Pearson Edexcel · A-Level · English Literature
Course version: 9ET0 · Version from Sept 2015
Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – The…
Full specification wording
Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – The Victorian Period – Christina Rossetti Selected Poems, editor Dinah Roe (Penguin, 2008): A Christmas Carol
"A Christmas Carol" (often known as "In the Bleak Midwinter") contrasts the harsh, freezing physical world with the warmth of divine incarnation.
Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 9ET0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 12 of 18
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
"A Christmas Carol" (often known as "In the Bleak Midwinter") contrasts the harsh, freezing physical world with the warmth of divine incarnation. Rossetti employs stark, monosyllabic imagery of winter ('iron', 'stone') to establish a barren earthly setting, which juxtaposes the spiritual richness of Christ's birth. The poem moves from a macrocosmic view of heaven and earth to a deeply intimate, microcosmic conclusion where the speaker offers their heart.
What earns the marks
- Analyse the juxtaposition between the bleak, frozen landscape and the warmth of the divine presence.
- Evaluate the progression of scale in the poem, moving from the vastness of heaven and earth to the intimate offering of the individual heart.
- Explore the use of sensory imagery and repetition to emphasise the harshness of the winter setting.
- Assess how the final stanza resolves the poem's thematic tension by elevating spiritual sincerity above material offerings.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Confusing this poem with Charles Dickens's novella of the same name.
Put it right: Explicitly identify it as Rossetti's lyric poem, also known as 'In the Bleak Midwinter'.
Focusing solely on the winter imagery without connecting it to the theological theme of the Incarnation.
Put it right: Link the physical setting to the spiritual message.
Overlooking the significance of the final stanza's shift to the first person.
Put it right: Ensure you analyse the transition from universal observation to personal devotion.
Exam tips
- Contrast the material poverty of the nativity scene with the spiritual majesty of the angels to highlight Rossetti's religious values.
- Discuss the effect of the irregular metre and how it prevents the poem from becoming a simple, predictable hymn, adding emotional weight.
- Connect the theme of humble devotion in the final stanza to Rossetti's broader Tractarian beliefs regarding self-surrender.
Try the lesson
The start of the Component 3: Poetry – Section B: Specified Poetry Pre- or Post-1900 – Pre-1900 – The Victorian Period – Christina Rossetti Selected Poems, editor Dinah Roe (Penguin, 2008): A Christmas Carol lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
In the opening stanza of Christina Rossetti's poem 'A Christmas Carol', which similes are used to describe the physical state of the earth and water?
Listen
A Christmas Carol" (often known as "In the Bleak Midwinter") contrasts the harsh, freezing physical world with the warmth of divine incarnation. Rossetti employs stark, monosyllabic imagery of winter ('iron', 'stone') to establish a barren earthly setting, which juxtaposes the spiritual richness of Christ's birth. The poem moves from a macrocosmic view of heaven and earth to a deeply intimate, microcosmic conclusion where the speaker offers their heart. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Analyse the juxtaposition between the bleak, frozen landscape and the warmth of the divine presence. Evaluate the progression of scale in the poem, moving from the vastness of heaven and earth to the intimate offering of the individual heart. Explore the use of sensory imagery and repetition to emphasise the harshness of the winter setting. Assess how the final stanza resolves the poem's thematic tension by elevating spiritual sincerity above material offerings. Exam tip: Contrast the material poverty of the nativity scene with the spiritual majesty of the angels to highlight Rossetti's religious values.
See it
Put it in order
Put these steps in the order they happen.
- 1. Progression of scale
- 2. Spiritual sincerity elevated above material offerings
- 3. Microcosmic, intimate conclusion
- 4. Bleak, frozen physical world
- 5. Stark monosyllabic winter imagery
- 6. Speaker offers their heart
- 7. Juxtaposition with spiritual richness of Christ's birth
- 8. Macrocosmic view of heaven and earth
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
The Incarnation and divine love
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Nature and the physical world
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Humility versus material wealth
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
Personal devotion and faith
Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.
See every definition
- The Incarnation and divine love
- The theological concept of Christ's birth, which Rossetti contrasts with the harsh, freezing physical world to show the warmth of divine presence.
- Nature and the physical world
- The barren earthly setting established through stark, monosyllabic imagery of winter such as 'iron' and 'stone'.
- Humility versus material wealth
- Rossetti's valuing of humble, spiritual devotion over material wealth, resolved in the final stanza by elevating spiritual sincerity above material offerings.
- Personal devotion and faith
- The intimate, microcosmic conclusion in which the speaker offers their heart, shifting from universal observation to the first person.
Label the diagram
Some boxes have lost their names. Pick the right name for each number.
1Box 1
2Box 2
3Box 3
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