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The Ballad of the White Horse
The Ballad of the White Horse is one of the last great epic poems in the English language. On the one hand it describes King Alfred’s battle against the Danes in 878. On the other hand it is a timeless allegory about the ongoing battle between Christianity and the forces of nihilistic heathenism. Filled with colorful characters, thrilling battles and mystical visions, it is as lively as it is profound. Chesterton incorporates brilliant imagination, atmosphere, moral concern, chronological continuity, wisdom and fancy. He makes his stanzas reverberate with sound, and hurries his readers into the heart of the battle. This deluxe volume is the definitive edition of the poem. It exactly reproduces the 1928 edition with Robert Austin’s beautiful woodcuts, and includes a thorough introduction and wonderful endnotes by Sister Bernadette Sheridan, from her 60 years researching the poem. Illustrated.
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1911
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About the author
G.K. Chesterton
4,643 books5,748 followersGilbert Keith Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic.
He was educated at St. Paul’s, and went to art school at University College London. In 1900, he was asked to contribute a few magazine articles on art criticism, and went on to become one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote a hundred books, contributions to 200 more, hundreds of poems, including the epic Ballad of the White Horse, five plays, five novels, and some two hundred short stories, including a popular series featuring the priest-detective, Father Brown. In spite of his literary accomplishments, he considered himself primarily a journalist. He wrote over 4000 newspaper essays, including 30 years worth of weekly columns for the Illustrated London News, and 13 years of weekly columns for the Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly.
Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism, history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology.
He was educated at St. Paul’s, and went to art school at University College London. In 1900, he was asked to contribute a few magazine articles on art criticism, and went on to become one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote a hundred books, contributions to 200 more, hundreds of poems, including the epic Ballad of the White Horse, five plays, five novels, and some two hundred short stories, including a popular series featuring the priest-detective, Father Brown. In spite of his literary accomplishments, he considered himself primarily a journalist. He wrote over 4000 newspaper essays, including 30 years worth of weekly columns for the Illustrated London News, and 13 years of weekly columns for the Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly.
Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism, history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
May 26, 2016
The GR blurb for this book prepared me for both the last great epic poem in the English language and a timeless allegory about the ongoing battle between Christianity and the forces of nihilistic heathenism.
I admit I was not too thrilled to read that last bit. Since I have my own opinions about organized religion and the way it has affected the people of the world, I was not sure I really wanted to read something that would try to say that Christianity is The Only Answer.
But I could not pass this up: King Alfred The Great! The White Horse of Westbury! The Battle at Ethandune! I have only recently learned a bit about King Alfred, and I wanted to learn more, so in I jumped.
Chesterton states in his preface that: This ballad needs no historical notes, for the simple reason that it does not profess to be historical. All of it that is not frankly fictitious, as in any prose romance about the past, is meant to emphasize tradition rather than history. King Alfred is not a legend in the sense that King Arthur may be a legend; that is, in the sense that he may possibly be a lie. But King Alfred is a legend in this broader and more human sense, that the legends are the most
important things about him.
Chesterton took what was known as fact, added three beloved legends, tossed in the symbolism which creates the allegory, stirred in a healthy dose of his amazing skill with language, and the result is a prose poem full of excitement, deep thinking, humor, and wonderful images.Surprisingly easy to read, with character portrayals that make each man come to vivid life, The Ballad Of The White Horse is a poem I plan to enjoy again in the future.
I admit I was not too thrilled to read that last bit. Since I have my own opinions about organized religion and the way it has affected the people of the world, I was not sure I really wanted to read something that would try to say that Christianity is The Only Answer.
But I could not pass this up: King Alfred The Great! The White Horse of Westbury! The Battle at Ethandune! I have only recently learned a bit about King Alfred, and I wanted to learn more, so in I jumped.
Chesterton states in his preface that: This ballad needs no historical notes, for the simple reason that it does not profess to be historical. All of it that is not frankly fictitious, as in any prose romance about the past, is meant to emphasize tradition rather than history. King Alfred is not a legend in the sense that King Arthur may be a legend; that is, in the sense that he may possibly be a lie. But King Alfred is a legend in this broader and more human sense, that the legends are the most
important things about him.
Chesterton took what was known as fact, added three beloved legends, tossed in the symbolism which creates the allegory, stirred in a healthy dose of his amazing skill with language, and the result is a prose poem full of excitement, deep thinking, humor, and wonderful images.Surprisingly easy to read, with character portrayals that make each man come to vivid life, The Ballad Of The White Horse is a poem I plan to enjoy again in the future.
October 21, 2019
My friend put it perfectly: It's easy to read - hard to understand.
