"A Visit from St. Nicholas" turns 200 this year! You may know it better by "T'was the Night Before Christmas."🌲🌲

Last time, we talked about assonance, when vowel sounds get repeated.

Today, we will talk more about the storytelling.

The poem's SPEAKER and the poem's AUTHOR may be two different people. An author can invent a speaker and write from that person's point of view. In the land of imagination, an author can even make an inanimate object the SPEAKER.

Let's do some detective work. So who is the speaker in "T'was the Night Before Christmas"? Does the speaker have a gender? Physical attributes? Quirks? Is the speaker from the past or the future?

🟩"Mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap"

🟩"I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter"

🟩"And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself"

In November, I did a practice teaching session to four Clauses. A Mrs. Claus in Ohio said she changes the speaker’s gender, so that SHE becomes the SPEAKER.

Yes! I love this.

The more I dive into the poem, the more I learn and enjoy. As a Mrs. Claus who can work alone without a Santa, I want to offer fun educational sessions about poetry. Write to me at mrsclausnyc@gmail.com if you’d like a fun lecture, online or in person. Follow my lessons on Instagram and Facebook.❤️❤️

"A Visit from St. Nicholas" turns 200 this year! It's lasted so long partly because it feels so good to recite out loud. It has "sound pleasure."

Last week, you learned about alliteration, which is when repeated consonants fall near each other in a text. Think: Meatless Monday or Tom Turkey.

Assonance is similar to alliteration but it involves repeated vowel sounds, regardless of the consonants around it.

If your mouth forms the same shape when reciting certain vowels, you may have found assonance, also known as vowel rhyme.

Here are examples:

🟩"Creature was stirring" [Hear the ur?]

🟩"Nestled all snug in their beds" [Hear the eh?]

🟩 "Moon on the breast of the new ..." [Hear the ooo?]

🟩 "Sleigh and eight tiny rein ... " [Hear the aaa?]

Stay tuned for more fun facts about this famous poem.

The more I dive into the poem, the more I learn and enjoy. As a Mrs. Claus who can work alone without a Santa, I want to offer fun educational sessions about poetry. Write to me at mrsclausnyc@gmail.com if you’d like a fun lecture, online or in person. Follow my lessons on Instagram and Facebook.❤️❤️

A Visit from St. Nicholas" turns 200 this year! 🌲🌲"

Why is it such a beloved poem?

One reason is that reading it feels good. The language provides sound pleasure.

An example of sound pleasure is the use of alliteration, when repeated consonant sounds are positioned closely together within the text.

Here are some examples of alliteration in the poem:

🟩"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer!"

🟩"On, Comet! on, Cupid!"

🟩 "The prancing and pawing of each little hoof."

The more I dive into the poem, the more I learn and enjoy. As a Mrs. Claus who can work alone without a Santa, I want to offer fun educational sessions about poetry. Write to me at mrsclausnyc@gmail.com if you’d like a fun lecture, online or in person. Follow my lessons on Instagram and Facebook.

"A Visit from St. Nicholas" turns 200 this year!

Fun fact: The famous poem by Clement Clarke Moore is written in Anapestic Tetrameter.

Last week, we learned that an anapest is a “foot” consisting of a “da da DUM.” Tetrameter is four “da da DUM”s in one line.

Try clapping out the rhythm and notice the words that get the most emphasis:

🟩T'was the NIGHT before CHRISTmas when ALL through the HOUSE🏠

🟩Not a CREAture was STIRRing Not EVEn a MOUSE.

This is a great comedic and narrative device. Another poem that uses this is Dr. Suess's "Yertle the Turtle." Take a look below:

🟩And toDAY the Great YERtle, that MARvelous HE.

The more I dive into the poem, the more I learn and enjoy. As a Mrs. Claus who can work alone without a Santa, I want to offer fun educational sessions about poetry. Write to me at mrsclausnyc@gmail.com if you’d like a fun lecture, online or in person. Follow my lessons on Instagram and Facebook.

"A Visit from St. Nicholas" turns 200 this year!

Last night, I hosted an online lesson about the poem’s form, history, and legacy. It was a practice session for me. I want to be conversant on-the-fly. Four professional Clauses and my aunt showed up on Zoom. We practiced saying “anapestic tetrameter” 10 times. No one got hurt!

The more I dive into the poem, the more I learn and enjoy.

Anapestic tetrameter is a poetic form from Polish literature that includes four poetic "feet," or rhythm patterns, in one line.

For example: T'was the NIGHT before CHRISTmas when ALL through the HOUSE

Try clapping out the rhythm and notice the words that get the most emphasis.

Stay tuned for more fun facts about this famous poem.

As a Mrs. Claus who can work alone without a Santa, I want to offer fun educational sessions about poetry. Write to me at mrsclausnyc@gmail.com. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for weekly poetry lessons.