Explication of "The Oxen"

             “The Oxen” begins at Christmas Eve. The singsong rhyme scheme portrays the child-like excitement of the holiday. The author’s tone is of nostalgia, for it is as if he is looking back and remembering what Christmas Eve was like when he was a child. The “flock” I’m assuming, refers to himself and his siblings/ family who gather around the fireplace. This warmth comes not only from the “hearthside” but from the family as well.

            The author alludes to the belief that at “twelve of the clock” on Christmas Eve, the cattle would “kneel” and pay respects to baby Jesus’ birth. The kneeling of the cattle is somewhat like the flock of children sitting around the fire place. This similarity suggests that, like the cattle, the children were following in the foot steps of a belief. Since  “an elder” told them stories, they are ultimately expected to do the same when they are old, passing on the tradition from generation to generation.

            Yet at the end of the poem in the last stanza, there is a shift. The tone seems more skeptical of this belief and tradition of kneeling cattle but in the eyes f a child, the author predicts that at that age, he “should go with him in the gloom/ hoping it might be so”. So despite resignations and doubts he may have had, he would have still checked it out, exposing the curiosity children embody. However, this curiosity may not lead one to what they expect. The use of the word “gloom” suggests that what the author would find would disprove the family’s tradition and that is a damper on any holiday. This mirrors the tradition of Santa Clause by today’s standards. When children find out he is a made up character, they too are often found to be in a “gloom”, as with anyone who’s strong beliefs are disproven.