September 18, 2011
Once upon a time there was a king who ruled a small country. He was a good king who loved his people, his country, and God. But he was beset with enemies on every side. He fought and lost many battles against these enemies and was on the brink of absolute defeat. Then one day, as he walked through the woods, a vision appeared to him of a beautiful woman. She encouraged him to take heart and go into battle once more. She did not promise him victory, but her appearance filled him with hope, and he knew he must obey. Gathering his remaining friends around him, they engaged in one last, desperate battle. The king and his friends rose up and killed many of the enemy, but each of his friends fell, until he alone was left to lead the army. In his wrath, he took up his sword against the foe with such fury that they fell away before him, and the enemy king surrendered and became his prisoner. The good king brought peace to his kingdom, his people flourished, and they called him Great for the mighty deliverance he worked for them, and for the prosperity they enjoyed under his reign.
It sounds like a fairy tale, but it is the story of Alfred the Great, king of Wessex and the Anglo-Saxons in the ninth century. “The Ballad of the White Horse” is G.K. Chesterton’s magnificent epic poem based on King Alfred’s climactic victory over the Danish Vikings at the battle of Ethendun. Stirring and bold, it is one of Chesterton’s best works, showing him to be a master of verse as well as prose. It functions not only as the story of Alfred’s victory over the heathen Danes, but also as an allegory of the ongoing war between Christianity and paganism. Chesterton writes of the Danes with their Norse gods:
Their souls were drifting as the sea,
And all good towns and lands,
They only saw with heavy eyes,
And broke with heavy hands.
Their gods were sadder than the sea,
Gods of a wandering will,
Who cried for blood like beasts at night,
Sadly, from hill to hill
The Danes are the pagans of old with gods of death who, even in victory, give no hope or help:
They seemed as trees walking the earth,
As witless and as tall,
Yet they took hold upon the heavens
And no help came at all.
The White Horse of the title is the ancient White Horse of Uffington, a giant horse cut into the chalk of the hillside sometime during the bronze age. Chesterton sets Alfred’s battle in the White Horse vale, for the horse represents both England and the Church. At the beginning of the poem, the horse is grey, overgrown with weeds that threaten to cover and obscure it forever. It is his job to cleanse it, to expel the Danes from England, the pagans from the Church. He is to fight for the purity of both, whether he succeeds or not. Of course, that leaves the Saxons as representative of Christianity, perpetually fighting a terrifying enemy, always seeming on the brink of defeat, but always surviving to glorify God.
“The Ballad of the White Horse” is not just excellent literature. It is Chesterton’s call to the Church; an alarm and a rallying cry. The Church is to be ever on the watch for the invasion of paganism, ever ready to take up arms against its influence to keep it from corrupting and obscuring the beauty and glory it reflects as an image of God. He makes this abundantly clear in a striking passage where Chesterton describes the paganism of his own time directly. Alfred, near the end of his life, prophesies about the enemies that the Church will face in years to come:
They shall not come in war-ships,
They shall not waste with brands,
But books be all their eating,
And ink be on their hands.
Not with the humour of hunters,
Or savage skill in war,
But ordering all things with dead words,
Strings shall they make of beasts and birds,
And wheels of wind and star.
They shall come mild as a monkish clerk,
With many a scroll and pen,
And backward shall ye wonder and gaze,
Desiring one of Alfred’s days,
When pagans still were men.
These are the pagans that Chesterton fought, and that the Church still faces today. There is a distinct note of longing here. Chesterton is nostalgic for a past when one could meet the enemy openly, clearly in pitched battle. That same nostalgia resonates deeply with me. If it were only as simple as taking up a sword against a flesh and blood enemy, and not having to sift through twisted words and tortured reasoning to reach to the heart of the enemy. There is no guarantee of victory in either case, but on a physical battlefield, you know who the enemy is.
Filled with Chesterton’s trademark wit and wordplay, “The Ballad of the White Horse” is a thrilling read that tells the story of the ancient battle between God’s people and their enemy in the heroic rhythms to which a man’s heart beats. It is the type of poem that all boys should grow up reading until they are men as an example of what true manhood looks like. As men, they should keep reading it as a reminder that they have a responsibility to scour the horse, to keep it white and pure, to engage their enemy until they hear the words “well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
It sounds like a fairy tale, but it is the story of Alfred the Great, king of Wessex and the Anglo-Saxons in the ninth century. “The Ballad of the White Horse” is G.K. Chesterton’s magnificent epic poem based on King Alfred’s climactic victory over the Danish Vikings at the battle of Ethendun. Stirring and bold, it is one of Chesterton’s best works, showing him to be a master of verse as well as prose. It functions not only as the story of Alfred’s victory over the heathen Danes, but also as an allegory of the ongoing war between Christianity and paganism. Chesterton writes of the Danes with their Norse gods:
Their souls were drifting as the sea,
And all good towns and lands,
They only saw with heavy eyes,
And broke with heavy hands.
