I think the kings were determined to see the birth of the new religion and so endured the suffering of their journey and reached their destination. It also might have been curiosity that led them on to see the birth of the new religion.
The structure of the poem is that it is laid out in three stanzas and there is no rhyming scheme to it. As the poem does not have a set rhythm, it tends to be read slowly and this adds to the feeling of dullness and gloominess.
The poem is written in free verse, as it does not rhyme. I think the poet wrote it in free verse to make the poem sound as if the magus speaks it.
The first stanza is mainly about their hardship during the journey and the problems they encountered. The tone is mainly dismal but there is a section where the imagery of the poem lightens and sounds happier. It is from line nine to line ten. These lines reflect back on the times the magus “regretted”- “summer palaces” “silken girls bringing sherbet” the section before these lines describes the winter weather and this gives us image of snow blizzards and these three kings plodding along in snow. When the magus mentions what he misses, it brings the picture of the poem back to hot days and luxury. Then the poem subtlety moves onto camel men cursing and grumbling. I think the poet purposely wrote the sections like this so it seems like the magus is still thinking about himself on the palace terrace but hearing camel men cursing and grumbling outside in the hostile cities. Then he realises that he is in the place in where nothing seems pleasant.
Or the poet might have written the warm, dreamy atmospheric section sandwiched between the present life of the magus to give the poem contrast. This emphasizes the rapid change of lives for the magus and how hard it is for them to cope.
The second stanza brings more hopeful images to the reader and it is in the second stanza that the magi arrive at their destination.
The previous stanza had a sense of darkness to it to it, as it started with-“A cold coming we had of it” The second stanza begins with the line “At dawn we came down to a temperate valley” The image created with this line seems more hopeful, as it has the word dawn in it. I think the poet chose to use the word “Dawn” to refer to a new day and in effect probably refers to a new beginning of the world because a new religion is born.
Or maybe he chose to use the word because dawn is when the sun rises and the conquering of daylight over darkness. In the bible, this is significant as the light Jesus brings into the world conquers evil within. So the word “dawn” in the line may symbolize the birth of Jesus and the light he brings into the world, which cleanses the world to be free of sin.
In this stanza, a lot religious symbols of how Jesus’ future will affect the world.
“Running stream” Water symbolizes purity and if the magi saw water, it may symbolize purity of the world because Jesus has entered the world.
If the water is going through a windmill that is “beating the darkness”, then it gives impression of water- a sign of purity “beating” or defeating the darkness-sign of evil. I think the poet tried to incorporate this message to the reader through these lines to say that the birth of Jesus also meant a new beginning for the world. I think the poet might have chosen the word “beating” to show the triumph and victory of Christ. Or the poet might have chosen to use the verb “beating” for the other meaning-the physical meaning of beating or hitting the darkness till it is defeated.
In a way, the “water” in the poem is a metaphor because it might mean purity. The watermill is personified, as it does not beat the darkness.
The next two lines gives the reader two important symbols that signify two important events of Christianity.
“Three trees on the low sky.” Even though T.S. Eliot does not say how the three trees are positioned, I think of the crosses of Calvary and Jesus’ crucifixion with two other people “on the low sky”. The low sky gives the image of three silhouetted crosses on a flat horizon against the setting sun. I think the poet used this symbol in relation to Jesus’ death.
Some people may even interpret the three trees as the new family-Mary, Joseph and Jesus. This image that the magi see may be the sign that they are near to the new family.
The next symbol the poet writes about is in the next line-“And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.” I think the symbol hidden in this line is the white horse of the Apocalypse and the ultimate destruction of evil and the triumph of goodness. I think this relates with the death of Jesus and the peace and goodness he left for the world. Other people might emphasise on the adjective “old” and say that it might mean the old dispensation will fade away with Christ’s birth. Other people might say that the “horse” symbolizes the death of paganism under the onslaught of Christianity.
These symbols that have been mentioned so far in the poem has been about Jesus’ life in chronological order. The dawn symbolizes the birth of Jesus, the running stream and watermill symbolizes the purity that He brings to the world, the three trees symbolize his crucifixion and the horse symbolizes the conquering of goodness over evil from the death of Jesus.
The next three lines are the Communion allusions “Tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel” This is a line that holds the allusion of the paschal lamb whose blood was smeared on the lintels of Israel so that the angel of death would pass over the household and the baby boy would not get killed.
“Dicing for pieces of silver,” This suggests that some people are gambling. Some people may think that the gambling has shown that the kings have reached a place where luxuries are present. But I think that this line has another allusion-the betrayal of Judas to Jesus for money. I think this because it follows the religious events that happened to Jesus.
“Feet kicking the empty wine-skins” The verb used “kicking” may relate to the kicking of the cross by the soldiers on which Jesus was crucified on. The wine-skin is probably a metaphor and represents Jesus. The word “empty” may show that he was starved and empty.
