Analysis of The Year Clock

William Barnes 1801 (Bagber) – 1886



We zot bezide the leafy wall,
Upon the bench at evenfall,
While aunt led off our minds wrom ceare
Wi' veairy teales, I can't tell where,
An' vound us woone among her stock
O' feables, o' the gert Year-clock.
His feace wer blue's the zummer skies,
An' wide's the zight o'looken eyes,
For hands, a zun wi' glowen feace,
An' pealer moon wi' swifter peace,
Did wheel by stars o' twinklen light,
By bright-wall'd day, an' dark-treed night;
An' down upon the high-sky'd land,
A'reachen wide, on either hand,
Wer hill an' dell, wi' win'-sway'd trees,
An' lights a'zweepen over seas,
An' gleamen cliffs, an' bright-wall'd tow'rs,
Wi' sheades a-marken on the hours;
An' as the feace, a-rollen round,
Brought comely sheapes along the ground,
The Spring did come in winsome steate
Below a glowen rainbow geate;
An' fan wi' air a-blowen weak,
Her glossy heair, an' rwosy cheak,
As she did shed vrom open hand,
The leapen zeed on vurrow'd land;
The while the rook, wi' heasty flight,
A-floaten in the glowen light,
Did bear avore her glossy breast
A stick to build her lofty nest,
An' strong-limbed Tweil, wi' steady hands,
Did guide along the vallow lands
The heavy zull, wi' bright-shear'd beam,
Avore the weary oxen-team.
Wi' Spring a-gone there come behind
Sweet Zummer, jay on ev'ry mind,
Wi' feace a-beamen to beguile
Our weary souls ov ev'ry tweil,
While birds did warble in the dell,
In softest air o' sweetest smell;
An' she, so winsome-feair did vwold
Her comely limbs in green an' goold,
An' wear a rwosy wreath, wi' studs
O' berries green, an' new-born buds,
A-fring'd in colours vier-bright,
Wi' sheapes o'buttervlies in flight.
When Summer went, the next ov all
Did come the sheape o' brown-feac'd Fall,
A-smile in a comely gown
O'green, a-shot wi' yollow-brown,
A-border'd wi' a goolden stripe
O'fringe, a-meade o' corn-ears ripe,
An' up agean her comely zide,
Upon her rounded earm, did ride
A pretty basket, all a-twin'd
O' slender stems wi' leaves an' rind,
A-vill'd wi' fruit the trees did shed,
All ripe, in purple, goold an' red;
An' busy Leabor there did come
A-zingen zongs ov harvest hwome,
An' red-ear'd dogs did briskly run
Roun' cheervul Leisure, wi' his gun,
Or stan' an' mark, wi' stedvast zight,
The speckled pa'tridge rise in flight.
An' next agean to mild-feac'd Fall
Did come peale Winter, last ov all,
A-benden down, in thoughtvul mood,
Her head 'ithin a snow-white hood,
A-deck'd wi' icy-jewels bright,
An' cwold as twinklen stars o' night;
An' there were weary Leabor, slack
O' veet to keep her vrozen track,
A-looken off, wi' wistful eyes,
To reefs o'smoke, that there did rise
A-melten to the peale-feac'd zun,
Above the houses' lofty tun.
An' there the gert Year-clock did goo
By day an' night, vor ever true,
Wi' mighty wheels a-rollen round
'Ithout a beat, 'ithout a sound.


Scheme AABBCCDDDEFFGGHHDIJJFFKCGGFFLLMMNNOOPAQQFRSSFFAATTUUFVOOWWXNYYFFAAZ1 FF2 2 DDTT3 BJJ
Poetic Form Etheree  (30%)
Metre 1110101 010111 111110111 1111111 11110101 1110111 1111011 110111 1101111 11011101 1111111 11111111 11010111 111101 11111111 111101 1111111 110101010 11010101 11010101 01110101 010111 1111011 0101111 11111101 011111 0101111 010011 1110101 01110101 11111101 1101011 01011111 1010101 11011101 111111 1101101 10101111 11110001 01011101 11110111 01010111 1101111 11011111 010111 11101 11010111 11011111 0100101 1101111 0101011 11011111 1110101 01010111 01010101 11011111 01110111 11010111 1101111 0111101 11111101 1110111 1111111 0101101 1111111 11110111 011011 0110111 01110101 1111111 1101011 1111011 0111101 11111111 0110111 01010101 11011111 11111101 11010101 101101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,730
Words 484
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 80
Lines Amount 80
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 2,093
Words per stanza (avg) 482
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

2:34 min read
54

William Barnes

William Barnes, Barne, Barneis or Berners, of Thoby, Essex, was an English politician. more…

All William Barnes poems | William Barnes Books

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