Their gods were sadder than the sea,
Gods of a wandering will,
Who cried for blood like beasts at night,
Sadly, from hill to hill
The Danes are the pagans of old with gods of death who, even in victory, give no hope or help:
They seemed as trees walking the earth,
As witless and as tall,
Yet they took hold upon the heavens
And no help came at all.
The White Horse of the title is the ancient White Horse of Uffington, a giant horse cut into the chalk of the hillside sometime during the bronze age. Chesterton sets Alfred’s battle in the White Horse vale, for the horse represents both England and the Church. At the beginning of the poem, the horse is grey, overgrown with weeds that threaten to cover and obscure it forever. It is his job to cleanse it, to expel the Danes from England, the pagans from the Church. He is to fight for the purity of both, whether he succeeds or not. Of course, that leaves the Saxons as representative of Christianity, perpetually fighting a terrifying enemy, always seeming on the brink of defeat, but always surviving to glorify God.
“The Ballad of the White Horse” is not just excellent literature. It is Chesterton’s call to the Church; an alarm and a rallying cry. The Church is to be ever on the watch for the invasion of paganism, ever ready to take up arms against its influence to keep it from corrupting and obscuring the beauty and glory it reflects as an image of God. He makes this abundantly clear in a striking passage where Chesterton describes the paganism of his own time directly. Alfred, near the end of his life, prophesies about the enemies that the Church will face in years to come:
They shall not come in war-ships,
They shall not waste with brands,
But books be all their eating,
And ink be on their hands.
Not with the humour of hunters,
Or savage skill in war,
But ordering all things with dead words,
Strings shall they make of beasts and birds,
And wheels of wind and star.
They shall come mild as a monkish clerk,
With many a scroll and pen,
And backward shall ye wonder and gaze,
Desiring one of Alfred’s days,
When pagans still were men.
These are the pagans that Chesterton fought, and that the Church still faces today. There is a distinct note of longing here. Chesterton is nostalgic for a past when one could meet the enemy openly, clearly in pitched battle. That same nostalgia resonates deeply with me. If it were only as simple as taking up a sword against a flesh and blood enemy, and not having to sift through twisted words and tortured reasoning to reach to the heart of the enemy. There is no guarantee of victory in either case, but on a physical battlefield, you know who the enemy is.
Filled with Chesterton’s trademark wit and wordplay, “The Ballad of the White Horse” is a thrilling read that tells the story of the ancient battle between God’s people and their enemy in the heroic rhythms to which a man’s heart beats. It is the type of poem that all boys should grow up reading until they are men as an example of what true manhood looks like. As men, they should keep reading it as a reminder that they have a responsibility to scour the horse, to keep it white and pure, to engage their enemy until they hear the words “well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
October 27, 2024
2024: Read aloud on the feast day of St. Alfred. The joy and sehnsucht in the room was palpable. I love good Christian art. I am no longer made very uncomfortable by the religious imagery in this poem, which is an interesting thing to think about. Chesterton is just a master and I am in awe.
Here are some fave quotes from this time through:
⳩ The gates of heaven are fearful gates, / Worse than the gates of hell; / Nor would I break the splendours barred / Or seek to know the thing they guard, / Which is too good to tell.
⳩ He sang of Balder beautiful, / Whom the heavens could not save
⳩ I would rather fall with Adam / Than rise with all your gods.
⳩ If it be not better to fast for joy / Than feast for misery.
⳩ It is only Christian men / Guard even heathen things
⳩ For our God hath blessed creation, / Calling it good. I know / What spirit with whom you blindly band / Hath blessed destruction with his hand; / Yet by God's death the stars shall stand / And the small apples grow.
⳩ And was not God my armourer, / All patient and unpaid, / That sealed my skull as a helmet, / And ribs for hauberk made?
⳩ For we go gathering heathen men, / A terrible harvest, ten by ten, / As the wrath of the last red autumn- then / When Christ reaps down the kings.
⳩ Death on the gods of death! / Over the thrones of doom and blood / Goeth God that is a craftsman good
⳩ The people of the peace of God / Went roaring down to die
⳩ For dire was Alfred in his hour / The pale scribe witnesseth, / More mighty in defeat was he / Than all men else in victory, / And behind, his men came murderously, / Dry-throated, drinking death.