The third stanza is about the magus’ opinions about birth and death. It seems that he is very sure about what he is saying-“but set down this set down.” It is as if the magus is writing and recording his views about the world after the witnessing the birth of a new religion.
Although T.S. Eliot uses simple language, his style of writing is very complex. The poem has hidden meanings and symbols to it and he conveys the religious experiences of himself and the events of the bible into the poem. I think this makes his style of writing seem intelligent and baffling for the reader and he or she will spend quite a long time working out what the poet is meaning to say.
I think T.S. Eliot’s subject matter of the poem was to tell the reader that Christmas is not only fun and the birth of Christianity. He explored in depth of how the birth of Christ also meant a birth of a new religion. But it also meant a death for other religions too. I think T.S. Eliot wanted to bring out the true meaning of Christmas and how the birth of a new religion affected other people in the past that people nowadays have forgotten about.
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The second poem I am writing about is the “Ballad of the Bread Man” by Charles Causley. The title tells the reader that it is a ballad. Therefore we know it is a story that is supposed to be sung. Before reading the poem, I can guess that the stanzas are short as it is a ballad.
The title-“Ballad of the Bread Man” implies that the poem is probably about the bread man. I think the poet deliberately chose not to tell the reader the name of the bread man. After reading the poem, we know that “the bread man” is Jesus. I think Charles Causley purposely did not tell you who the bread man was because it is God/Jesus. I think God is too important to be mentioned in the title. Nobody can really write a ballad about God. Therefore, I think the poet used the title-“the bread man” to replace his name.
Charles Causley might have used the title “the bread man” for Jesus for a symbolic reason. Bread is a symbol for life for Christians as it nourishes the body. Bread was a particularly important diet for people in the past. We can link this to Jesus as being like the breadman of his people as he provided the nourishment and goodness to the good, like the breadman today who makes bread to support people’s lives. Christians say that Jesus was ‘the bread of life.’ So that might be the reason why Jesus was given the title-“the bread man” because he provided the nourishment for the good people to stay alive.
The poem is about the nativity story except that it is a modernised version. Charles Causley successfully modernizes the key points of the nativity story by changing the characters to an updated appearance and has wrote about them as if the nativity story had happened recently i.e. in this century. “Shiny gear.” Here, the poet has made angel Gabriel wear shiny clothes and this seems to update the fashion of the characters, as people normally would picture the angel Gabriel wearing a white robe.
The poet has changed the shepherd in the nativity story into a farmer-“delegation turned up from the Farmer’s club.” He has changed the three kings into “a bishop”, “ a five-star general” and “the head of an African country.” The three kings were important people and the poet has changed them into present important people. The “soldiers with rifle and bomb and gun” were probably the men who were sent by king Herod to kill the baby boys. The poet wrote that Jesus was “shot” dead for Jesus’ death on the crucifixion.
I think the poem is also like a protest for Jesus and that nobody cared for the love he brought into the world-“nobody seemed to care.” even though he proved that he proved he was God’s son by coming back alive-“He showed them the holes in his head.” “Now do you want any loaves?” Jesus offers the people his love even when he is dead. The ignorance is shown when they reply “Not today.” I think the poet wanted people reading the poem to know that Jesus’ love was ignored and he was punished greatly for spreading his love-“charged with bringing the living to life.”
Charles Causley does not make the poem serious so that people would disagree with his opinions and be disturbed by his views. He makes it not serious by adding humour to his poem. For instance, he exaggerated the importance of the bishop, general and head of the African country by saying they arrived “in a bullet-proof limousine.” This is funny as you would not expect anyone to come in a bullet-proof limousine and you would see the 'kings' as overprotected.
Another humourous part in the poem is where the poet tells us about what the neighbours think when they see the angel Gabriel. “The old man’s past it” “That girl’s been up to no good.” It is funny here because it shows what other people think nowadays when they see a girl with an “elegant fellow” and would think she is having an affair.
The poem also has a light and regular rhythm with a rhyming scheme, which also adds to the light heartedness and jolly feeling of the poem. As the poem is a ballad the stanzas are short-four lines each. The structure of the poem is long-twenty stanzas but the stanzas are short. I think the poet used this rhyming scheme and the short stanzas to make the reader read the poem at quite a fast pace, which in effect makes the poem have a jolly feeling to it. In each stanza, the rhyming scheme is on the second line and fourth line. In this stanza “bread” and “said” rhyme.
“Mary stood in the kitchen
Baking a loaf of bread.
An angel flew in through the window.
We’ve a job for you he said.
