Rate-a-Poem: A Visit From St. Nicholas

I can't help but agree that it is a well written work:

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

is vivid and lovely. I love the way the rhythm is used to reinforce the excitement in passages like:

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

It tells a neat little story and does so quite well in its series of couplets. It not only scans well, but it wonderful to read in performance. That it still plays so well after close to two hundred years is pretty amazing. Not to mention that it pretty much cemented the American image of St. Nick.

Pretty much a masterpiece no matter how you look at it.

I stopped to consider that perhaps it might not be a masterpiece, but no, it is. That it can be both silly and clever and beautiful and give us longings of dreamy sweetness and hope after nearly 200 years nails it. It's always been a favorite, and I memorized it when I was a kid.

It is a good learning lesson in many levels.

Don't be greedy.
Don't be unkind.
Be fair to your employees.
And others I can't remember.

And also, the rhythm is a good one to help you memorize the poem.

This poll brings up a few interesting questions (for me anyway).

Does authorship play a roll in something "remaining" a masterpiece in our minds?

Does original vs. edited changes play a part in our voting?

I'm not a grinch. I love Christmas and all that it brings with it. I love to grump about it like the "old curmugeon", the whole while a twinkle in my eye giving me away. I love wrapping present with my nieces and nephew, and I always like to read this poem.

However, it shall always be "tainted" for me somehow because of the contrversy over it's authorship and it's extensive edits from the original.

I find myself thinking how we might feel were this done to our work. Does it matter to those in "the future" exactly who wrote something, or is it just great on it's own?

Does it matter whether ( or even if) we think of Dickens when we read "A Christmas Carol" or Livingston or Moore when we read "A Visit from St. Nicholas"? Do the apparent lies told by a religious scholar and son of a preacher effect how we feel about this work, or is the work itself the only thing to consider? Do the years of miscreditation or the fact that the rhythm we've come to know came from an editor years later in a reprint effect it's quality or our opinion?

I love this poem and it will always be part of my Christmas experience, but I don't think it is "masterpiece" quality and none of the categories really fit my choice so I refrained from voting. I think there's a difference between loved Classic and Masterpiece.

Here's the original by Henry Livingston:

1823 Troy Sentinel

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads,
And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap-
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a minature sleigh, and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name:
"Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer, and Vixen,
"On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem;
"To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
"Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys - and St. Nicholas too:
And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound:
He was dress'd all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnish'd with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys was flung on his back,
And he look'd like a peddler just opening his pack:
His eyes - how they twinkled! his dimples how merry,
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face, and a little round belly
That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly:
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laugh'd when I saw him in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And fill'd all the stockings; then turn'd with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle:
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight-
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night - http://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/henry/xmas/poemvariants/smoking.htm#changes

The link makes for interesting reading and the life of the poem and it's changes are there to see. Other pages include works by both authors for comparison, but Moore's version really speaks for itself in that it is almost identical to the one with all the editors changes and Livingston's is the one all the changes stem from.

As writers, how much do we put into our work that we want others to get. How is our work "given" to the reading public? Free, with our own self satisfaction that we produced it, or with personal string attached that say "Hey, I wrote that and I want everyone to KNOW that I wrote that."?

As writer/readers, how much do we put into what we read and enjoy? Admittedly, I do not put a lot of research into anything. I just happen to know about this particular controversy.

As a human being I am lifted to my soapbox with cries of "Injustice!" and "Be On Guard!" and "Credit where Credit is DUE!" As a busy human being, sadly, I know I will never check out everything I read. As a writer hoping to have more work published, I feel like a traitor sometimes, screwing a brother or sister from the past, the credit they are due, and this bothers me.

ETA: a link to the summary of the poems history:
http://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/henry/xmas/summary.htm