In the Bleak Midwinter

Analysis

In verse one, Rossetti describes the physical circumstances of the Incarnation in Bethlehem. In verse two, Rossetti contrasts Christ's first and second coming. The third verse dwells on Christ's birth and describes the simple surroundings, in a humble stable and watched by beasts of burden. Rossetti achieves another contrast in the fourth verse, this time between the incorporeal angels attendant at Christ's birth with Mary's ability to render Jesus physical affection. The final verse shifts the description to a more introspective thought process.

Hymnologist and theologian Ian Bradley has questioned the poem's theology: "Is it right to say that heaven cannot hold God, nor the earth sustain, and what about heaven and earth fleeing away when he comes to reign?" However I Kings 8.27, in Solomon's prayer of dedication of the Temple, says: "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you." Regarding "heaven and earth fleeing away", many New Testament apocalyptic passages use such language, principally Revelation 20. 11 "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them" (KJV). Similar language is used in II Peter 3. 10-11: "The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire... That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells" (NIV).

Settings

The text of this Christmas poem has been set to music many times, the most famous settings being composed by Gustav Holst and Harold Edwin Darke in the early 20th century.

Holst's setting, "Cranham", is a hymn tune setting suitable for congregational singing, since the poem is irregular in metre and any setting of it requires a skilful and adaptable tune. The hymn is titled after Cranham, Gloucestershire and was written for the English Hymnal of 1906.

The Darke setting, written in 1909 while he was a student at the Royal College of Music, is more advanced and each verse is treated slightly differently, with solos for soprano and tenor (or a group of sopranos and tenors) and a delicate organ accompaniment. This version is favoured by cathedral choirs, and is the one usually heard performed on the radio broadcasts of Nine Lessons and Carols by the King's College Choir. Darke served as conductor of the choir during World War II. Darke omits verse 4 of Rossetti's original, and bowdlerizes Rossetti's "a breastful of milk" to "a heart full of mirth", although later editions reversed this change. Darke also repeats the last line of each verse.

Benjamin Britten includes an elaborate five-part setting of the first verse for high voices (combined with the medieval Corpus Christi Carol) in his work A Boy was Born.

Other settings include those by Robert C L Watson, Bruce Montgomery, Bob Chilcott, Michael John Trotta, Robert Walker, Eric Thiman, who wrote a setting for solo voice and piano, and Leonard Lehrman.

In popular culture

A version by American jazz singer Erin Bode may be found on her 2008 recording of Christmas music, A Cold December Night.

The song was used as part of the main plot in the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas special, "A Christmas Carol", as sung by Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins.

In the BBC TV drama series Peaky Blinders, mobster and war veteran Thomas Shelby mumbles 'in the bleak midwinter' to himself before he shoots his war-ravaged battle buddy, Danny. He also murmurs the phrase to himself as his last words before his near-execution in the series two finale episode. The poem and the phrase were popular among soldiers of the First World War.

In The Crown, a small crowd of local carolers sing this as a Christmas gift to an ailing King George VI in the drawing room of Sandringham House.