Lyric Poem · Peace
A Christmas Carol
by G. K. Chesterton · 1900
1The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
2His hair was like a light.
3(O weary, weary were the world,
4But here is all aright.)
5The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast,
6His hair was like a star.
7(O stern and cunning are the kings,
8But here the true hearts are.)
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“A Christmas Carol” by G. K. Chesterton — quilloak.com/poems/a-christmas-carol-chesterton
Quick facts
- Poem
- A Christmas Carol
- Poet
- G. K. Chesterton
- Published
- 1900
- Length
- 16 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Rhyming Poems
- Themes
- Peace, Hope
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 16 lines · 4 quatrains
- End rhyme
- ABCB in 75% of the stanzas — ballad rhyme — only lines 2 and 4 chime. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
- Line length
- Consistent with common metre. Alternating eight- and six-syllable lines — the hymn stanza (8.6.8.6), the most-used quatrain in English verse.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
First published before 1929 and checked line by line against the cited copy. Full-text display is based on a United States term-expiry review; status can differ elsewhere.
- Author record
- G. K. Chesterton1874–1936
- Source record
- Project Gutenberg eBook #12037, The Wild Knight and Other PoemsA Christmas Carol; The Wild Knight and Other Poems (London: Grant Richards, 1900)
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-11-04
- Publication record
- The Wild Knight and Other Poems (London: Grant Richards, 1900)
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 508c4f09e17f39f2…
- Editorial handling
- Curly apostrophes printed as straight ones. No other change; the full stop at the end of line 15 is as printed.