Who is William Barnes

William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a comprehensive English grammar quoting from more than 70 different languages. A linguistic purist, Barnes strongly advocated against borrowing foreign words into English, and instead supported the use and proliferation of "strong old Anglo-Saxon speech".

Life and work

Barnes was born in the parish of Bagber, Dorset, to John Barnes, a tenant-farmer in the Vale of Blackmore. The younger Barnes's formal education finished when he was 13 years old. Between 1818 and 1823 he worked in Dorchester, the county town, as a solicitor's clerk...
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William Barnes Poems

  • Evenen In The Village
    Now the light o' the west is a-turn'd to gloom,
    An' the men be at hwome vrom ground;
    An' the bells be a-zendén all down the Coombe
    From tower, their mwoansome sound. ...
  • Wife A-lost, The
    Since I noo mwore do zee your fe{"a}ce,
    Up ste{"a}rs or down below,
    I'll zit me in the lwonesome ple{"a}ce,
    Where flat-bough'd beech do grow; ...
  • The White Road Up Athirt The Hill
    WHEN high hot zuns da strik right down,
    An' burn our zweaty fiazen brown,
    An' zunny hangens that be nigh
    Be back'd by hills so blue's the sky; ...
  • The Peasant's Return
    And passing here through evening dew,
    He hastened happy to her door,
    But found the old folk only two
    With no more footsteps on the floor ...
  • Hay-carren
    'Tis merry ov a zummer's day,
    When vo'k be out a-haulèn hay,
    Where boughs, a-spread upon the ground,
    Do meäke the staddle big an' round; ...
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Top 10 most used topics by William Barnes

Light 14 Young 12 White 12 Head 11 Happy 11 High 11 Tree 10 Wife 10 Green 10 Mother 9


William Barnes Quotes

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Comments about William Barnes

Seadailycitizen: the following obituaries will publish wednesday, march 29, 2023. •elma marie barnes •lois june dacus •ruth ann fuller •revenna annette (folkner) jobe •frances jeanette ‘mema’ weir •larry william wilkins full obituaries available now at
Riviashunter: the wind at the door by william barnes as day did darken on the dewless grass, there, still, wi’ nwone a-come by me to stay a-while at hwome by me within the house, all dumb by me, i zot me sad as the eventide did pass. an’ there a win’blast shook the rattlèn door, >
Wjxt4: nothing remained of william barnes’ home in the tiny western mississippi town of silver city after a killer tornado tore it off its foundations.
Wnct9: “we lost everything but got out alive,” william barnes said, holding his young granddaughter in his arms.
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Poem of the day

Edgar Albert Guest Poem
The Killing Place
 by Edgar Albert Guest

We're hiking along at a two-forty pace
We 're making life seem like a man-killing race,
With our nerves all on edge and our jaws firmly set
We go rushing along; with our brows lined with sweat
And our cheeks pale and drawn every minute we dash,
And the goal that we 're after is merely more cash.

We 're out for the money, the greenbacks and gold,
...

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