Sic a Wife as Willie Had
Willie Wastle dwalt on Tweed,The spot they ca’d it Linkumdoddie;Willie was a wabster gude,Could stown a clue wi’ ony body:He had a wife was dour and din,O Tinkler Maidgie was her mither;Sic a wife as Willie had,I wad na gie a button for her!
She has an e’e, she has but ane,The cat has twa the very colour;Five rusty teeth, forbye a stump,A clapper tongue wad deave a miller:A whiskin beard about her mou’,Her nose and chin they threaten ither;Sic a wife as Willie had,I wadna gie a button for her!
She’s bow-hough’d, she’s hein-shin’d,Ae limpin leg a hand-breed shorter;She’s twisted right, she’s twisted left,To balance fair in ilka quarter:She has a lump upon her breast,The twin o’ that upon her shouther;Sic a wife as Willie had,I wadna gie a button for her!
Auld baudrons by the ingle sits,An’ wi’ her loof her face a-washin;But Willie’s wife is nae sae trig,She dights her grunzie wi’ a hushion;Her walie nieves like midden-creels,Her face wad fyle the Logan Water;Sic a wife as Willie had,I wadna gie a button for her!
Words in this poem
- tweed n.
- A soft and flexible fabric for men's wear, made wholly of wool except in some inferior kinds, the wool being dyed, usually in two colors, before weaving. [Probably a corruption of twills. See Twill.]
- clue n.
- A ball of thread, yarn, or cord; also, The thread itself. [OE. clewe, clowe, clue, AS. cleowen, cliwen, clywe ball of thread; akin to D. kluwen, OHG. chliwa, chliuwa, G. dim. kleuel, knäuel, and perch. to L. gluma hull,]
- dour a.
- Hard; inflexible; obstinate; sour in aspect; hardy; bold. [Cf. F. dur, L. durus.]
- clapper n.
- A rabbit burrow. [F. clapier.]
- deave v. t.
- To stun or stupefy with noise; to deafen. [See Deafen.]
- whiskin n.
- A shallow drinking bowl. Ray.
- limpin n.
- A limpet. Holland.
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- ingle n.
- Flame; blaze; a fire; a fireplace. Burns. Ingle nock, the chimney corner. [Gael. & Ir. aingeali fire; cf. L. igniculusi spark, dim. of ignis fire. Cf. Ignite.]
- loof n.
- The spongelike fibers of the fruit of a cucurbitaceous plant (Luffa Ægyptiaca); called also vegetable sponge.
- trig v. t.
- To fill; to stuff; to cram. Dr. H. More. [Cf. Dan. trykke to press, Sw. trycka.]
- logan n.
- A rocking or balanced stone. Gwill.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sic a Wife as Willie Had is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, Sic a Wife as Willie Had, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/sic-a-wife-as-willie-had.html, id L03276.
Form and metre
Sic a Wife as Willie Had is 32 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 -A-A---- tweed · linkumdoddieA · gude · bodyA · din · mither · had · her
- 3 -A-A---- shin'd · shorterA · left · quarterA · breast · shouther · had · her
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Willie Wastle dwalt on Tweed, | 7 | /˘····· |
| The spot they ca’d it Linkumdoddie; | 9 | ········· |
| Willie was a wabster gude, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Could stown a clue wi’ ony body: | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| He had a wife was dour and din, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| O Tinkler Maidgie was her mither; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Sic a wife as Willie had, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I wad na gie a button for her! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| She has an e’e, she has but ane, | 8 | ········ |
| The cat has twa the very colour; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Five rusty teeth, forbye a stump, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A clapper tongue wad deave a miller: | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| A whiskin beard about her mou’, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her nose and chin they threaten ither; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Sic a wife as Willie had, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I wadna gie a button for her! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| She’s bow-hough’d, she’s hein-shin’d, | 6 | ······ |
| Ae limpin leg a hand-breed shorter; | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| She’s twisted right, she’s twisted left, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To balance fair in ilka quarter: | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| She has a lump upon her breast, | 8 | ········ |
| The twin o’ that upon her shouther; | 9 | ········· |
| Sic a wife as Willie had, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I wadna gie a button for her! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Auld baudrons by the ingle sits, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An’ wi’ her loof her face a-washin; | 9 | ········· |
| But Willie’s wife is nae sae trig, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She dights her grunzie wi’ a hushion; | 9 | ········· |
| Her walie nieves like midden-creels, | 10 | ···˘/˘·/˘· |
| Her face wad fyle the Logan Water; | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Sic a wife as Willie had, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I wadna gie a button for her! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
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