Win' That 'Blaws
Win' that blaws the simmer plaidOwer the hie hill's shoothers laid,Green wi' gerse, an' reid wi' heather--Welcome wi' yer sowl-like weather!Mony a win' there has been sentOot aneth the firmament--Ilka ane its story has;Ilka ane began an' was;Ilka ane fell quaiet an' muteWhan its angel wark was oot:First gaed are oot throu the mirkWhan the maker gan to work;Ower it gaed an' ower the sea,An' the warl begud to be.Mony are has come an' ganeSin' the time there was but ane:Ane was grit an' strong, an' rentRocks an' muntains as it wentAfore the Lord, his trumpeter,Waukin up the prophet's ear;Ane was like a stepping sounI' the mulberry taps abune--Them the Lord's ain steps did swing,Walkin on afore his king;Ane lay dune like scoldit pupAt his feet, an' gatna up--Whan the word the Maister spakDrave the wull-cat billows back;Ane gaed frae his lips, an' dangTo the yird the sodger thrang;Ane comes frae his hert to mineIlka day to mak it fine.Breath o' God, eh! come an' blawFrae my hert ilk fog awa;Wauk me up an' mak me strang,Fill my hert wi' mony a sang,Frae my lips again to stertFillin sails o' mony a hert,Blawin them ower seas dividinTo the only place to bide in.
Words in this poem
- simmer v. i.
- To boil gently, or with a gentle hissing; to begin to boil. [Prov. E. also simper; -- an onomatopoetic word.]
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- wark n.
- Work; a building. [See Work.]
- mirk a.
- Dark; gloomy; murky. Spenser. Mrs. Browning. [See Murky.]
- gane v. i.
- To yawn; to gape. [See Yawn.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
- trumpeter n.
- One who sounds a trumpet.
- dune n.
- A low hill of drifting sand usually formed on the coats, but often carried far inland by the prevailing winds. [The same word as down: cf. D. duin. See Down a bank of sand.]
- maister n.
- Master. Chaucer.
- drave
- , old imp. of Drive.
- sodger n.
- Var. of Soldier. [Dial. or Slang]
- strang a.
- Strong. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell. [See Strong.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Win' That 'Blaws is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, Win' That 'Blaws, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/win-that-blaws.html, id L22557.
Form and metre
Win' That 'Blaws is 40 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 70% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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--CCDDEEFFGG----HHIIJJKKLL--MMNN-- plaid · laid · heatherA · weatherA · sentB · firmamentB · has · was · muteC · ootC · mirkD · workD · seaE · beE · ganeF · aneF · rentG · wentG · trumpeter · ear · soun · abune · swingH · kingH · pupI · upI · spakJ · backJ · dangK · thrangK · mineL · fineL · blaw · awa · strangM · sangM · stertN · hertN · dividin · in
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Win' that blaws the simmer plaid | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ower the hie hill's shoothers laid, | 8 | ········ |
| Green wi' gerse, an' reid wi' heather-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Welcome wi' yer sowl-like weather! | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Mony a win' there has been sent | 8 | /˘······ |
| Oot aneth the firmament-- | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Ilka ane its story has; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Ilka ane began an' was; | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Ilka ane fell quaiet an' mute | 7 | /˘····· |
| Whan its angel wark was oot: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| First gaed are oot throu the mirk | 7 | ······· |
| Whan the maker gan to work; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Ower it gaed an' ower the sea, | 9 | ········· |
| An' the warl begud to be. | 7 | ······· |
| Mony are has come an' gane | 7 | /˘····· |
| Sin' the time there was but ane: | 7 | ······· |
| Ane was grit an' strong, an' rent | 7 | ······· |
| Rocks an' muntains as it went | 7 | ······· |
| Afore the Lord, his trumpeter, | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| Waukin up the prophet's ear; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ane was like a stepping soun | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I' the mulberry taps abune-- | 8 | ··/·˘··· |
| Them the Lord's ain steps did swing, | 7 | ······· |
| Walkin on afore his king; | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Ane lay dune like scoldit pup | 7 | ······· |
| At his feet, an' gatna up-- | 7 | ······· |
| Whan the word the Maister spak | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Drave the wull-cat billows back; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ane gaed frae his lips, an' dang | 7 | ······· |
| To the yird the sodger thrang; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ane comes frae his hert to mine | 7 | ······· |
| Ilka day to mak it fine. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Breath o' God, eh! come an' blaw | 7 | ······· |
| Frae my hert ilk fog awa; | 7 | ······· |
| Wauk me up an' mak me strang, | 7 | ······· |
| Fill my hert wi' mony a sang, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Frae my lips again to stert | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Fillin sails o' mony a hert, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Blawin them ower seas dividin | 9 | ········· |
| To the only place to bide in. | 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.