The Pauper's Christmas Carol
Full of drink and full of meat,On our SAVIOUR'S natal day,CHARITY'S perennial treat;Thus I heard a Pauper say:--"Ought not I to dance and singThus supplied with famous cheer?Heigho!I hardly know--Christmas comes but once a year.
"After labor's long turmoil,Sorry fare and frequent fast,Two-and-fifty weeks of toil,Pudding-time is come at last!But are raisins high or low,Flour and suet cheap or dear?Heigho!I hardly know--Christmas comes but once a year.
"Fed upon the coarsest fareThree hundred days and sixty-four,But for one on viands rare,Just as if I wasn't poor!Ought not I to bless my stars,Warden, clerk, and overseer?Heigho!I hardly know--Christmas comes but once a year.
"Come to-morrow how it will;Diet scant and usage rough,Hunger once has had its fill,Thirst for once has had enough,But shall I ever dine again?Or see another feast appear?Heigho!I only know--Christmas comes but once a year!
"Frozen cares begin to melt,Hopes revive and spirits flow--Feeling as I have not feltSince a dozen months ago--Glad enough to sing a song--To-morrow shall I volunteer?Heigho!I hardly know--Christmas comes but once a year.
"Bright and blessed is the time,Sorrows end and joys begin,While the bells with merry chimeRing the Day of Plenty in!But the happy tide to hail,With a sigh or with or a tear,Heigho!I hardly know--Christmas comes but once a year!"
Words in this poem
- natal a.
- Of or pertaining to one's birth; accompying or dating from one's birth; native. [L. natalis, fr. natus, p.p. of nasci to be born: cf. F. natal. See Nation, and cf. Noel.]
- pauper n.
- A poor person; especially, one development on private or public charity. Also used adjectively; as, pouper immigrants, pouper labor. [L. See Poor.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- turmoil v. t.
- To harass with commotion; to disquiet; to worry.
- clerk n.
- A clergyman or ecclesiastic. [Either OF. clerc, fr. L. clericus a priest, or AS. clerc, cleric, clerk, priest, fr. L. clericus, fr. Gr. Clergy.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Pauper's Christmas Carol is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hood, The Pauper's Christmas Carol, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/the-pauper-s-christmas-carol.html, id L20110.
Form and metre
The Pauper's Christmas Carol is 54 lines in 6 stanzas of 9 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABAB-C--C meatA · dayB · treatA · sayB · sing · cheerC · heigho · know · yearC
- 2 ABABCD-CD turmoilA · fastB · toilA · lastB · lowC · dearD · heigho · knowC · yearD
- 3 A-A------ fareA · four · rareA · poor · stars · overseer · heigho · know · year
- 4 ABAB-C--C willA · roughB · fillA · enoughB · again · appearC · heigho · know · yearC
- 5 ABAB-C-BC meltA · flowB · feltA · agoB · song · volunteerC · heigho · knowB · yearC
- 6 ABAB-C--C timeA · beginB · chimeA · inB · hail · tearC · heigho · know · yearC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Full of drink and full of meat, | 7 | ······· |
| On our SAVIOUR'S natal day, | 7 | ·//˘/˘· |
| CHARITY'S perennial treat; | 7 | /˘˘/˘˘· |
| Thus I heard a Pauper say:-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "Ought not I to dance and sing | 7 | ······· |
| Thus supplied with famous cheer? | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Heigho! | 2 | ·· |
| I hardly know-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Christmas comes but once a year. | 7 | /˘····· |
| "After labor's long turmoil, | 7 | ··/˘·/· |
| Sorry fare and frequent fast, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Two-and-fifty weeks of toil, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Pudding-time is come at last! | 7 | /˘····· |
| But are raisins high or low, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Flour and suet cheap or dear? | 7 | /·/˘··· |
| Heigho! | 2 | ·· |
| I hardly know-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Christmas comes but once a year. | 7 | /˘····· |
| "Fed upon the coarsest fare | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Three hundred days and sixty-four, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But for one on viands rare, | 6 | ······ |
| Just as if I wasn't poor! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ought not I to bless my stars, | 7 | ······· |
| Warden, clerk, and overseer? | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| Heigho! | 2 | ·· |
| I hardly know-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Christmas comes but once a year. | 7 | /˘····· |
| "Come to-morrow how it will; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Diet scant and usage rough, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Hunger once has had its fill, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Thirst for once has had enough, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| But shall I ever dine again? | 7 | ···/·˘/ |
| Or see another feast appear? | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Heigho! | 2 | ·· |
| I only know-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Christmas comes but once a year! | 7 | /˘····· |
| "Frozen cares begin to melt, | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Hopes revive and spirits flow-- | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Feeling as I have not felt | 7 | /˘····· |
| Since a dozen months ago-- | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Glad enough to sing a song-- | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| To-morrow shall I volunteer? | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Heigho! | 2 | ·· |
| I hardly know-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Christmas comes but once a year. | 7 | /˘····· |
| "Bright and blessed is the time, | 7 | ···˘··· |
| Sorrows end and joys begin, | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| While the bells with merry chime | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ring the Day of Plenty in! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| But the happy tide to hail, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| With a sigh or with or a tear, | 8 | ········ |
| Heigho! | 2 | ·· |
| I hardly know-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Christmas comes but once a year!" | 7 | /˘····· |
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