Analysis of Holy Innocents

Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)



Sleep, little Baby, sleep,
The holy Angels love thee,
And guard thy bed, and keep
A blessed watch above thee.
No spirit can come near
Nor evil beast to harm thee:
Sleep, Sweet, devoid of fear
Where nothing need alarm thee.

The Love which doth not sleep,
The eternal arms around thee:
The shepherd of the sheep
In perfect love has found thee.
Sleep through the holy night,
Christ-kept from snare and sorrow,
Until thou wake to light
And love and warmth to-morrow.


Scheme ABABCBCB ABABDEDE
Poetic Form
Metre 110101 0101011 011101 011011 110111 1101111 110111 1101011 011111 00101011 010101 0011111 110101 1111010 011111 0101110
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 455
Words 85
Sentences 5
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 181
Words per stanza (avg) 42
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

25 sec read
146

Christina Georgina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems. "Goblin Market" and "Remember" remain famous. She wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in the UK: "In the Bleak Midwinter", later set by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, and "Love Came Down at Christmas", set by Harold Darke and by other composers. more…

All Christina Georgina Rossetti poems | Christina Georgina Rossetti Books

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