A Christmas Carol - title

Daniel Simeni 03/08/13

PRHS Mr. Trant

“A Christmas Carol”

“A Christmas Carol” was written by a woman by the name of Christina Rossetti. She was born in london on December 5, 1830. Her mother wanted her tp be home-schooled because she wanted her daughter to study religious work novels. From the year 1847, she began to experiment with verse forms such as sonnets, hymns, and ballads. She began drawing narratives from the Bible, folk tales, and the lives of the saints. In 1848, she became engaged to a man by the name of James Collinson, but they never married. During the length of her life, it was rumored that she was raped, but during that time, if you were raped, you did not want others to know because your family was shunned and the victim was outcasted, especially if you were impregnated. So the mother went to great lengths to cover it up. After this rumored rape, Christina went into a great depression and later died in the year 1894.

This poem was originally a hymn, or in other words, written as a song. Christina first wrote this poem to reiterate the true meaning of the nativity to the world, in other ways than what we are used to.

This poem reiterates in more or less words, the nativity and the effects of the birth of Jesus Christ on our lives. The first stanza describes the physical circumstances of the Incarnation in Bethlehem. The birth of Christ took place at the coldest time of year “in the bleak mid-winter.” there were times when “snow had fallen, snow on snow” and even in the times of the Romans , ice would be inevitable in those temperatures.

In stanza two, Jesus Christ is described to be of heaven and of earth. But when Christ was soon to be born, no rooms were available, but “a stable place sufficed.”

As it goes more in-depth in stanza three, it tells us about all the angels who came to “worship night and day,” to “fall down before” Him and pay homage to the Savior. Stanza four expresses a little more of what is stated in stanza three where the “angels and archangels throng’d the air.” All the beings that were for God worshipped that the Son of God who was promised to save the world was born.

Mary was not a rich woman and neither is the speaker, so he/she is connecting with Mary in saying they don’t have much, but they can “give my heart” which is all God is asking for.

The tone of this poem stood out to me as solemn, yet cheerful. God promised us a Savior and he delivered with perfect imagery, and alliteration. The speaker states “water like a stone,” which paints a vivid picture of ice forming on the ground. The alliterations used in the poem weren’t outstanding, but when it was stated that “a stable place sufficed, or “snow had fallen, snow on snow.” The alliteration that was present was the repetition of the letter “s”.

The reason I chose this poem was to better understand the nativity scene, than what is commonly repeated and restated. Considering the fact that I attend church, I wanted to better my knowledge of the nativity on a deeper level. This poem, in my opinion, wants to express to the world that life isn’t just about spending money to mean something. It’s about trying your best to give your all, and in return maybe later on in life, good karma, or good deeds will be returned unto you, whether in this life or the next.