Analysis of Marra To Bonney

Frederic William Moorman 1872 ( Portishead, ) – 1919 ( Bathwick Hill, Bath,)



What would you do wi' a doughter--
Pray wi' her, bensil(1) her, flout her?--
Say, what would you do wi' a daughter
That's marra to Bonney(2) hissen?

I prayed wi' her first, of a Sunday,
When chapil was lowsin' for t' neet;
An' I laid all her cockaloft marlocks(3)
'Fore th' Almighty's mercy-seat.
When I looked for her tears o' repentance,
I jaloused(4) that I saw her laugh;
An' she said that t' Powers o' Justice
Would scatter my words like chaff.

Then I bensilled her hard in her cham'er,
As I bensils owd Neddy i' t' cart.
If prayers willent teach thee, my dolly,
Happen whip-stock will mak thy tears start.
But she stood there as chuff as a mawmet,(5)
Not one chunt'rin(6) word did she say:
But she hoped that t' blooid o' t' martyrs
Would waish all my sins away.

Then I thought, mebbe floutin' will mend her;
So I watched while she cam out o' t' mill,
And afore all yon Wyke lads an' lasses
I fleered at her reight up our hill.
She winced when she heeard all their girnin',
Then she whispered, a sob i' her throat:
"I reckon I'll noan think o' weddin'
While women are given their vote."

What would you do wi' a doughter--
Pray wi' her, bensil her, flout her?--
Say, what would you do wi' a daughter
That's marra to Bonney hissen?


Scheme AaAb cdedefef agxgccec ahehbibi AaAb
Poetic Form
Metre 1111101 1101010 111111010 1101101 11101101 1111111 1111011 1111101 1111011010 1111101 1111110110 1101111 111010010 11111111 11111110 101111111 111111101 1111111 1111111110 1111101 11111110 1111111111 01111111 111011101 11111111 111001101 11011111 11011011 1111101 1101010 111111010 1101101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,216
Words 241
Sentences 11
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 8, 8, 8, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 182
Words per stanza (avg) 47
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:13 min read
6

Frederic William Moorman

Frederic Edward Weatherly, KC was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He was christened and brought up using the name Frederick Edward Weatherly, and appears to have adopted the spelling 'Frederic' later in life. more…

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