Zellen Woone's Honey to Buy Zome'Hat Sweet
Why, his heart's lik' a popple, so hard as a stwone,Vor 'tis money, an' money's his ho,An' to handle an' reckon it up vor his own,Is the best o' the jays he do know.Why, vor money he'd gi'e up his lags an' be leaeme,Or would peaert wi' his zight an' be blind,Or would lose vo'k's good will, vor to have a bad neaeme,Or his peace, an' have trouble o' mind.But wi' ev'ry good thing that his meaenness mid bring,He'd pay vor his money,An' only zell honey to buy zome'hat sweet.
He did whisper to me, "You do know that you stoodBy the Squier, wi' the vote that you had,You could ax en to help ye to zome'hat as good,Or to vind a good pleaece vor your lad.""Aye, aye, but if I wer beholden vor breadTo another," I zaid, "I should bindAll my body an' soul to the nod of his head,An' gi'e up all my freedom o' mind."An' then, if my pain wer a-zet wi' my gain,I should pay vor my money,An' only zell honey to buy zome'hat sweet.
Then, if my bit o' brook that do wind so vur round,Wer but his, why, he'd straighten his bed,An' the wold stunpole woak that do stan' in my ground,Shoudden long sheaede the grass wi' his head.But if I do vind jay where the leaves be a-shookOn the limbs, wi' their sheaedes on the grass,Or below, in the bow o' the withy-bound nook,That the rock-washen water do pass,Then wi' they jays a-vled an' zome goold in their stead,I should pay vor my money,An' only zell honey to buy zome'hat sweet.
No, be my lot good work, wi' the lungs well in play,An' good rest when the body do tire,Vor the mind a good conscience, wi' hope or wi' jay,Vor the body, good lewth, an' good vire,There's noo good o' goold, but to buy what 'ull meaekeVor our happiness here among men;An' who would gi'e happiness up vor the seaekeO' zome money to buy it ageaen?Vor 'twould seem to the eyes ov a man that is wise,Lik' money vor money,Or zellen woone's honey to buy zome'hat sweet.
Words in this poem
- popple v. i.
- To move quickly up and down; to bob up and down, as a cork on rough water; also, to bubble. Cotton. [Cf. Pop.]
- squier n.
- A square. See 1st Squire.
- beholden p. a.
- Obliged; bound in gratitude; indebted. [Old p. p. of behold, used in the primitive sense of the simple verb hold.]
- 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.]
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- withy n.
- The osier willow (Salix viminalis). See Osier, n. (a). [OE. withe, wipi, AS. wi a willow, willow twig; akin to G. weide willow, OHG. wida, Icel. vi, a withy, Sw. vide a willow twig, Dan. vidie a willow, osier, Gr. vi]
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- vire n.
- An arrow, having a rotary motion, formerly used with the crossbow. Cf. Vireton. Gower. [OF. vire, fr. virer to turn. Cf. Veer, Vireton.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Zellen Woone's Honey to Buy Zome'Hat Sweet 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, Zellen Woone's Honey to Buy Zome'Hat Sweet, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/zellen-woone-s-honey-to-buy-zome-hat-sweet.html, id L02243.
Form and metre
Zellen Woone's Honey to Buy Zome'Hat Sweet is 44 lines in 4 stanzas of 11 lines each. 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCDCD--- stwoneA · hoB · ownA · knowB · leaemeC · blindD · neaemeC · mindD · bring · money · sweet
- 2 ABABCDCD--- stoodA · hadB · goodA · ladB · breadC · bindD · headC · mindD · gain · money · sweet
- 3 ABABCDCDB-- roundA · bedB · groundA · headB · shookC · grassD · nookC · passD · steadB · money · sweet
- 4 A-A-B-B---- playA · tire · jayA · vire · meaekeB · men · seaekeB · ageaen · wise · money · sweet
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Why, his heart's lik' a popple, so hard as a stwone, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Vor 'tis money, an' money's his ho, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| An' to handle an' reckon it up vor his own, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| Is the best o' the jays he do know. | 9 | ········· |
| Why, vor money he'd gi'e up his lags an' be leaeme, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| Or would peaert wi' his zight an' be blind, | 9 | ········· |
| Or would lose vo'k's good will, vor to have a bad neaeme, | 12 | ············ |
| Or his peace, an' have trouble o' mind. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| But wi' ev'ry good thing that his meaenness mid bring, | 12 | ············ |
| He'd pay vor his money, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| An' only zell honey to buy zome'hat sweet. | 12 | ·/˘·/˘······ |
| He did whisper to me, "You do know that you stood | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| By the Squier, wi' the vote that you had, | 9 | ··/······ |
| You could ax en to help ye to zome'hat as good, | 13 | ············· |
| Or to vind a good pleaece vor your lad." | 9 | ········· |
| "Aye, aye, but if I wer beholden vor bread | 11 | ······˘/˘·· |
| To another," I zaid, "I should bind | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| All my body an' soul to the nod of his head, | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| An' gi'e up all my freedom o' mind." | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| An' then, if my pain wer a-zet wi' my gain, | 11 | ··········· |
| I should pay vor my money, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' only zell honey to buy zome'hat sweet. | 12 | ·/˘·/˘······ |
| Then, if my bit o' brook that do wind so vur round, | 12 | ············ |
| Wer but his, why, he'd straighten his bed, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| An' the wold stunpole woak that do stan' in my ground, | 13 | ············· |
| Shoudden long sheaede the grass wi' his head. | 9 | ········· |
| But if I do vind jay where the leaves be a-shook | 12 | ············ |
| On the limbs, wi' their sheaedes on the grass, | 9 | ········· |
| Or below, in the bow o' the withy-bound nook, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| That the rock-washen water do pass, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Then wi' they jays a-vled an' zome goold in their stead, | 12 | ············ |
| I should pay vor my money, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' only zell honey to buy zome'hat sweet. | 12 | ·/˘·/˘······ |
| No, be my lot good work, wi' the lungs well in play, | 12 | ············ |
| An' good rest when the body do tire, | 9 | ·····/˘·/ |
| Vor the mind a good conscience, wi' hope or wi' jay, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Vor the body, good lewth, an' good vire, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| There's noo good o' goold, but to buy what 'ull meaeke | 11 | ··········· |
| Vor our happiness here among men; | 8 | ·//˘···· |
| An' who would gi'e happiness up vor the seaeke | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| O' zome money to buy it ageaen? | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Vor 'twould seem to the eyes ov a man that is wise, | 12 | ············ |
| Lik' money vor money, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Or zellen woone's honey to buy zome'hat sweet. | 12 | ····/˘······ |
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