The poet uses simple language and colloquial speech; this makes his poem easy to understand. The poet might have used simple language so that his views are put across easily. Or the poet might have used simple language to make the poem sound not so serious. The simple language also adds to the bouncy feeling of the poem.
Even though the tone of the poem is mainly lighthearted, the poem also has a sad side to it. –“They rigged a trial and shot him dead.” This line sounds straightforward and it is said with a bouncy and light tone even though it means something cruel.
The poet uses a number of techniques in his poem. He uses repetition in the poem-“ nobody seemed very hungry. Nobody seemed to care. Nobody saw the god in Himself.” I think the poet used repetition to emphasise how much Jesus was ignored. I think he wanted to make each individual thing that the people did to ignore him more meaningful. He also uses repetition in other stanzas, this also emphasises on what the people had done-“They lifted...” “They lifted…”
The poet also uses similes. “Stored him as safe as water.” I think the poet used this comparison of water for Jesus to say that He was very precious like water is to life. The poet might have also used the comparison of the properties of water to Jesus stating that he was hard to store or cover up.
“Like a jack-in -the -box” This is a simile stating that Jesus quickly burst out of the rocks like a jack-in the -box would.
The poet also uses metaphors. “Made a hole in the sky.” You cannot make a hole in the sky but the poet used the metaphor to say how big the impact of the explosion was.
The reader will assume the word “bread” in the poem is a noun. –“Here is some bread from my father.” We also assume that his father is Joseph. However, these two words can also be metaphors. The poet used the word “bread” to replace love; the love Jesus delivered to the world. Jesus’ actual father is God. Without the metaphors the line would be-Here is some love from God.
I think the subject matter of this poem is about the ignorance of Jesus’ love for the world and his truth about being God’s son. I think that Charles Causley chose this subject for his poem because he wanted to stress the importance of the birth of Christ and the love he brought into the world. I think he wanted people to realise that he “wore the paper crown on his head” to show he was God’s son but he was considered mad and was hated for it-“ No man was that prisoner’s friend.”
I like the way Charles Causley has used colloquial language but effectively so that the reader will realise the importance and real meaning of Christmas.
The third poem I am going to write about is “Innocent’s Song” by Charles Causley. By looking at the title-“ Innocent’s song.” It suggests that the poem might be about an innocent person telling a story about an unfair event that has happened to them. I think the poet purposely made the title about one “Innocent” to make the poem more personal and direct to the reader, as it only focuses on one case study. The technique is also used on television when people show the famine of third world countries. They concentrate on one particular person who suffers from famine to make the audience more aware of the starvation in children. This makes the information more focused and direct to the audience. Charles Causley has used this technique because it makes the poem more personal. Whereas if he had used the title- Innocents’ Song, the theme would be more general and less direct to the reader. The subject of the poem would have more impact to the reader.
After reading through the poem the first time, we know that the poem is a description of king Herod. However, if we concentrate on some of the descriptions of Herod, we know that they are actually telling the story of what Herod did-killing the innocent baby boys.
The poet has written as the innocent in the poem. The poem is written in the first person. “Why does he ferry my fireside.” I think the poet wrote it in the first person so the reader would feel as if he or she is the Innocent and experience feelings of him or her.
The poem is written using simple and formal language. The whole poem is made up of questions and it is as if the poet is asking the reader to answer these questions. This makes the reader go into deep thought in trying to answer these questions. “Who’s that knocking on the window”?
This poem is very deceiving and has a slight chill to it. When you read the first stanza, you think the person being described is Father Christmas- “Hair as white as gin.” “Presents lying on the floor” “Smiling stranger” These words are usually associated with Father Christmas and Christmas itself.
The poem asks what he is “doing with the children” As we assume that it is Father Christmas who is portrayed as a jolly person and loves children, we assume that he is playing with them.
However, there are some phrases or lines that do not fit in with Father Christmas such as “standing at the doorstep.” Father Christmas is always known for his entrance through the chimney.
In the poem, he has “red rubies” on his fingers when we do not recall Father Christmas wearing any striking jewelry.
All these unrecognizable features of Father Christmas makes the reader feel slightly confused but she or he will put them aside and ‘ignore’ them
However, as the description progresses into the fifth stanza, more things described about ‘Father Christmas’ do not fit in with his description. Also the questions asked in the poem are more bewildering and have a creepy side to it. “Salty snow turn red.” We instantly think of blood. “Yellow, yearning eyes.” This makes us think of something to do with evil and greed. The tone of the poem begins with a jolly side to it but as it progresses there is a darker and fearsome tone to it.
As the poem progresses, the descriptions become even more confusing and mysterious-“fingers made of fuses.” The reader begins to doubt whether the person being described is actually Father Christmas. It is only at the end of the poem when the poet tells us who the mystery person is. “His name is Herod.”
