Woone Smile Mwore
O! Meaery, when the zun went down,Woone night in Spring, wi' vi'ry rim,Behind thik nap wi' woody crown,An' left your smilen feaece so dim;Your little sister there, inside,Wi' bellows on her little knee,Did blow the vier, a-glearen wideDrough window-peaenes, that I could zee,--As you did stan' wi' me, avoreThe house, a-peaerten,--woone smile mwore.
The chatt'ren birds, a-risen high,An' zinken low, did swiftly vleeVrom shrinken moss, a-growen dry,Upon the leaenen apple tree.An' there the dog, a-whippen wideHis heaeiry tail, an' comen near,Did fondly lay ageaen your zideHis coal-black nose an' russet ear:To win what I'd a-won avore,Vrom your gay feaece, his woone smile mwore.
An' while your mother bustled sprack,A-getten supper out in hall,An' cast her sheaede, a-whiv'ren blackAvore the vier, upon the wall;Your brother come, wi' easy peaece,In drough the slammen geaete, alongThe path, wi' healthy-bloomen feaece,A-whis'len shrill his last new zong;An' when he come avore the door,He met vrom you his woone smile mwore.
Now you that wer the daughter there,Be mother on a husband's vloor,An' mid ye meet wi' less o' ceaereThan what your hearty mother bore;An' if abroad I have to rueThe bitter tongue, or wrongvul deed,Mid I come hwome to sheaere wi' youWhat's needvul free o' pinchen need:An' vind that you ha' still in store,My evenen meal, an' woone smile mwore.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- sprack a.
- Quick; lively' alert. [Cf. Icel. spækr sprightly, dial. Sw. spräk, spräg, spirited, mettlesome; or Gael. spraic vigor.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Woone Smile Mwore 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, Woone Smile Mwore, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/woone-smile-mwore.html, id L02256.
Form and metre
Woone Smile Mwore is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCDEE, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 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 ABABCDCDEE downA · rimB · crownA · dimB · insideC · kneeD · wideC · zeeD · avoreE · mworeE
- 2 ABABCDCDEE highA · vleeB · dryA · treeB · wideC · nearD · zideC · earD · avoreE · mworeE
- 3 ABABCDCDEE sprackA · hallB · blackA · wallB · peaeceC · alongD · feaeceC · zongD · doorE · mworeE
- 4 ---ABCBCAA there · vloor · ceaere · boreA · rueB · deedC · youB · needC · storeA · mworeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O! Meaery, when the zun went down, | 8 | ········ |
| Woone night in Spring, wi' vi'ry rim, | 8 | ········ |
| Behind thik nap wi' woody crown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' left your smilen feaece so dim; | 8 | ········ |
| Your little sister there, inside, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Wi' bellows on her little knee, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Did blow the vier, a-glearen wide | 8 | ········ |
| Drough window-peaenes, that I could zee,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As you did stan' wi' me, avore | 8 | ········ |
| The house, a-peaerten,--woone smile mwore. | 8 | ········ |
| The chatt'ren birds, a-risen high, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An' zinken low, did swiftly vlee | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vrom shrinken moss, a-growen dry, | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the leaenen apple tree. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| An' there the dog, a-whippen wide | 8 | ········ |
| His heaeiry tail, an' comen near, | 8 | ········ |
| Did fondly lay ageaen your zide | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His coal-black nose an' russet ear: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To win what I'd a-won avore, | 8 | ········ |
| Vrom your gay feaece, his woone smile mwore. | 8 | ········ |
| An' while your mother bustled sprack, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A-getten supper out in hall, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| An' cast her sheaede, a-whiv'ren black | 8 | ········ |
| Avore the vier, upon the wall; | 8 | ········ |
| Your brother come, wi' easy peaece, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In drough the slammen geaete, along | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The path, wi' healthy-bloomen feaece, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-whis'len shrill his last new zong; | 8 | ········ |
| An' when he come avore the door, | 8 | ········ |
| He met vrom you his woone smile mwore. | 8 | ········ |
| Now you that wer the daughter there, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Be mother on a husband's vloor, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' mid ye meet wi' less o' ceaere | 8 | ········ |
| Than what your hearty mother bore; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An' if abroad I have to rue | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The bitter tongue, or wrongvul deed, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Mid I come hwome to sheaere wi' you | 8 | ········ |
| What's needvul free o' pinchen need: | 8 | ········ |
| An' vind that you ha' still in store, | 8 | ········ |
| My evenen meal, an' woone smile mwore. | 9 | ········· |
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.