Analysis of A Christmas Carol

George MacDonald 1824 (Huntly) – 1905 (Ashtead)



Babe Jesus lay in Mary's lap,
The sun shone in his hair;
And this was how she saw, mayhap,
The crown already there.

For she sang: "Sleep on, my little king;
Bad Herod dares not come;
Before thee sleeping, holy thing,
The wild winds would be dumb."

"I kiss thy hands, I kiss thy feet,
My child, so long desired;
Thy hands will never be soiled, my sweet;
Thy feet will never be tired."

"For thou art the king of men, my son;
Thy crown I see it plain!
And men shall worship thee, every one,
And cry, Glory! Amen!"

Babe Jesus he opened his eyes wide--
At Mary looked her lord.
Mother Mary stinted her song and sighed;
Babe Jesus said never a word.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GXGX HXHF
Poetic Form Quatrain  (60%)
Etheree  (25%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11010101 011011 0111111 010101 111111101 110111 01110101 011111 11111111 1111010 111101111 11110110 111011111 111111 0111011001 011001 110110111 110101 101010101 11011001
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 636
Words 132
Sentences 8
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 96
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
12

George MacDonald

George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister. more…

All George MacDonald poems | George MacDonald Books

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