⳩ Wessex lay in a patch of peace / Like a dog in a patch of sun
I would rather fall with Adam, armed by God my peace, signed of the cross of the Christ, than rise with all the pagan gods. Amen amen world without end ⳩
2023:
I listened to this for free on Librivox! It is definitely meant to be heard, but I get more out of it from reading it aloud myself or listening to someone perform it live than listening at 1.4x while shelving library books. That said, I still loved it and am glad to have gone through the whole thing in order (I've probably read it 2.5 times at this point but this is the second time actually reading it all at once). I agree with everything from my original review. 9.8/10, go read it now, epic and masterful and joyful and grim and brave and beautiful. By God's death the stars shall stand.
2022:
Okay, wow, I don't even know what to say. This was awesome. I've read good poetry before, and I've read good philosophy, but I've never really read good philosophical poetry. I've definitely never read philosophical poetry that manages to not feel overly philosophical and imposing. This is marvelous and engaging and well-written, and is *also* talking theology/philosophy but not in an annoying way at all.
It will take you a couple of hours to read and is well worth your time, so go and read it now.
(I don't love the end, or at least, I don't understand it. Also, I'm a little wary of justification of violence based on Christianity ~ another thing I don't really understand and don't want to fully judge until I do, but I get a visceral reaction when someone slays a bunch of people and says "oh, God told me to." So I almost rated this 4 stars, but there's so much good stuff that it has to be 5 for now. Will update when I reread, because I *will* reread this, and have thought about it some more.)
Oh, and a last note: if you have the time, read it aloud. The wordplay and literary genius of this poem is best appreciated in that way. (Even better, get someone to recite for you.)
Updated to add some of my favorite quotes:
Here are some fave quotes from this time through:
⳩ The gates of heaven are fearful gates, / Worse than the gates of hell; / Nor would I break the splendours barred / Or seek to know the thing they guard, / Which is too good to tell.
⳩ He sang of Balder beautiful, / Whom the heavens could not save
⳩ I would rather fall with Adam / Than rise with all your gods.
⳩ If it be not better to fast for joy / Than feast for misery.
⳩ It is only Christian men / Guard even heathen things
⳩ For our God hath blessed creation, / Calling it good. I know / What spirit with whom you blindly band / Hath blessed destruction with his hand; / Yet by God's death the stars shall stand / And the small apples grow.
⳩ And was not God my armourer, / All patient and unpaid, / That sealed my skull as a helmet, / And ribs for hauberk made?
⳩ For we go gathering heathen men, / A terrible harvest, ten by ten, / As the wrath of the last red autumn- then / When Christ reaps down the kings.
⳩ Death on the gods of death! / Over the thrones of doom and blood / Goeth God that is a craftsman good
⳩ The people of the peace of God / Went roaring down to die
⳩ For dire was Alfred in his hour / The pale scribe witnesseth, / More mighty in defeat was he / Than all men else in victory, / And behind, his men came murderously, / Dry-throated, drinking death.
⳩ Wessex lay in a patch of peace / Like a dog in a patch of sun
I would rather fall with Adam, armed by God my peace, signed of the cross of the Christ, than rise with all the pagan gods. Amen amen world without end ⳩
2023:
The men of the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.
I listened to this for free on Librivox! It is definitely meant to be heard, but I get more out of it from reading it aloud myself or listening to someone perform it live than listening at 1.4x while shelving library books. That said, I still loved it and am glad to have gone through the whole thing in order (I've probably read it 2.5 times at this point but this is the second time actually reading it all at once). I agree with everything from my original review. 9.8/10, go read it now, epic and masterful and joyful and grim and brave and beautiful. By God's death the stars shall stand.
2022:
Okay, wow, I don't even know what to say. This was awesome. I've read good poetry before, and I've read good philosophy, but I've never really read good philosophical poetry. I've definitely never read philosophical poetry that manages to not feel overly philosophical and imposing. This is marvelous and engaging and well-written, and is *also* talking theology/philosophy but not in an annoying way at all.
It will take you a couple of hours to read and is well worth your time, so go and read it now.
(I don't love the end, or at least, I don't understand it. Also, I'm a little wary of justification of violence based on Christianity ~ another thing I don't really understand and don't want to fully judge until I do, but I get a visceral reaction when someone slays a bunch of people and says "oh, God told me to." So I almost rated this 4 stars, but there's so much good stuff that it has to be 5 for now. Will update when I reread, because I *will* reread this, and have thought about it some more.)
Oh, and a last note: if you have the time, read it aloud. The wordplay and literary genius of this poem is best appreciated in that way. (Even better, get someone to recite for you.)
Updated to add some of my favorite quotes:
February 16, 2021
ENGLISH: Described as "one of the last epic poems in the English language," it tells the story of King Alfred's battle against the Danes (on the year 878). This poem is in the same category as "The homecoming of Beorhtnoth" by Tolkien, which describes a different battle, the battle of Maldon, on the year 991, 113 years later, when the Danes had been replaced by the Viking (probably Norwegians).
