Who Wrote "The Night Before Christmas"?

Published anonymously in 1823, ""The Night Before Christmas"" has traditionally been attributed to Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863), who included it in his Poems (1844). But descendants of Henry Livingston (1748-1828) claim that he read it to his children as his own creation long before Moore is alleged to have composed it. This book evaluates the opposing arguments and for the first time uses the author-attribution techniques of modern computational stylistics to settle the long-standing dispute. Both writers left substantial bodies of verse, which have been computer analyzed for distinguishing characteristics. Employing a range of tests and introducing a new one--statistical analysis of phonemes--this study identifies the true author and makes a significant contribution to the growing field of attribution studies.

Author: MacDonald P. Jackson
Publisher: McFarland and Company, Inc.
Published: 04/27/2016
Pages: 204
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.60d
ISBN13: 9781476664439
ISBN10: 1476664439
BISAC Categories:
- Literary Criticism | Poetry

About the Author
MacDonald P. Jackson is an emeritus professor of English at the University of Auckland and a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.