Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Great Regulars: Sweet-minded, mirthful, and sensuous 17th-century

poet Robert Herrick (1591-1674) composed a Christmas carol (originally for soloists and chorus) that invokes spring instead of winter. In Herrick's charming reversal of seasonal imagery, his Jesus is a darling prince of flowers and natural warmth--a divine figure in keeping with Herrick's merry disposition in his poems. Only in closing does this carol nod to the traditional Christmas evergreens.

"A Christmas Carol, Sung to the King in the Presence at White-Hall"

from Robert Pinsky: Slate: "A Christmas Carol, Sung to the King in the Presence at White-Hall"

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