Analysis of Christmas
Sir Walter Scott 1771 (College Wynd, Edinburgh) – 1832 (Abbotsford, Roxburghshire)
The glowing censers, and their rich perfume;
The splendid vestments, and the sounding choir;
The gentle sigh of soul-subduing piety;
The alms which open-hearted charity
Bestows, with kindly glance; and those
Which e'en stern avarice.
Though with unwilling hand,
Seems forced to tender; an offering sweet
To the bright throne of mercy; mark
This day a festival.
And well our Christian sires of old
Loved when the year its course had roll'd,
And brought blithe Christmas back again,
With all its hospitable train.
Domestic and religious rite
Gave honour to the holy night.
On Christmas eve the bells were rung,
On Christmas-eve the mass was sung;
That only night in all the year
Saw the stoled priest the chalice rear.
The damsel donn'd her Kirtle sheen;
The hall was dress'd with holly green;
Then open'd wide the baron's hall,
To vassal -- tenant -- serf and all:
Power laid his rod of rule aside,
And ceremony doff'd his pride.
All hail'd with uncontroll'd delight,
And general voice, the happy night,
That to the cottage, as the crown,
Brought tidings of salvation down.
Scheme | XXAAXXXXXX BBXXCCDDEEFFGGHHCCII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (27%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 010101101 0101001010 010111010100 0111010100 01110101 1111100 110101 1111011001 10111101 110100 011010111 11011111 01110101 11111001 01000101 1110101 11010101 11010111 11010101 10110101 0101011 01111101 11010101 11010101 101111101 0100111 1110101 010010101 11010101 11010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,052 |
Words | 184 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 20 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 422 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 91 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 71 Views
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"Christmas" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35479/christmas>.
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