Welsh Proverbs
Marchwiail bedw briglas, Virgulta betulae viridisA dyn fy nhroed o wanas; Meum pedem e compede solvent;Nac addef dy rin i was. Secretum tuum juveni nereveles.Marchwiail derw mewn llwyn, Virgulta quercus de lucoA dyn fy nhroed o gadwyn: Solvent pedem meum e catena:Nac addef dy rin i forwyn. Ne reveles secretum tuumvirgini.Marchwiail derw deiliar, Virgulta quercus frondosaeA dyn fy nhroed o garchar: Pedem meum e carcereNac addef dy rin i lafar. liberabunt:Ne reveles secretum tuumhomini loquaci.
Bid gogor gan iar,Bid gan lew drydar,Bid oval ar a'i car;Bid ton calon gan alar.
Gwyddyl, a Brython, a Romani,A wna hon dyhedd, a dyfysci;Ac am derfyn Prydein, cain ei threfi.
Llewyrch ebyr myr, morfeydd dylan;Pan lewych huan ar fann fynydd.
Words in this poem
- tuum n.
- Lit., thine; that which is thine; -- used in meum and tuum. See 2d Meum.
- catena n.
- A chain or series of things connected with each other. [L., a chain.]
- alar a.
- Pertaining to, or having, wings. [L. alarius, fr. ala wing: cf. F. alaire.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Welsh Proverbs is in the public domain. This text is taken from Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards, Project Gutenberg ebook #32767; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Evan Evans, Welsh Proverbs, in Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards (1764), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32767, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/evans-welsh/welsh-proverbs.html, id L11888.
Form and metre
Welsh Proverbs is 22 lines in 4 stanzas. 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 ------A----A- viridis · solvent · ne · reveles · luco · catena · tuumA · virgini · frondosae · carcere · liberabunt · tuumA · loquaci
- 2 -AAA iar · drydarA · carA · alarA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Marchwiail bedw briglas, Virgulta betulae viridis | 13 | ··········/˘˘ |
| A dyn fy nhroed o wanas; Meum pedem e compede solvent; | 16 | ·······/˘·····/˘ |
| Nac addef dy rin i was. Secretum tuum juveni ne | 16 | ··········/˘···· |
| reveles. | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| Marchwiail derw mewn llwyn, Virgulta quercus de luco | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| A dyn fy nhroed o gadwyn: Solvent pedem meum e catena: | 17 | ·······/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Nac addef dy rin i forwyn. Ne reveles secretum tuum | 17 | ·········˘/˘···/˘ |
| virgini. | 3 | ··· |
| Marchwiail derw deiliar, Virgulta quercus frondosae | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| A dyn fy nhroed o garchar: Pedem meum e carcere | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| Nac addef dy rin i lafar. liberabunt: | 12 | ············ |
| Ne reveles secretum tuum | 9 | ·˘/˘···/˘ |
| homini loquaci. | 6 | ······ |
| Bid gogor gan iar, | 5 | ····· |
| Bid gan lew drydar, | 5 | ····· |
| Bid oval ar a'i car; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Bid ton calon gan alar. | 7 | ·····/· |
| Gwyddyl, a Brython, a Romani, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| A wna hon dyhedd, a dyfysci; | 9 | ········· |
| Ac am derfyn Prydein, cain ei threfi. | 11 | //········· |
| Llewyrch ebyr myr, morfeydd dylan; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Pan lewych huan ar fann fynydd. | 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.