It is written in stanzas of 4 to 6 verses, with a very interesting rhythm, and a rime structured like this: A-B-C[-C[-C]]-B that gives the poem a unique special sound.
I really liked the scene where King Alfred asks for hospitality from an old woman who lives alone in a hut, who makes him watch the food she was cooking, and when the king fails in that simple job, the woman, who does not recognize him, slaps him. The king's reaction to this "outrage" is perfect.
ESPAÑOL: Descrito como "uno de los últimos poemas épicos en lengua inglesa", cuenta la batalla del rey Alfredo contra los daneses (en el año 878). Este poema está en la misma categoría que "El regreso de Beorhtnoth" de Tolkien, que describe una batalla diferente, la de Maldon, en el año 991, 113 años más tarde, cuando los daneses habían sido reemplazados por los vikingos (probablemente noruegos).
Está escrito en estrofas de 4 a 6 versos, con un ritmo muy interesante y una rima estructurada así: A-B-C[-C[-C]]-B que le da al poema un sonido especial único y original.
Me gustó mucho la escena en la que el rey Alfredo pide hospitalidad a una anciana que vive sola en una cabaña, que le pone a vigilar la comida que estaba cocinando, y cuando el rey fracasa en ese trabajo tan simple, la mujer, que no le conoce, le da una bofetada. La reacción del rey ante este "ultraje" es perfecta.
It is written in stanzas of 4 to 6 verses, with a very interesting rhythm, and a rime structured like this: A-B-C[-C[-C]]-B that gives the poem a unique special sound.
I really liked the scene where King Alfred asks for hospitality from an old woman who lives alone in a hut, who makes him watch the food she was cooking, and when the king fails in that simple job, the woman, who does not recognize him, slaps him. The king's reaction to this "outrage" is perfect.
ESPAÑOL: Descrito como "uno de los últimos poemas épicos en lengua inglesa", cuenta la batalla del rey Alfredo contra los daneses (en el año 878). Este poema está en la misma categoría que "El regreso de Beorhtnoth" de Tolkien, que describe una batalla diferente, la de Maldon, en el año 991, 113 años más tarde, cuando los daneses habían sido reemplazados por los vikingos (probablemente noruegos).
Está escrito en estrofas de 4 a 6 versos, con un ritmo muy interesante y una rima estructurada así: A-B-C[-C[-C]]-B que le da al poema un sonido especial único y original.
Me gustó mucho la escena en la que el rey Alfredo pide hospitalidad a una anciana que vive sola en una cabaña, que le pone a vigilar la comida que estaba cocinando, y cuando el rey fracasa en ese trabajo tan simple, la mujer, que no le conoce, le da una bofetada. La reacción del rey ante este "ultraje" es perfecta.
October 30, 2025
How on earth he managed to tell a brilliant but bloody tale in beautiful verse, I'll never know. (Also, my giddy heart filled with glee every time he rhymed a word with a name of a person or place. I don't even know why, but I really like that.)
I started this book and immediately had proof that I would love it when I read this:
Which is part of the dedication to his wife.
And then there is one of my other favorite quotes:
And in any case, it's a gorgeous tale, best read aloud, and I heartily recommend to all.
I started this book and immediately had proof that I would love it when I read this:
"Up through an empty house of stars,
Being what heart you are,
Up the inhuman steeps of space
As on a staircase go in grace,
Carrying the firelight on your face
Beyond the loneliest star."
Which is part of the dedication to his wife.
And then there is one of my other favorite quotes:
“The men of the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.”
And in any case, it's a gorgeous tale, best read aloud, and I heartily recommend to all.
July 31, 2024
"A proud man was the Roman, his speech a single one,
But his eyes were like an eagle's eyes,
That is staring at the sun.
"Dig for me where I die," he said,
"If first or last I fall – dead on the fell at the first charge,
Or dead by Wantage wall;
Lift not my head from bloody ground,
Bear not my body home,
For all the earth is Roman earth,
And I shall die in Rome."
[...]
"I have a vision, and I know
The heathen shall return.
They shall not come with warships,
They shall not waste with brands,
But books be all their eating,
And ink be on their hands."
But his eyes were like an eagle's eyes,
That is staring at the sun.
"Dig for me where I die," he said,
"If first or last I fall – dead on the fell at the first charge,
Or dead by Wantage wall;
Lift not my head from bloody ground,
Bear not my body home,
For all the earth is Roman earth,
And I shall die in Rome."
[...]
"I have a vision, and I know
The heathen shall return.
They shall not come with warships,
They shall not waste with brands,
But books be all their eating,
And ink be on their hands."
