Zunday
In zummer, when the sheaedes do creepBelow the Zunday steeple, roundThe mossy stwones, that love cut deepWi' neaemes that tongues noo mwore do sound,The leaene do lose the stalken team,An' dry-rimm'd waggon-wheels be still,An' hills do roll their down-shot streamBelow the resten wheel at mill.O holy day, when tweil do ceaese,Sweet day o' rest an' greaece an' peaece!
The eegrass, vor a while unwrungBy hoof or shoe, 's a sheenen bright,An' clover flowers be a-sprungOn new-mow'd knaps in beds o' white,An' sweet wild rwoses, up amongThe hedge-row boughs, do yield their smells.To aier that do bear alongThe loud-rung peals o' Zunday bells,Upon the day o' days the best,The day o' greaece an' peaece an' rest.
By brightshod veet, in peaeir an' peaeir,Wi' comely steps the road's a-tookTo church, an' work-free han's do beaerWoone's walken stick or sister's book;An' there the bloomen niece do comeTo zee her aunt, in all her best;Or married daughter do bring hwomeHer vu'st sweet child upon her breast,As she do seek the holy pleaece,The day o' rest an' peaece an' greaece.
Words in this poem
- rung n.
- A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
- niece n.
- A relative, in general; especially, a descendant, whether male or female; a granddaughter or a grandson. B. Jonson. Wyclif. [OE. nece, F. nièce, LL. neptia, for L. neptis a granddaughter, niece, akin to nepos. See Nephew.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Zunday 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, Zunday, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/zunday.html, id L02283.
Form and metre
Zunday is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. 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 8.0 syllables. 40% 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 creepA · roundB · deepA · soundB · teamC · stillD · streamC · millD · ceaeseE · peaeceE
- 2 ABABAC-CDD unwrungA · brightB · sprungA · whiteB · amongA · smellsC · along · bellsC · bestD · restD
- 3 -A-A-B-BCC peaeir · tookA · beaer · bookA · come · bestB · hwome · breastB · pleaeceC · greaeceC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In zummer, when the sheaedes do creep | 8 | ········ |
| Below the Zunday steeple, round | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The mossy stwones, that love cut deep | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wi' neaemes that tongues noo mwore do sound, | 8 | ········ |
| The leaene do lose the stalken team, | 8 | ········ |
| An' dry-rimm'd waggon-wheels be still, | 8 | ········ |
| An' hills do roll their down-shot stream | 8 | ········ |
| Below the resten wheel at mill. | 8 | ········ |
| O holy day, when tweil do ceaese, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Sweet day o' rest an' greaece an' peaece! | 8 | ········ |
| The eegrass, vor a while unwrung | 8 | ········ |
| By hoof or shoe, 's a sheenen bright, | 9 | ········· |
| An' clover flowers be a-sprung | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| On new-mow'd knaps in beds o' white, | 8 | ········ |
| An' sweet wild rwoses, up among | 8 | ········ |
| The hedge-row boughs, do yield their smells. | 8 | ········ |
| To aier that do bear along | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The loud-rung peals o' Zunday bells, | 8 | ········ |
| Upon the day o' days the best, | 8 | ········ |
| The day o' greaece an' peaece an' rest. | 8 | ········ |
| By brightshod veet, in peaeir an' peaeir, | 8 | ········ |
| Wi' comely steps the road's a-took | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To church, an' work-free han's do beaer | 8 | ········ |
| Woone's walken stick or sister's book; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| An' there the bloomen niece do come | 8 | ········ |
| To zee her aunt, in all her best; | 8 | ········ |
| Or married daughter do bring hwome | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Her vu'st sweet child upon her breast, | 8 | ········ |
| As she do seek the holy pleaece, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The day o' rest an' peaece an' greaece. | 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.