As soon as we read this line our perceptions soon turn into deceptions. The whole opinion of the poem changes and the mysterious descriptions and questions can be answered.
Herod was the king who ruled when Jesus was born. After hearing that a new king was born he sent his men to kill all the baby sons of the area. His history seems to change completely on what the poem is about.
The first image of the line “what is he doing with children” was of playing. But having known that it is Herod, we have an image of him bribing and slaughtering the children.
We now know why the poet used certain words to describe Herod. “Cawed his carols.” The onomatopoeia used –“cawed” reminds people of crows or any big black-coloured bird, which are often associated with evil. I think the poet gave Herod the voice of a crow to show that he was evil and wicked.
We also might know why the “salty snow turned red.” The “salty snow” might represent the tears of the people who had lost their baby and the “red” might represent the bloodshed of the babies.
Charles Causley describes Herod’s personality but they are ‘hidden’ in his description of his appearances. “Yellow, yearning eyes.” The adjective use of “yearning” suggests that he is craving for something, maybe the death of Jesus. The “yellow” colour may imply that he is burning with anger, as fire is yellow.
The whole of the fifth stanza revolves around the colour “yellow.” “Melt a million suns.” Suns are yellow and extremely powerful. To melt a million of them makes Herod seem powerful. The poet may have written this to make Herod seem dominant.
However, yellow is not mentioned when the poet describes his crown. When people think of a yellow crown, we think of almightiness, warmth and spirit. But the poet has described Herod’s crown as a “cold, cold crown.” The adjective “cold” makes you visualize a dull crown but it also suggests his “cold” and cruel personality.
Charles Causley has also used metaphors to give a frightening image of Herod. “Fingers of fuses,” Fuses are associated with sparks and electricity. The poet probably used the metaphor “fuses” to make the reader think of Herod giving the children sparks and shocks of electricity.
The poet also describes Herod’s tongue as “gingerbread”. I think the poet has used this metaphor to describe how Herod talks. Gingerbread is sweet and if Herod’s tongue is described as sweet then we get an impression that he talks sweetly and persuasively to the children to come to him.
The poem is divided into six stanzas each with four lines. Each stanza leads into the next with progressing mysteries. However, the last stanza’s fourth line is separated from the rest of the stanza. I think the poet wrote it like this so that the last, important line is emphasised on its own. Or it maybe the poet wrote it like this so it creates tension when the reader is waiting to find out who the person is.
There is also a rhyming scheme. It is the same as the rhyming scheme for the poem “Ballad of the Breadman” The last words of the second and fourth lines rhyme. The poem has got a set rhythm and the lines starting with a question word cause it. The question word tends to be stressed and there is a short pause after the line before the next line is spoken. I think the poet wanted this rhythm to create tension and thought between the lines on who the described person could be.
I think the poet wrote the poem to make people realise that Christmas; birth of Christ does not always mean celebration. I think Charles Causley wrote the poem to remind people that the birth of Jesus also meant the death of innocent people. The poem might have also been written to make the reader feel perhaps guilty that they did not think of the massacre of baby boys.
I think the poem does make the reader think about the terrible thing that king Herod committed. I think Charles Causley has been successful in making the reader feel stunned or scared after reading the poem. I think he has achieved the chilling sense of the poem by the use of his language, which is very hair-raising.
Before reading these poems, I thought every Christmas poem was about celebration. But I realise that poets also write poems about the events of Christmas that not many people think about. The three poems I have written about all have a religious side to it. The subject matter is taken from the bible.
In all of the poems, there is suffering but they are shown differently. In the “Journey of Magi” the hardship and suffering is mentioned for you-“the camel men cursing and grumbling.” However, the suffering of the Innocent in “Innocent’s Song” is not mentioned but stays hidden in the sentence. “Salty snow turn red.” In “Ballad of the Bread Man” the suffering of Jesus is not pronounced and not mentioned that much but there you can still tell that the hardship of the poem is there. “He came to a very bad end.”
The poets mention suffering at different times. In “Journey of Magi” the suffering of Jesus is shown as hidden symbols and they show the future of Jesus. “Three trees on the low sky.” In “Innocent’s Song” the suffering of the children that were slaughtered was in the past and the suffering of Jesus in the “Ballad of the Bread Man” is shown as if it happened recently. The poem shows the suffering in the present state.
Charles Causley’s poems have a mixture of a powerful rhythm and simple words. While T.S. Eliot’s poem has hardly a sense of rhythm.
The style of the poem stanzas and language in “Journey of the Magi” is very long and the meaning is very hard to understand. The stanzas and language in the “Ballad of the Bread Man” and “Innocent’s Song” are short and simple. This is may be due to the poet’s style of writing. Charles Causley’s style of writing may be clearer and simpler than T.S. Eliot’s style of writing.
