THE OXEN:
STUDY QUESTIONS

• When oxen kneel on Christmas eve, are they praying to a human Jesus or a cow Jesus? If it’s a cow Jesus, do they think He was born in a stable, or in a house?

• How much do you think you could charge for people to come see the oxen kneel in lonely barton' by yonder coomb? What would the oxen’s cut be?

• Why does the poem’s narrator say that he would go into “the gloom” to see the oxen kneeling? Are oxen generally depressing, or only when they are praying?

• When the poet says that they “sat in a flock,” is he implying that he is a bird? If so, would the oxen be amazed to see him praying? Write a poem from an oxen’s point of view about the crazy birds an old oxen used to tell him about when he was just a little ox.

• Usually a nativity scene, or crèche, will include a variety of animals. Why do you think Hardy chose to mention oxen in particular?  Make a case for what religion you think sheep and lambs practice, and why. Be sure to specify which particular denomination you think they follow, e.g., the United Brethren in Christ sect of the Evangelical Church.