Analysis of Christmas Day

Christina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)



A baby is a harmless thing
     And wins our hearts with one accord,
And Flower of Babies was their King,
     Jesus Christ our Lord:
Lily of lilies He
Upon His Mother’s knee;
Rose of roses, soon to be
Crowned with thorns on leafless tree.

A lamb is innocent and mild
     And merry on the soft green sod;
And Jesus Christ, the Undefiled,
     Is the Lamb of God:
Only spotless He
Upon His Mother’s knee;
White and ruddy, soon to be
Sacrificed for you and me.

Nay, lamb is not so sweet a word,
     Nor lily half so pure a name;
Another name our hearts hath stirred,
     Kindling them to flame:
“Jesus” certainly
Is music and melody:
Heart with heart in harmony
Carol we and worship we.


Scheme ababcCcc xdbdcCcc efefcccc
Poetic Form
Metre 01010101 011011101 010110111 101101 101101 011101 1110111 1111101 01110001 01010111 010101 10111 10101 011101 1010111 101101 11111101 11011101 010110111 10111 10100 1100100 1110100 1010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 672
Words 126
Sentences 3
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 169
Words per stanza (avg) 42
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Submitted by halel on July 15, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
20

Christina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems. more…

All Christina Rossetti poems | Christina Rossetti Books

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