May 9, 2025
"The men of the East may spell the stars, And times and triumphs mark, But the men signed of the cross of Christ Go gaily in the dark."
Chesterton's modern epic poem is simply both a pure delight to read aloud and an encouragement to Faith.
Chesterton's modern epic poem is simply both a pure delight to read aloud and an encouragement to Faith.
October 31, 2013
“Pride flings frail palaces at the sky,
As a man flings up sand,
But the firm feet of humility
Take hold of heavy land."
As a man flings up sand,
But the firm feet of humility
Take hold of heavy land."
April 28, 2025
Gorgeous prose but i needed a lot of help understanding it. Gradesaver website was very helpful as were others. As recommended, i listened to it being read aloud as I followed along. Thank you to Kelly Cumbee on Youtube. This long epic poem was dedicated to Chesterton’s wife Frances. I can not help but think she must have been delighted by it. One csn not help being impressed by the majesty and chivalry that was England.
November 2, 2016
Fantastic.
"The men of the the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.
The men of the East may search the scrolls
For sure fates and fame,
But men that drink the blood of God
Go singing to their shame"
"The men of the the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.
The men of the East may search the scrolls
For sure fates and fame,
But men that drink the blood of God
Go singing to their shame"
November 2, 2017
I can't believe it took me this long to read the whole thing, since it contains some of my very favourite Chesterton poetry. And yet, on finishing the whole thing, I have to admit that Tolkien's assessment was perfectly correct.
Full review now available at Vintage Novels!
Full review now available at Vintage Novels!
January 24, 2021
And wonder smote the pirate king
And brought him to his christening
And the end of all his raids.
And brought him to his christening
And the end of all his raids.
February 15, 2024
I rated this book 2 stars not because it is a bad book, but because I had a hard time following the story. It is very well written, and the verse is very beautiful. Again though, I am not used to reading verse so I didn’t understand a lot of it. I would still recommend this book, but I won’t be reading it again.
July 12, 2025
Excellent.
September 23, 2019
Poetry is usually pretty opaque to me. So it always surprises me just how much I love Chesterton's poetry. It helps me understand that I am missing something fundamental by not usually reading poetry. Still, an epic poem seems to appeal to me more.
When I was at the Chesterton conference this year I watch a movie more than just based on this poem. They used the whole poem and placed it with video segments depicting the events. So this helped me a lot in reading through this poem which my local Chesterton society is going through this month.
Five stars since I can easily see reading this again.
When I was at the Chesterton conference this year I watch a movie more than just based on this poem. They used the whole poem and placed it with video segments depicting the events. So this helped me a lot in reading through this poem which my local Chesterton society is going through this month.
Five stars since I can easily see reading this again.
December 9, 2019
Epic poem about Alfred the Greats struggle against the Danes. Highly recommend it in audiobook format as epoc poems should be listened to aloud.
November 28, 2025
I do not believe I have the linguistic capability to describe just how beautiful and soul-seizing this ballad was. The memory of listening to it with my sister on a long car ride and gasping/together at the brilliant poetry and pausing the audiobook to recap the storyline (and crack jokes about “Mark, the Italian”and Colins hair flipping, ofc) will become one of my favorite literary memories. (Why don’t we experience stories in community more? This must be remedied!)
It’s the type of book that needs to settle into your bones. The type of language and mythos I’d want to have my family read-aloud around the hearth as tradition and let it wash over us. I would like the words and rhymes and atmosphere (maybe not the violence, tho, hehe) to root itself into my way of thinking and speech and make a home inside my heart, strengthening my allegiance to Christ the suffering but victorious King.
Also, I’ve found the prime standard with which to compare any potential suitors to - someone like Eldred who can “walk like pestilence” in fierce battle while simultaneously wondering how his bean plants are growing back home. And I don’t want to see any music on guitar unless that instrument is being smote as in ire. ✌️
Lines that haunted me in this first encounter -
"And a man hopes, being ignorant,
Till in white woods apart
He finds at last the lost bird dead:
And a man may still lift up his head
But never more his heart.”
"But though I lie on the floor of the world,
With the seven sins for rods,
I would rather fall with Adam
Than rise with all your gods.”
"Nor shall all iron dooms make dumb
Men wondering ceaselessly,
If it be not better to fast for joy
Than feast for misery.
“For God is a great servant,
And rose before the day,
From some primordial slumber torn;
But all we living later born
Sleep on, and rise after the morn,
And the Lord has gone away.”
"I know that weeds shall grow in it
Faster than men can burn;
And though they scatter now and go,
In some far century, sad and slow,
I have a vision, and I know
The heathen shall return.
