The Burning Babe

“New Heaven, New War" by Robert Southwell (1602) 

Also written by Southwell, “New Heaven, New War” is similar in theme and imagery to “The Burning Babe.” The opening of the poem contrasts cold and darkness with brightness and heat. Just as “The Burning Babe” takes place on Christmas Day, “New Heaven, New War” also describes the manger scene where Jesus Christ was born, repeating the symbol of the infant/babe and the forgiveness and eternal life the infant offers to humanity.

“New Prince, New Pomp“ by Robert Southwell (1595)

“New Prince, New Pomp,” read in combination with “New Heaven, New War” and “The Burning Babe,” confirms the common themes and symbols Southwell tends to implement in his poetry. Like the other two poems, “New Prince, New Pomp” describes the infant Christ child lying in a stable in the cold of winter surrounded by lowing beasts (making the manger part of an English climate rather than a Middle Eastern one, the better to connect to his readers). “New Prince, New Pomp,” however, is much gentler. It focuses on the vulnerability of the baby Jesus, as opposed to the salvation and mercy he energetically, sometimes militantly, inspires in Southwell’s other poems.