Woodcom' Feast
Come, Fanny, come! put on thy white,'Tis Woodcom' feaest, good now! to-night.Come! think noo mwore, you silly maid,O' chicken drown'd, or ducks a-stray'd;Nor mwope to vind thy new frock's tailA-tore by hitchen in a nail;Nor grieve an' hang thy head azide,A-thinken o' thy lam' that died.The flag's a-vleen wide an' high,An' ringen bells do sheaeke the sky;The fifes do play, the horns do roar,An' boughs be up at ev'ry door:They 'll be a-dancen soon,--the drum'S a-rumblen now. Come, Fanny, come!Why father's gone, an' mother too.They went up leaene an hour agoo;An' at the green the young and woldDo stan' so thick as sheep in vwold:The men do laugh, the bwoys do shout,--Come out you mwopen wench, come out,An' go wi' me, an' show at leaestBright eyes an' smiles at Woodcom' feaest.
Come, let's goo out, an' fling our heelsAbout in jigs an' vow'r-han' reels;While aell the stiff-lagg'd wolder vo'k,A-zitten roun', do talk an' jokeAn' smile to zee their own wold rigs.A-show'd by our wild geaemes an' jigs.Vor ever since the vwold church speerVu'st prick'd the clouds, vrom year to year,When grass in meaed did reach woone's knees,An' blooth did kern in apple-trees,Zome merry day 'v' a-broke to sheenAbove the dance at Woodcom' green,An' all o' they that now do lieSo low all roun' the speer so high,Woonce, vrom the biggest to the leaest,Had merry hearts at Woodcom' feaest.
Zoo keep it up, an' gi'e it onTo other vo'k when we be gone.Come otit; vor when the zetten zunDo leaeve in sheaede our harmless fun,The moon a-risen in the eastDo gi'e us light at Woodcom' feaest.Come, Fanny, come! put on thy white,'Tis merry Woodcom' feaest to night:There's nothen vor to mwope about,--Come out, you leaezy jeaede, come out!An' thou wult be, to woone at leaest,The prettiest maid at Woodcom' feaest.
Words in this poem
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- 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.]
- speer v. t.
- To ask. See Spere.
- blooth n.
- Bloom; a blossoming.
- kern v. i.
- To harden, as corn in ripening. Carew. [Cf. G. kern kernel, grain; akin to E. corn. See Corn, Kernel.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- biggest a.
- , superl. of Big.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Woodcom' Feast 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, Woodcom' Feast, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/woodcom-feast.html, id L02042.
Form and metre
Woodcom' Feast is 50 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 88% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 24% 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG--HHIIJJ whiteA · nightA · maidB · stray'dB · tailC · nailC · azideD · diedD · highE · skyE · roarF · doorF · drumG · comeG · too · agoo · woldH · vwoldH · shoutI · outI · leaestJ · feaestJ
- 2 AA--BBCCDDEEFFGG heelsA · reelsA · vo'k · joke · rigsB · jigsB · speerC · yearC · kneesD · treesD · sheenE · greenE · lieF · highF · leaestG · feaestG
- 3 AA--BBCCDDBB onA · goneA · zun · fun · eastB · feaestB · whiteC · nightC · aboutD · outD · leaestB · feaestB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Come, Fanny, come! put on thy white, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Tis Woodcom' feaest, good now! to-night. | 8 | ········ |
| Come! think noo mwore, you silly maid, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O' chicken drown'd, or ducks a-stray'd; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Nor mwope to vind thy new frock's tail | 8 | ········ |
| A-tore by hitchen in a nail; | 8 | ········ |
| Nor grieve an' hang thy head azide, | 8 | ········ |
| A-thinken o' thy lam' that died. | 8 | ········ |
| The flag's a-vleen wide an' high, | 7 | ······· |
| An' ringen bells do sheaeke the sky; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The fifes do play, the horns do roar, | 8 | ········ |
| An' boughs be up at ev'ry door: | 8 | ········ |
| They 'll be a-dancen soon,--the drum | 9 | ········· |
| 'S a-rumblen now. Come, Fanny, come! | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Why father's gone, an' mother too. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They went up leaene an hour agoo; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| An' at the green the young and wold | 8 | ········ |
| Do stan' so thick as sheep in vwold: | 8 | ········ |
| The men do laugh, the bwoys do shout,-- | 8 | ········ |
| Come out you mwopen wench, come out, | 8 | ········ |
| An' go wi' me, an' show at leaest | 8 | ········ |
| Bright eyes an' smiles at Woodcom' feaest. | 8 | ········ |
| Come, let's goo out, an' fling our heels | 8 | ······/· |
| About in jigs an' vow'r-han' reels; | 8 | ········ |
| While aell the stiff-lagg'd wolder vo'k, | 8 | ········ |
| A-zitten roun', do talk an' joke | 8 | ········ |
| An' smile to zee their own wold rigs. | 8 | ········ |
| A-show'd by our wild geaemes an' jigs. | 8 | ···/···· |
| Vor ever since the vwold church speer | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Vu'st prick'd the clouds, vrom year to year, | 8 | ········ |
| When grass in meaed did reach woone's knees, | 8 | ········ |
| An' blooth did kern in apple-trees, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Zome merry day 'v' a-broke to sheen | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Above the dance at Woodcom' green, | 8 | ········ |
| An' all o' they that now do lie | 8 | ········ |
| So low all roun' the speer so high, | 8 | ········ |
| Woonce, vrom the biggest to the leaest, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Had merry hearts at Woodcom' feaest. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Zoo keep it up, an' gi'e it on | 8 | ········ |
| To other vo'k when we be gone. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Come otit; vor when the zetten zun | 9 | ········· |
| Do leaeve in sheaede our harmless fun, | 8 | ····//˘· |
| The moon a-risen in the east | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Do gi'e us light at Woodcom' feaest. | 8 | ········ |
| Come, Fanny, come! put on thy white, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| 'Tis merry Woodcom' feaest to night: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There's nothen vor to mwope about,-- | 8 | ········ |
| Come out, you leaezy jeaede, come out! | 8 | ········ |
| An' thou wult be, to woone at leaest, | 8 | ········ |
| The prettiest maid at Woodcom' feaest. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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