a-leaeven, | 6 | ······ |
| Had shelter'd the sleek head o' Meaery, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| My bride at Woak Hill. | 5 | ····· |
| But now vor zome years, her light voot-vall | 9 | ········· |
| 'S a-lost vrom the vlooren. | 7 | ······· |
| Too soon vor my jay an' my childern, | 9 | ········· |
| She died at Woak Hill. | 5 | ····· |
| But still I do think that, in soul, | 8 | ········ |
| She do hover about us; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To ho vor her motherless childern, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Her pride at Woak Hill. | 5 | ····· |
| Zoo--lest she should tell me hereafter | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| I stole off 'ithout her, | 6 | ······ |
| An' left her, uncall'd at house-ridden, | 9 | ···˘/··/˘ |
| To bide at Woak Hill-- | 5 | ····· |
| I call'd her so fondly, wi' lippens | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| All soundless to others, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| An' took her wi' air-reachen hand, | 8 | ········ |
| To my zide at Woak Hill. | 6 | ······ |
| On the road I did look round, a-talken | 10 | ·········· |
| To light at my shoulder, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| An' then led her in at the door-way, | 9 | ········· |
| Miles wide vrom Woak Hill. | 5 | ····· |
| An' that's why vo'k thought, vor a season, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| My mind wer a-wandren | 6 | ······ |
| Wi' sorrow, when I wer so sorely | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| A-tried at Woak Hill. | 5 | ····· |
| But no; that my Meaery mid never | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Behold herzelf slighted, | 6 | ˘/··/˘ |
| I wanted to think that I guided | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| My guide vrom Woak Hill. | 5 | ····· |
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.