They shall not come with warships,
They shall not waste with brands,
But books be all their eating,
And ink be on their hands.”
It’s the type of book that needs to settle into your bones. The type of language and mythos I’d want to have my family read-aloud around the hearth as tradition and let it wash over us. I would like the words and rhymes and atmosphere (maybe not the violence, tho, hehe) to root itself into my way of thinking and speech and make a home inside my heart, strengthening my allegiance to Christ the suffering but victorious King.
Also, I’ve found the prime standard with which to compare any potential suitors to - someone like Eldred who can “walk like pestilence” in fierce battle while simultaneously wondering how his bean plants are growing back home. And I don’t want to see any music on guitar unless that instrument is being smote as in ire. ✌️
Lines that haunted me in this first encounter -
"And a man hopes, being ignorant,
Till in white woods apart
He finds at last the lost bird dead:
And a man may still lift up his head
But never more his heart.”
"But though I lie on the floor of the world,
With the seven sins for rods,
I would rather fall with Adam
Than rise with all your gods.”
"Nor shall all iron dooms make dumb
Men wondering ceaselessly,
If it be not better to fast for joy
Than feast for misery.
“For God is a great servant,
And rose before the day,
From some primordial slumber torn;
But all we living later born
Sleep on, and rise after the morn,
And the Lord has gone away.”
"I know that weeds shall grow in it
Faster than men can burn;
And though they scatter now and go,
In some far century, sad and slow,
I have a vision, and I know
The heathen shall return.
They shall not come with warships,
They shall not waste with brands,
But books be all their eating,
And ink be on their hands.”
May 15, 2025
This is an English epic fictional poem about the legend of King Alfred and his victory against the Danes in the battle of Ethandune in 878. It was beautiful to listen to as audio, but I got lost in it very quickly. I switched to digital and I still got lost. It’s lovely and easy to read with a nice rhyming pattern ranging from 4-6 stanzas, but I found it very difficult to understand the plot without the help of Super Summary. It was very good, but maybe too good for me :D
August 25, 2021
When I began reading this novella-length poem, I struggled a bit with the pacing and rhythm. Then my husband suggested we read alternating stanzas aloud to each other. What a difference that made! Suddenly, lines that once seemed cumbersome become expressive instead.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, not least because it’s a favorite of my husband. It really resonates with him that Alfred and his allies fight, not because they expect to win, but simply because it is the right thing to do. That theme reminded me of Lord of the Rings.
I’m sure many other readers have noticed and commented on the various parallels between Tolkien’s trilogy and Chesterton’s epic poem. I suppose Aragorn is Tolkien’s improvement on King Alfred. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that both authors have clearly read the same source material (those British public schools!).
It is interesting that in both stories, the heroes do not spend much time describing the goodness they wish to save. Instead, their overt focus is, “We must fight, because our foes are evil.” Somehow, at least to a modern reader like me, this feels almost incomplete, like music awaiting tonal resolution. Apparently I’m not the only one--the makers of the Lord of the Rings movies flipped the focus by inserting an emotionally pivotal scene in which Frodo asks Sam why they must keep going, and Sam says something along the lines of, “Because there’s some good in the world, and it’s worth fighting for.”
Why don’t Tolkien and Chesterton make their characters say that? Is it just that Tolkien and Chesterton lived in a less-polarized era and “good” didn’t need to be spelled out? Is it British reticence? Is it just a literary device that keeps “the good” more universal? Or perhaps it’s something different. Perhaps a dogged focus on doing one’s duty by fighting evil actually protects us from being discouraged and distracted by thinking too much about ourselves, our goals, and our chances for success.
A good read, especially after having read about King Alfred and the Vikings of his era.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, not least because it’s a favorite of my husband. It really resonates with him that Alfred and his allies fight, not because they expect to win, but simply because it is the right thing to do. That theme reminded me of Lord of the Rings.
I’m sure many other readers have noticed and commented on the various parallels between Tolkien’s trilogy and Chesterton’s epic poem. I suppose Aragorn is Tolkien’s improvement on King Alfred. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that both authors have clearly read the same source material (those British public schools!).
It is interesting that in both stories, the heroes do not spend much time describing the goodness they wish to save. Instead, their overt focus is, “We must fight, because our foes are evil.” Somehow, at least to a modern reader like me, this feels almost incomplete, like music awaiting tonal resolution. Apparently I’m not the only one--the makers of the Lord of the Rings movies flipped the focus by inserting an emotionally pivotal scene in which Frodo asks Sam why they must keep going, and Sam says something along the lines of, “Because there’s some good in the world, and it’s worth fighting for.”
