Analysis of In the Bleak Midwinter
Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, Whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, Whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
Scheme | AABB CCDD EEFF GGHH IIJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 00111010111 11111010101 1110111111 001110101 1011010111101 1001110111111 001110010101 011010101 01111110101 11100111 0111110101 0101010101 1001011101 101101 11101000101 10001101 111111111 11001011101 11001111111 1111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 857 |
Words | 167 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 134 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 50 sec read
- 398 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"In the Bleak Midwinter" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/5835/in-the-bleak-midwinter>.
Discuss this Christina Georgina Rossetti 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