A Christmas Carol

Summary


"A Christmas Carol" by Christina Rossetti opens with a child's plaintive question: if the Shepherds had an angel and the Wise Men had a star, what guide is there for a small child trying to find the way home? Moving through the nativity story — the watching shepherds, the angels singing glory, the Wise Men bearing gold, frankincense, and myrrh — the poem arrives at a tender moment of self-examination, as the child wonders what gifts they might offer to God.

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The Shepherds had an Angel,
The Wise Men had a star,
But what have I, a little child,
To guide me home from far,
Where glad stars sing together
And singing angels are?

A young child gazes at a starlit winter sky in A Christmas Carol by Christina Rossetti

Those Shepherds through the lonely night
Sat watching by their sheep,
Until they saw the heavenly host
Who neither tire nor sleep,
All singing “Glory, glory,”
In festival they keep.

The Wise Men left their country
To journey morn by morn,
With gold and frankincense and myrrh,
Because the Lord was born:
God sent a star to guide them
And sent a dream to warn.

My life is like their journey,
Their star is like God’s book;
I must be like those good Wise Men
With heavenward heart and look:
But shall I give no gifts to God?—
What precious gifts they took!

Credits

Christina Georgina Rossetti was a Victorian English poet celebrated for her devotional and lyric verse, and one of the most significant female poets of the 19th century. This carol, with its intimate child's voice questioning amid the grandeur of the nativity, showcases the quietly introspective faith that runs through much of her religious poetry.