Zunsheen in the Winter
The winter clouds, that long did hideThe zun, be all a-blown azide,An' in the light, noo longer dim,Do sheen the ivy that do clim'The tower's zide an' elem's stim;An' holmen bushes, in betweenThe leafless thorns, be bright an' greenTo zunsheen o' the winter.
The trees, that yesterday did twistIn wind's a-dreven rain an' mist,Do now drow sheaedes out, long an' still;But roaren watervals do villTheir whirlen pools below the hill,Where, wi' her pail upon the stile,A-gwain a-milken Jeaene do smileTo zunsheen o' the winter.
The birds do sheaeke, wi' playsome skips,The rain-drops off the bushes' tips,A-chirripen wi' merry sound;While over all the grassy groundThe wind's a-whirlen round an' roundSo softly, that the day do seemMwore lik' a zummer in a dream,Than zunsheen in the winter.
The wold vo'k now do meet abrode,An' tell o' winter's they've a-know'd;When snow wer long above the groun',Or floods broke all the bridges down,Or wind unheal'd a half the town,--The teaeles o' wold times long a-gone,But ever dear to think upon,The zunsheen o' their winter.
Vor now to them noo brook can run,Noo hill can feaece the winter zun,Noo leaves can vall, noo flow'rs can feaede,Noo snow can hide the grasses bleaede,Noo vrost can whiten in the sheaede,Noo day can come, but what do bringTo mind ageaen their early spring,That's now a-turn'd to winter.
Words in this poem
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- vill n.
- A small collection of houses; a village. [OF. ville, vile, a village, F. ville a town, city. See Villa.]
- stile n.
- A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon. [See Style.]
- milken a.
- Consisting of milk.
- playsome a.
- Playful; wanton; sportive. R. Browning.
- 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.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Zunsheen in the Winter 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, Zunsheen in the Winter, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/zunsheen-in-the-winter.html, id L02100.
Form and metre
Zunsheen in the Winter is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 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 AABB-CC- hideA · azideA · dimB · climB · stim · betweenC · greenC · winter
- 2 AABBBCC- twistA · mistA · stillB · villB · hillB · stileC · smileC · winter
- 3 AABBBCC- skipsA · tipsA · soundB · groundB · roundB · seemC · dreamC · winter
- 4 AA-BB--- abrodeA · know'dA · groun · downB · townB · gone · upon · winter
- 5 --AAABB- run · zun · feaedeA · bleaedeA · sheaedeA · bringB · springB · winter
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The winter clouds, that long did hide | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The zun, be all a-blown azide, | 8 | ········ |
| An' in the light, noo longer dim, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Do sheen the ivy that do clim' | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The tower's zide an' elem's stim; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' holmen bushes, in between | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The leafless thorns, be bright an' green | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To zunsheen o' the winter. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The trees, that yesterday did twist | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In wind's a-dreven rain an' mist, | 8 | ········ |
| Do now drow sheaedes out, long an' still; | 8 | ········ |
| But roaren watervals do vill | 8 | ········ |
| Their whirlen pools below the hill, | 8 | ········ |
| Where, wi' her pail upon the stile, | 8 | ········ |
| A-gwain a-milken Jeaene do smile | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To zunsheen o' the winter. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The birds do sheaeke, wi' playsome skips, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The rain-drops off the bushes' tips, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A-chirripen wi' merry sound; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While over all the grassy ground | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The wind's a-whirlen round an' round | 8 | ········ |
| So softly, that the day do seem | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Mwore lik' a zummer in a dream, | 8 | ········ |
| Than zunsheen in the winter. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The wold vo'k now do meet abrode, | 8 | ········ |
| An' tell o' winter's they've a-know'd; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| When snow wer long above the groun', | 8 | ········ |
| Or floods broke all the bridges down, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or wind unheal'd a half the town,-- | 8 | ········ |
| The teaeles o' wold times long a-gone, | 8 | ········ |
| But ever dear to think upon, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The zunsheen o' their winter. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Vor now to them noo brook can run, | 8 | ········ |
| Noo hill can feaece the winter zun, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Noo leaves can vall, noo flow'rs can feaede, | 8 | ········ |
| Noo snow can hide the grasses bleaede, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Noo vrost can whiten in the sheaede, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Noo day can come, but what do bring | 8 | ········ |
| To mind ageaen their early spring, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That's now a-turn'd to winter. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
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.