Good King Wenceslas by L. Edna Walter
Good King Wenceslas, braving bitter weather on the Feast of Stephen, questions his page about a poor man gathering fuel, learns he lives near St. Agnes' fountain, and sets out with food, wine and pine-logs to bring him dinner. When the page falters in the cold, the king tells him to tread in his footsteps, which prove warm.
By L. Edna Walter · First published 1922 · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Christmas/Holiday Literature, Medieval/Historical Fiction · 380 words
First lines
1. Good King Wenceslas looked out / On the Feast of Stephen, / When the snow lay round about, / Deep and crisp and even. / Brightly shone the moon that night, / Though the frost was cruel, / When a poor man came in sight, / Gathering winter fuel.
2. "Hither, page, and stand by me / If thou know'st it, telling, / Yonder peasant, who is he? / Where and what his dwelling? " / "Sire, he lives a good league hence / Underneath the mountain; / Right against the forest fence, / By St. Agnes' fountain."
Similar titles
- A Ballad Of Santa Claus by Henry Van Dyke
- A Christmas Carol by George Macdonald
- The Shivering Beggar by Robert Graves
- Christmas Tide by Charles Dickens
- Christmas Day And Every Day by George Macdonald
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Kingsley
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — The work is fundamentally a narrative poem that tells a complete story with character development, dialogue, and plot progression across five stanzas detailing the king's charitable mission.
- Christmas/Holiday Literature — Set on the Feast of Stephen (Boxing Day, the day after Christmas), featuring winter imagery (snow, frost, moonlight) and the festive theme of charitable gift-giving aligned with Christmas traditions.
- Medieval/Historical Fiction — Depicts a medieval king in a castle setting with period-specific language and references ('Sire', 'page', 'monarch', 'mountain', 'forest fence', 'St. Agnes' fountain') suggesting a historical or legendary backdrop.
- Moral/Didactic Poetry — Concludes with an explicit moral lesson directed at readers about the rewards of charity and Christian virtue, characteristic of didactic literature intended to instruct and inspire.
Tags
charity · generosity · kindness · compassion · winter · snow · cold · medieval · king · peasant · poverty · wealth
What this Textopian page supports
Good King Wenceslas is listed on Textopian as a poem by L. Edna Walter, dated 1922 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: L. Edna Walter
- Date: 1922 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, Christmas/Holiday Literature, Medieval/Historical Fiction, Moral/Didactic Poetry, Religious/Spiritual Literature
- Length: 380 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Good King Wenceslas by L. Edna Walter
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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