Analysis of A Christmas Carol
Gilbert Keith Chesterton 1874 (Kensington, London) – 1936 (Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire)
The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world's desire.)
The Christ-child stood on Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down
'A Christmas Carol' poem
The shepherds went their hasty way,
And found the lowly stable-shed
Where the Virgin-Mother lay:
And now they checked their eager tread,
For to the Babe, that at her bosom clung,
A Mother's song the Virgin-Mother sung.
They told her how a glorious light,
Streaming from a heavenly throng.
Around them shone, suspending night!
While sweeter than a mother's song,
Blest Angels heralded the Savior's birth,
Glory to God on high! and Peace on Earth.
She listened to the tale divine,
And closer still the Babe she pressed:
And while she cried, the Babe is mine!
The milk rushed faster to her breast:
Joy rose within her, like a summer's morn;
Peace, Peace on Earth! the Prince of Peace is born.
Thou Mother of the Prince of Peace,
Poor, simple, and of low estate!
That strife should vanish, battle cease,
O why should this thy soul elate?
Sweet Music's loudest note, the Poet's story,
Didst thou ne'er love to hear of fame and glory?
And is not War a youthful king,
A stately Hero clad in mail?
Beneath his footsteps laurels spring;
Him Earth's majestic monarchs hail
Their friends, their playmate! and his bold bright eye
Compels the maiden's love-confessing sigh.
Tell this in some more courtly scene,
To maids and youths in robes of state!
I am a woman poor and mean,
And wherefore is my soul elate.
War is a ruffian, all with guilt defiled,
That from the aged father's tears his child!
A murderous fiend, by fiends adored,
He kills the sire and starves the son;
The husband kills, and from her board
Steals all his widow's toil had won;
Plunders God's world of beauty; rends away
All safety from the night, all comfort from the day.
Then wisely is my soul elate,
That strife should vanish, battle cease:
I'm poor and of low estate,
The Mother of the Prince of Peace.
Joy rises in me, like a summer's morn:
Peace, Peace on Earth! The Prince of Peace is born!
Scheme | xaba cdxd xebe fgxg x hihijj akakll mcmcnN opOpff qrqrss tptpax uvuvhh pOponN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 01111101 111101 11010001 11111 01111101 111101 11010101 110111 01111101 1111010 11010101 1101010 01111101 111101 010101111 010111 0101010 01011101 01010101 1010101 01111101 1101110101 0101010101 110101001 10101001 01110101 11010101 1101000101 1011110111 11010101 01010111 01110111 01110101 1101010101 1111011111 11010111 11001101 11110101 11111101 11010101010 11111111010 01110101 01010101 0111101 1101011 111101111 010110101 11011101 11010111 11010101 0111101 11011111 110110111 010011101 110100101 01010101 11110111 111110101 110101110101 11011101 11110101 1101101 01010111 1100110101 1111011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,359 |
Words | 447 |
Sentences | 28 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 1, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 65 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 142 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 2:19 min read
- 1,082 Views
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"A Christmas Carol" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15959/a-christmas-carol>.
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