Wenceslas: A Christmas Poem

by Carol Ann Duffy, Stuart Kolakovic (Illustrator)

Carol Ann Duffy's wonderful new Christmas poem retelling the carol of King Wenceslas, beautifully illustrated by Stuart Kolakovic.

Beginning with the King’s Cook, who is preparing a sumptuous Christmas Pie, Wenceslas takes us to a medieval feast. The lords and ladies are at their places, the wine is in full flow, the musicians are playing in the gallery and the entertainment has begun. All should be perfect. But when the good King looks up from his table he sees something more than just snow, falling deep and crisp and even . . .
In reimagining the much-loved carol of King Wenceslas, Carol Ann Duffy’s wonderful new poem offers merriment and festive cheer, but also celebrates what is truly important at this special time of year: the simple acts of kindness that each of us can show another.

Genres: Poetry, Christmas, Fiction, Holiday, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2012

About the author

Dame Carol Ann Duffy, DBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's Poet Laureate in May 2009.

She is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly LGBT person to hold this position.

Her collections include Standing Female Nude (1985), winner of a Scottish Arts Council Award; Selling Manhattan (1987), which won a Somerset Maugham Award; Mean Time (1993), which won the Whitbread Poetry Award; and Rapture (2005), winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize.

Her poems address issues such as oppression, gender, and violence, in an accessible language that has made them popular in schools.

Reviews

[Josh Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly cute poem about Good King Wenceleslas, the illustrations are gorgeous and the story made me feel very Christmassy. A very quick read too which makes for a nice little look through when you want to read it again.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated and rather sumptuous poem; perfect for making one think of Christmas past, and the true message of the season - good will to all men.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spends a lot of time on birds stuffed with other birds. Powerful allusion to Herbert's "Prayer (1)" ("something understood"). Touching conclusion.

Read with Kate in 2023.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! pocket sized, beautifully illustrated by Stuart Kolakovie and Carol Ann Duffy shows her skill at weaving a beautiful poem from the traditional carol 'Good King Weceslas'. Just the right size for a Christmas stocking!

I love her choice of: 'wherein','trill' ' hither' and 'colly-flowre' which give the poem a distinctly old fashioned feel. I am in awe of her descriptive verse: 'Now the Heron's breast was martyred with Cloves' (with accompanying picture).
Even if certain grammar and vocabulary are unfamiliar, the illustrations help the reader to ascertain meaning; this was apparent on a reading of it with my 9yr old who used the pictures to explain what was happening on each page. Therefore I suggest that EAL children be encouraged to take this little book in hand too.

This is would be a wonderful book particularly for year 5's covering the Tudor period when they cover all aspects of Tudor life - cuisine, clothing and social hierarchical system. A well structured lesson could encourage pupils to question why was a whole poem/carol written about King Wenceslas? Was it so unusual for a king to show compassion in olden days?

With the new curriculum demands regarding poetry, Carol Ann Duffy is a poet worth considering for 'breath of study', she has many, many short poems that are enjoyable and totally accessible for children. I for one, intend to dig a little deeper into the poetry treasure trove.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this small book, a modern Christmas poem about the old English king is completed with delicate illustrations in the style of a medieval manuscript, which enrich the poem and delight the eye with their details. This is not exactly the familiar Christmas carol; the poem begins with the baking of an enormous Christmas pie, noting all the birds sacrificed for the king’s feast, and the wonders of that feast are enticingly described. But the heart of the story is the same: “Also there,/ out where the frozen stream/ lay nailed to the ground,/ was a prayer/ drifting as human breath,/ as the ghost of words,/ in a dark wood,/ yearning to be/ “Something/ Understood.” And my favorite picture has to be the last one where the King cuts a “sumptuous slice/ of the Christmas Pie” for his guest with a robin looking on, completing this beautiful Christmas story. (One minor glitch was noticed but did not detract: the king’s crown is silver in the poem and gold in the illustrations.)

[Fiction Addition Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beginning with the Kings cook, who is preparing a sumptuous Christmas pie. Wenceslas takes us to a medieval feast. The lords and ladies are at their places, the wine is in full flow , the musicians are playing in the gallery and the entertainment has begun.
All should be perfect. But when the good king looks up from his table he sees something more than snow, falling deep and crisp and even. The carol of King Wencelas, Carol Ann Duffy's wonderful new poem offers meriment and christmas cheer.

