In regard to _a_, he shows some inconsistency, sometimes giving a
close and obscure sound, as _hev_ for _have, hendy_ for _handy, ez_ for
_as, thet_ for _that_, and again giving it the broad sound it has in
_father_, as _hânsome_ for _handsome._
The Annotated Edition
In regard to _a_, he shows some inconsistency, sometimes giving a by James Russell Lowell
Read aloud in ~1 minOpen reading mode →
This short passage is an excerpt from James Russell Lowell's commentary on language—probably from the preface to *The Biglow Papers*—where he examines the vowel sounds in New England's rural dialect.
- Themes
- art, home, identity
§01Quick summary
What this poem is about
This short passage is an excerpt from James Russell Lowell's commentary on language—probably from the preface to *The Biglow Papers*—where he examines the vowel sounds in New England's rural dialect. He notes that the speaker he's studying has an inconsistent way of pronouncing the letter *a*, sometimes using a close, clipped sound (as in *hev* for *have*) and at other times a broad, open sound (like *hânsome* for *handsome*). It feels less like poetry and more like a linguist's field notes, which is precisely what Lowell aimed for.
§02Themes
Recurring themes
§03Line by line
Stanza by stanza, with notes
In regard to _a_, he shows some inconsistency, sometimes giving a close and obscure sound...
Editor's note
Lowell begins by highlighting a specific phonetic oddity in his subject's speech. The italicized *a* indicates that he is considering the letter as a linguistic element rather than simply a word. He is engaging in what we now call descriptive phonology—documenting how a real speaker communicates instead of adhering to the rules outlined in a grammar book. The examples he provides—*hev* for *have*, *hendy* for *handy*, *ez* for *as*, *thet* for *that*—illustrate a vowel being reduced or altered toward a short *e* sound. This is a recognizable trait of certain 19th-century New England and rural American dialects, and Lowell approaches it with genuine curiosity instead of mockery.
...and again giving it the broad sound it has in _father_, as _hânsome_ for _handsome._
Editor's note
Here, Lowell shifts focus to the differing pronunciation: the same speaker who shortens *have* to *hev* will stretch the *a* in *handsome* to sound like the *a* in *father*. The circumflex accent over the *â* in *hânsome* represents Lowell's personal notation for that broad, back-of-the-mouth vowel. The inconsistency Lowell points out isn't a flaw in the speaker—it's a genuine characteristic of dialects. Vowel sounds can change based on the surrounding consonants, the word's stress, and local speech patterns. Lowell's perspective is insightful; he views this variation as intriguing rather than just incorrect.
§04Tone & mood
How this poem feels
The tone is observational and scholarly, yet it carries a warmth. Lowell approaches the dialect speaker without any condescension; he shows a genuine curiosity about how everyday people communicate. His meticulous notation radiates a quiet enthusiasm, akin to the passion a birdwatcher displays in their field journal.
§05Symbols & metaphors
Symbols & metaphors
- The letter _a_
- The italicized *a* represents the broader question of linguistic identity — how just one sound can reflect a region, social class, and lifestyle. Lowell uses it as a glimpse into an entire dialect.
- Dialect spellings (*hev*, *ez*, *thet*)
- These respellings aren't meant to mock the speaker. Instead, they reflect Lowell's effort to capture the true sound of a living voice on the page — almost like creating a phonetic portrait.
- The circumflex accent (*hânsome*)
- Lowell's invented diacritic marks the broad *a* sound and reflects his ambition to establish a written system that accurately captures spoken language. This small symbol represents a bigger goal: treating everyday speech with the respect it deserves in literature.
§06Historical context
Historical context
James Russell Lowell published *The Biglow Papers* in two series (1848 and 1867), featuring the fictional Yankee farmer Hosea Biglow as a way to satirize American politics—first focusing on the Mexican-American War and then the Civil War. In the preface to the second series, he included a lengthy essay on New England dialect, which stands as one of the earliest serious attempts to describe American linguistics. Lowell was ahead of his time, working decades before American dialectology became an established field. He relied on his Boston Brahmin background and keen observations of rural Massachusetts speech to create a phonetic notation system from scratch. The passage here represents just a small part of that broader effort, which would later influence scholars and help establish the idea that regional American speech deserved to be studied in its own right rather than just corrected.
§07FAQ
Questions readers ask
It is prose — specifically, a section from Lowell's linguistic preface to *The Biglow Papers*. It lacks meter, rhyme, and stanzas. Some literary anthologies include it due to its historical significance in American literature and its role in Lowell's broader creative work, but it's an excerpt from an essay, not a poem.
*The Biglow Papers* is a satirical two-part work by Lowell, featuring a fictional New England farmer named Hosea Biglow. The first series, published in 1848, criticized the Mexican-American War, while the second series, released in 1867, focused on the Civil War. Throughout the papers, Lowell employed dialect spelling to add authenticity and emphasize that ordinary rural Americans possessed as much political insight as the educated elite.
He isn't spelling them incorrectly — he's spelling them *accurately*, based on how they sound instead of how they're typically written. *Hev* for *have* reflects the actual vowel sound a rural New Englander would use. Lowell aimed for readers to hear the voice in the text, not just read standard English.
Lowell created a unique diacritic system to indicate vowel quality. The circumflex (^) placed over the *a* in *hânsome* represents the broad, open *a* sound — like the one in *father*. He developed this notation since standard English spelling fails to differentiate between the various *a* sounds.
The same speaker produces two distinct sounds for the letter *a* based on the word. In *have*, *as*, *that*, and *handy*, the vowel sounds clipped and leans toward a short *e* sound. However, in *handsome*, the speaker opens the vowel to a wide *ah* sound. Lowell finds this variation genuinely interesting instead of viewing it as a mistake to fix.
Lowell's keen focus on dialect was part of a larger 19th-century effort to recognize American vernacular speech as a legitimate literary form. A few decades later, Mark Twain would follow suit in *Huckleberry Finn*. By valuing dialect as something to study and represent faithfully, Lowell played a key role in legitimizing a rich tradition of American regional writing.
Lowell is talking about his fictional narrator, Hosea Biglow, whose dialect is based on genuine rural New England speech patterns that Lowell observed. Therefore, 'he' represents both a fictional character and a blend of real speakers that Lowell encountered.
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