Why don’t Tolkien and Chesterton make their characters say that? Is it just that Tolkien and Chesterton lived in a less-polarized era and “good” didn’t need to be spelled out? Is it British reticence? Is it just a literary device that keeps “the good” more universal? Or perhaps it’s something different. Perhaps a dogged focus on doing one’s duty by fighting evil actually protects us from being discouraged and distracted by thinking too much about ourselves, our goals, and our chances for success.
A good read, especially after having read about King Alfred and the Vikings of his era.
April 29, 2012
This is one I read over and over when I retire but before sleep takes me. Truly one of Chesterton's greatest poetic works! In my estimation one of the best poetic works ever.
The fun part is that while it is terrific poetry, Chesterton also knew his stuff.
One of my favorite parts:
And as he wept for the woman
He let her business be,
And like his royal oath and rash
The good food fell upon the ash
And blackened instantly.
Screaming, the woman caught a cake
Yet burning from the bar,
And struck him suddenly on the face, Leaving a scarlet scar.
King Alfred stood up wordless, A man dead with surprise...
G. K. Chesterton. The Ballad of the White Horse (Kindle Locations 360-361).
the woman basically helps Alfred wake up and smell the coffee! After that, he takes on the fearsome Danes with unstoppable courage!
The fun part is that while it is terrific poetry, Chesterton also knew his stuff.
One of my favorite parts:
And as he wept for the woman
He let her business be,
And like his royal oath and rash
The good food fell upon the ash
And blackened instantly.
Screaming, the woman caught a cake
Yet burning from the bar,
And struck him suddenly on the face, Leaving a scarlet scar.
King Alfred stood up wordless, A man dead with surprise...
G. K. Chesterton. The Ballad of the White Horse (Kindle Locations 360-361).
the woman basically helps Alfred wake up and smell the coffee! After that, he takes on the fearsome Danes with unstoppable courage!
November 7, 2012
This is my favorite poem of all time... How's that for a wide, sweeping statement? I'm sure I will have other favorites eventually, but I love it today ;)I listen to it whenever I get the opportunity in my audiobooks app. I had to take it with a grain of salt at first due to the overt Catholic tendencies, but I have since come to love the poem and its ponderings on life. Beautiful and thank you, Chesterton! I think this was my intro to G.K. Chesterton.
September 30, 2024
2024: This marks the 4th fall season that I’ve read this. I can’t really explain why I keep coming back to it; it seems that as soon as the leaves start turning, all I can do is think about this epic poem. I’d like to amend my previous review and say that I think Chesterton is THE most underrated author of all time. Something about what he writes just sticks with me. Mystery, non-fiction, epic poems and everything in between ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2021: This is great! Chesterton has got to be one of the most underrated authors of all time ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2021: This is great! Chesterton has got to be one of the most underrated authors of all time ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 26, 2013
Listened to the poem and followed along with the text. I'm not much for epic poetry as a rule. Hearing it read aloud this way, I can imagine the thrill it used to give ancient peoples when oral recitation was the sole entertainment of the tribe.
September 4, 2023
Lift not my head from bloody ground,
Bear not my body home,
For all the earth is Roman earth
And I shall die in Rome.
Bear not my body home,
For all the earth is Roman earth
And I shall die in Rome.
December 19, 2021
Chesteron's epic poem about King Alfred the Great is a masterpiece. From its verse, to the story he tells, to the layered meaning behind the story, The Ballad of the White Horse rewards the reader on so many levels. Read in conjunction with Orthodoxy, Chesterton's defense of Christendom and orthodoxy become irresistibly compelling.
"The men of the the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.
The men of the East may search the scrolls
For sure fates and fame,
But men that drink the blood of God
Go singing to their shame"
"The men of the the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.
The men of the East may search the scrolls
For sure fates and fame,
But men that drink the blood of God
Go singing to their shame"
August 28, 2024
Just a great poem, exciting in its passages about battle, intriguing and thought-provoking in its depiction of the Danes, and profoundly moving in its depiction of Alfred's Christian ethos.
Chesterton's depiction of the Blessed Virgin appearing to King Alfred is worthy of re-reading in and of itself.
Chesterton's depiction of the Blessed Virgin appearing to King Alfred is worthy of re-reading in and of itself.
December 1, 2024
Ok does it count as “read” if I didn’t understand most of it?! I’m lost on poetry, but I did try. Needed to read something different from what I usually read, so this fit that craving nicely. I “liked” the style and story and it all sounded very fancy to my untrained ears. Jolly good, man.
September 15, 2019
I hadn't really read any long form narrative poetry like this before and it takes some getting used to but I loved it!
January 16, 2023
It is not hard to be impressed by Chesterton, but as I have read very few epic poems, this was very good. I can’t claim to understand some of it, but it is worth re-reading.
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