[Kirsty Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this little book via a Twitter promotion from Blackwells (thanks Catherine). It is a re-telling, via poetry, of the tale of Good King Wenceslas by Carol Ann Duffy. Now, as a vegetarian there was too much time spent on birds stuffing other birds for my liking and the end of the tale was sped through. Now I'm guessing that's the point, spending ages talking about the feast but then really quickly to show what is more meaningful.
The illustrations by Stuart Kolakovic were perfect (I particularly like the cover).
Perfect for a Christmas reading to kids but not convinced a £5.99 rrp is warranted.

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty little book, but not much substance here -- a little playing with the sounds of words, and a moral to the story, to go with the beautifully coloured illustrations, but nothing mindblowing.

[Stacey Woods · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful, but the poem seems to focus on the pie, then end rather abruptly with the old man invited inside. I thought this part of the story should have been the focus.

[Bettie]

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012...

[Callum McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Duffy’s annual festive poems, presented as a lovely little hardback. This particular offering is inspired by the carol of King Wenceslas, encouraging us to enjoy the indulgence of the season, whilst remembering to extend the hand of human kindness to those less fortunate than ourselves. I love this sentiment, and think Stuart Kolakovic’s accompanying artwork is beautiful, but the poem itself (in terms of language, structure, flow, etc.) didn’t do a huge amount for me.

[Amy Welham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a retelling of the carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’ and is heartwarmingly festive.
An elaborate feast has been prepared by the kings cook and the descriptive language Duffy uses is just excellent, you can picture it all. The hall is filled with the smell of food and the sounds of merriment. When the king looks outside he spots a peasant shivering in the snow and invites him to join the feast.

“and carved him a sumptuous slice of Christmas pie... as prayers hope you would, and I.”

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The description of the pie makes me feel a bit sad and a bit queasy - so many birds! The poem paints a lovely picture of the feast, though, and it's beautifully illustrated. And of course the poor man gets his feast, too.

[Camilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5!

[Capnniknak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and wonderful poem. Makes a lovely Xmas gift.

[Zulekha Saqib · Rating 4 out of 5]

a heart-warming poem about the simple acts of kindness, enhanced with whimsical illustrations.. it was the perfect introduction to Carol Ann Duffy's poetry!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, makes you think, Christmas poem from one of my favourite contemporary poets.

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
Opulence and sharing... how I aim to spend every Christmas!

[Otone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated poem.

[Vonnie Skaggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little poem with gorgeous illustrations!

[jolovesbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Christmas poem didn't really grab my interest until the final few pages, which I loved.

Reading it prompted me to look up the words of the carol. Reading the two side by side, the poem doesn't feel that faithful to the carol. Perhaps that wasn't ever the intention, as it's described as a reimagining of the carol. But I think as a result, the message feels more diluted in the poem.

[James Kinsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slight but moving, and gorgeously illustrated.

[Peter Longden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juicy, mouth-watering, appetiser for the main event tomorrow! Brilliant prequel to the famous Christmas song.

[Alexandre Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

the illustrations were great but the poems were quite mid tbh

[Lisa Hobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Snow Pie present this year. A beautiful book- a wonderful poem by Duffy which weaves in some of the lines from the carol and astonishingly gorgeous illustrations.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this is beautifully re-imagined and superbly illustrated version of the classic Christmas carol. Duffy's occasional use of old English in her verse and Kolakovic's medieval-style illustrations combine to create a unique and delightful festive package. It is quite a tiny little book: perfect stocking-filler size for the season ahead! This is something I could definitely imagine being read to children on Christmas Eve along with other classics such as "The Night Before Christmas". Not to focus on the moral too much, but the poem does also serve as a gentle reminder to those with plenty not to forget those that are without.

[Aileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small book containing the story of Good King Wenceslas, in which his actual good deed of taking in a poor peasant is confined to the last few pages, after most of it being taken up with the detailed contents of a pie being baked by the cook. Lovely illustrations though, giving it the appearance of a manuscript.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, but for me personally the poem dwells a little too much on the contents of the Kings pie, and not enough on what is supposed to be the main crux of the story - the Kings kindness in inviting a poor man in out of the snow. Not one for vegetarians, certainly.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of Christmas giving and generosity.
The most beautiful thing about this book though is the gorgeous illustrations.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas poem based on Good King Wenceslas, bound in a lovely, beautifully illustrated little pocket book.