Ballad · For Kids
Christmas Carol
by Sara Teasdale · 1911
1The kings they came from out the south,
2All dressed in ermine fine,
3They bore Him gold and chrysoprase,
4And gifts of precious wine.
5The shepherds came from out the north,
6Their coats were brown and old,
7They brought Him little new-born lambs—
8They had not any gold.
9The wise-men came from out the east,
10And they were wrapped in white;
11The star that led them all the way
12Did glorify the night.
13The angels came from heaven high,
14And they were clad with wings;
15And lo, they brought a joyful song
16The host of heaven sings.
17The kings they knocked upon the door,
18The wise-men entered in,
19The shepherds followed after them
20To hear the song begin.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Christmas Carol” by Sara Teasdale — quilloak.com/poems/christmas-carol-teasdale
Quick facts
- Poem
- Christmas Carol
- Poet
- Sara Teasdale
- Published
- 1911
- Length
- 28 lines
- Form
- Ballad, Rhyming Poems
- Themes
- For Kids, 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
- 28 lines · 7 quatrains
- End rhyme
- ABCB in 71% of the stanzas — ballad rhyme — only lines 2 and 4 chime. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
- Line length
- Lines run 6-8 syllables (median 7). 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
- Sara Teasdale1884–1933
- Source record
- Project Gutenberg eBook #400, Helen of Troy and Other PoemsChristmas Carol; Helen of Troy and Other Poems (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1911)
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-11-04
- Publication record
- Helen of Troy and Other Poems (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1911)
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 ec115b2f8420cc27…
- Editorial handling
- Indentation normalized for web display. No other change.