English literature. Evening sunshine falls on a statue of the poet William Barnes, known for his poetry in the Dorset dialect. Dorchester, England. UK
In front of St Peter’s Church in Dorchester stands a statue in honour of the Dorset poet and Scholar William Barnes. William Barnes (1801-1886), was ordained into the Church of England in 1847. He studied at St Johns College, Cambridge and became a schoolmaster in Dorchester, the county town of Dorset. For most of his life he also served as a curate, and for 24 years a Rector, in country churches around Dorchester. He is mainly remembered for his poetry, he wrote over 800 poems, many of them in, rather esoteric, Dorset dialect. The Geate A-Vallen To There’s moon-sheen now in nights o’ fall When leaves be brown vrom green, When, to the slammen o' the geate, Our Jenny’s ears be keen, When the wold dog do wag his tail, An' Jean could tell to who, As he do come in drough the geate, The geate a-vallen to. Barnes had a strong interest in language; he was fluent in Greek, Latin and several modern European languages. He called for the purification of English by removal of Greek, Latin and foreign influences so that it might be better understood by those without a classical education. For example, the word "photograph" (from Greek light+writing) would become "sun-print" (from Saxon). Other terms include "wortlore" (botany), "welkinfire" (meteor) and "nipperlings" (forceps). Perhaps it is not so surprising that he has remained a relatively obscure writer compared to his friend and younger contemporary, (the other Dorchester poet) Thomas Hardy.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Location: High West Street, Dorchester, Dorset, England, United Kingdom, UK, Great Britain, GB.
Photo credit: © Andrew Wood / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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