Poetry · Character

Baby

A small immortal on the threshold of Time, whose broken prattle and wondering eyes become the poem's image of the soul being raised toward heaven.

supporting

First appearance: the christmas child

As a supporting figure in Poetry, Baby is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

The younger child carried by the Child-Mother; remains unharmed and cheerful throughout the ordeal.

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Baby is the cause of everything in the strange room of the poem — the reason Satan pauses, the reason doors are opened, the reason a long speech about clocks and mock-books and the epiphany unfolds. She is 'plant of heaven, rooted lowly,' who must live in wonder, see nothing common, love the colour and the newness, and never part with her childhood though she change her brain. She matters because she is the collection's most tender argument: that the soul is not made by knowledge but by love, and that the smallest child may be 'very thought of God.'

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See Baby in the christmas child

Character Web

15 connections

A slice of how Baby sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Diverse Allegorical and Named Characters
Religious and Mythological Figures
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak where the speaker tu…

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In the story

Baby appears across 11 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Child-Mother
The younger child carried by the Child-Mother; remains unharmed and cheerful throughout the ordeal.
A Prayer for the Past
A little child who sees the sun, incarnating God's old law and bringing new joy.
My Room
The speaker's child, described as a 'small immortal' and 'very thought of God,' who must be taught to see wonder in all things and to distinguish true worth from mere appearance.
Sympathy
The ten-month-old infant whose innocent smile and calling of the narrator's name prompts a meditation on God's love.
Little Elfie
Elfie, a three-and-a-half-year-old child, is the central figure, described with puppet-jointed limbs, wild hair, and impish hands.
A Dream of Waking
The unwanted child born in sin and shame, rejected by his mother but defended by his sister.
The Children’s Heaven
The infant lying in blessed ease on its mother's breast, unaware of change or death.
Baby
The central figure of the poem, whose origins and features are questioned and answered.
Cottage Songs
The sleeping infant watched over by Sis and mother, surrounded by God's presence.
I: By the Cradle
The infant being put to sleep, addressed as 'dear baby'.
Christmas Day and Every Day
The lowly baby at the center of the Nativity scene.

Chapter companion notes

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See Baby in the christmas child

See Baby in The Child-Mother