Analysis of The Nativity of Christ
Robert Southwell 1561 (Horsham St Faith) – 1595
Behold the father is his daughter's son,
The bird that built the nest is hatched therein,
The old of years an hour hath not outrun,
Eternal life to live doth now begin,
The Word is dumb, the mirth of heaven doth weep,
Might feeble is, and force doth faintly creep.
O dying souls, behold your living spring;
O dazzled eyes, behold your sun of grace;
Dull ears, attend what word this Word doth bring;
Up, heavy hearts, with joy your joy embrace.
From death, from dark, from deafness, from despairs
This life, this light, this Word, this joy repairs.
Gift better than himself God doth not know;
Gift better than his God no man can see.
This gift doth here the giver given bestow;
Gift to this gift let each receiver be.
God is my gift, himself he freely gave me;
God's gift am I, and none but God shall have me.
Man altered was by sin from man to beast;
Beast's food is hay, hay is all mortal flesh.
Now God is flesh and lies in manger pressed
As hay, the brutest sinner to refresh.
O happy field wherein that fodder grew,
Whose taste doth us from beasts to men renew.
Scheme | ABABCC DEDEFF GHGHHH XIXIJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101011101 0111011101 01111101101 0101111101 01110111011 1101011101 1101011101 1101011111 1101111111 1101111101 1111110101 1111111101 1101011111 1101111111 11110101001 1111110101 11110111011 11110111111 1101111111 1111111101 1111010101 110110101 1101011101 1111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,050 |
Words | 204 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 206 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 51 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 18, 2023
- 1:02 min read
- 183 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Nativity of Christ" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31929/the-nativity-of-christ>.
Discuss this Robert Southwell poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In