I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

“Christmas Bells” is divided into seven five-line stanzas, or cinquains, that are written in the rhyme scheme of AABBC. Most of the A and C lines of the poem are written in iambic tetrameter, or four sets of iambs (an iamb is a metrical foot consisting of one short, unstressed syllable followed by a long, stressed syllable). However, the B lines are generally four beats long. This even pace mimics the steady pace with which church bells ring. The poem also employs a repeating refrain—“of peace on earth, good will to men”—which appears without linear variation in Lines 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30, although enjambment does change meaning from stanza to stanza. The last line varies the refrain by replacing the “of” with the word “with” (Line 35). This is used to emphasize the meaning, showing that “the Right” (Line 34) works “with peace on earth, good will to men” (Line 35) on its side. The predictable meter helps to show the everlasting quality of the Christian message of the refrain. Changes in sound help to enhance the message and show the catastrophic conflict of war.