Lyric Poem · Peace
A Hymn on the Nativity of My Saviour
by Ben Jonson · 1640
1I sing the birth was born to-night
2The author both of life and light;
3The angels so did sound it.
4And like the ravished shepherds said,
5Who saw the light, and were afraid,
6Yet searched, and true they found it.
7The Son of God, th' eternal king,
8That did us all salvation bring,
9And freed the soul from danger;
10He whom the whole world could not take,
11The Word, which heaven and earth did make,
12Was now laid in a manger.
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“A Hymn on the Nativity of My Saviour” by Ben Jonson — quilloak.com/poems/a-hymn-on-the-nativity-of-my-saviour
Quick facts
- Poem
- A Hymn on the Nativity of My Saviour
- Poet
- Ben Jonson
- Published
- 1640
- Length
- 24 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Rhyming Poems
- Themes
- Peace
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
- 24 lines · 4 sestets
- Line length
- Lines run 7-9 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
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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
- Ben Jonson1572–1637
- Source record
- Project Gutenberg eBook #18908, Christmas, ed. Robert Haven Schauffler (1907)A Hymn on the Nativity of My Saviour; Printed after Jonson's death among the Underwoods in the second volume of his Works (1640). This text is as printed in Robert Haven Schauffler, ed., Christmas (1907)
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-11-04
- Publication record
- Printed after Jonson's death among the Underwoods in the second volume of his Works (1640). This text is as printed in Robert Haven Schauffler, ed., Christmas (1907)
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 30314d5861405605…
- Editorial handling
- Spelling, capitals and punctuation as printed in the 1907 anthology, which modernizes Jonson's spelling. No other change.