Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Key to phonetic symbols
- Alternative pronunciations
- Table of common alternatives
- Introduction
- Third-Collection Poems with phonemic transcripts
- Woone smile mwore
- The echo
- Vull a man
- Naïghbour plaÿmeätes
- The lark
- The two churches
- Woak Hill
- The hedger
- In the Spring
- The flood in Spring
- Comèn hwome
- Grammer a-crippled
- The castle ruins
- Eclogue: John, Jealous at Shroton Feäir
- Early plaÿmeäte
- Pickèn o‘ scroff
- Good night
- Went hwome
- The hollow woak
- Childern‘s childern
- The rwose in the dark
- Come
- Zummer winds
- The neäme letters
- The new house a-gettèn wold
- Zunday
- The pillar‘d geäte
- Zummer stream
- Linda Deäne
- Eclogue: Come and zee us in the zummer
- Lindenore
- Me‘th below the tree
- Treat well your wife
- The child an‘ the mowers
- The love child
- Hawthorn Down
- Oben vields
- What John wer a-tellèn his mis‘ess out in the corn ground
- Sheädes
- Times o‘ year
- Eclogue: Racketèn Joe
- Zummer an‘ winter
- To me
- Two an‘ two
- The lew o‘ the rick
- The wind in woone‘s feäce
- Tokens
- Tweil
- Fancy
- The broken heart
- Evenèn light
- Vields by watervalls
- The wheel routs
- Nanny‘s new abode
- Leaves a-vallèn
- Lizzie
- Blessèns a-left
- Fall time
- Fall
- The zilver-weed
- The widow‘s house
- The child‘s greäve
- Went vrom hwome
- The fancy feäir at Maïden Newton
- Things do come round
- Zummer thoughts in winter time
- I‘m out o‘ door
- Grief an‘ gladness
- Slidèn
- Lwonesomeness
- A snowy night
- The year-clock
- Not goo hwome to-night
- The humstrum
- Shaftesbury Feäir
- The beäten path
- Ruth a-ridèn
- Beauty undecked
- My love is good
- Heedless o‘ my love
- The Do‘set militia
- A Do‘set sale
- Don‘t ceäre
- Changes [I]
- Kindness
- Withstanders
- Daniel Dwithen, the wise chap
- Turnèn things off
- The giants in treädes
- The little worold
- Bad news
- The turnstile
- The better vor zeèn o‘ you
- Pity
- John Bloom in Lon‘on
- A lot o‘ maïdens a-runnèn the vields
- Textual Notes
- Appendix: A summary of sections 7 and 8 of WBPG
- List of Contributors
The better vor zeèn o‘ you
from Third-Collection Poems with phonemic transcripts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 March 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Key to phonetic symbols
- Alternative pronunciations
- Table of common alternatives
- Introduction
- Third-Collection Poems with phonemic transcripts
- Woone smile mwore
- The echo
- Vull a man
- Naïghbour plaÿmeätes
- The lark
- The two churches
- Woak Hill
- The hedger
- In the Spring
- The flood in Spring
- Comèn hwome
- Grammer a-crippled
- The castle ruins
- Eclogue: John, Jealous at Shroton Feäir
- Early plaÿmeäte
- Pickèn o‘ scroff
- Good night
- Went hwome
- The hollow woak
- Childern‘s childern
- The rwose in the dark
- Come
- Zummer winds
- The neäme letters
- The new house a-gettèn wold
- Zunday
- The pillar‘d geäte
- Zummer stream
- Linda Deäne
- Eclogue: Come and zee us in the zummer
- Lindenore
- Me‘th below the tree
- Treat well your wife
- The child an‘ the mowers
- The love child
- Hawthorn Down
- Oben vields
- What John wer a-tellèn his mis‘ess out in the corn ground
- Sheädes
- Times o‘ year
- Eclogue: Racketèn Joe
- Zummer an‘ winter
- To me
- Two an‘ two
- The lew o‘ the rick
- The wind in woone‘s feäce
- Tokens
- Tweil
- Fancy
- The broken heart
- Evenèn light
- Vields by watervalls
- The wheel routs
- Nanny‘s new abode
- Leaves a-vallèn
- Lizzie
- Blessèns a-left
- Fall time
- Fall
- The zilver-weed
- The widow‘s house
- The child‘s greäve
- Went vrom hwome
- The fancy feäir at Maïden Newton
- Things do come round
- Zummer thoughts in winter time
- I‘m out o‘ door
- Grief an‘ gladness
- Slidèn
- Lwonesomeness
- A snowy night
- The year-clock
- Not goo hwome to-night
- The humstrum
- Shaftesbury Feäir
- The beäten path
- Ruth a-ridèn
- Beauty undecked
- My love is good
- Heedless o‘ my love
- The Do‘set militia
- A Do‘set sale
- Don‘t ceäre
- Changes [I]
- Kindness
- Withstanders
- Daniel Dwithen, the wise chap
- Turnèn things off
- The giants in treädes
- The little worold
- Bad news
- The turnstile
- The better vor zeèn o‘ you
- Pity
- John Bloom in Lon‘on
- A lot o‘ maïdens a-runnèn the vields
- Textual Notes
- Appendix: A summary of sections 7 and 8 of WBPG
- List of Contributors
Summary
'TWER good what Meäster Collins spoke
O’ spite to two poor spitevul vo'k, folk
When woone twold tother o’ the two one
“ I be never the better vor zeèn o’ you.”
If soul to soul, as Christians should,
Would always try to do zome good,
“How vew,” he cried, “would zee our feäce
A-brighten'd up wi’ smiles o’ greäce,
An’ tell us, or could tell us true,
I be never the better vor zeèn o’ you.”
A man mus’ be in evil ceäse case (plight)
To live 'ithin a land o’ greäce,
Wi’ nothèn that a soul can read
O’ goodness in his word or deed;
To still a breast a-heav'd wi’ sighs,
Or dry the tears o’ weepèn eyes;
To staÿ a vist that spite ha’ wrung, fist, clenched
Or cool the het ov anger's tongue: heat
Or bless, or help, or gi'e, or lend; give
Or to the friendless stand a friend,
An’ zoo that all could tell en true, so, him
“ I be never the better vor zeèn o’ you.”
Oh! no, mid all o's try to spend may
Our passèn time to zome good end,
An’ zoo vrom day to day teäke heed,
By mind, an’ han’, by word or deed;
To lessen evil, and increase
The growth o’ righteousness an’ peäce,
A-speakèn words o’ lovèn-kindness,
Openèn the eyes o’ blindness;
Helpèn helpless strivers’ weakness,
Cheerèn hopeless grievers’ meekness,
Meäken friends at every meetèn,
Veel the happier vor their greetèn;
Zoo that vew could tell us true, so
“I be never the better vor zeèn o’ you.”
No, let us even try to win
Zome little good vrom sons o’ sin,
An’ let their evils warn us back
Vrom teäkèn on their hopeless track,
Where we mid zee so clear's the zun may
That harm a-done is harm a-won,
An’ we mid cry an’ tell em true,
“I be even the better vor zeèn o’ you.”
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Sound of William Barnes's Dialect Poems , pp. 348 - 351Publisher: The University of Adelaide PressPrint publication year: 2017