The Ballad of the White Horse

by G. K. Chesterton

Overview

One of the last great epic poems, this ballad tells the tale of Alfred the Great's unlikely victory — with the assistance of the Virgin Mary — over Gunthrum and the Danes at the Battle of Ethandune. A Catholic allegory relying more upon legends than historical facts, this chronicle is often considered Chesterton's greatest literary achievement. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486475639
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	07/21/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, play writing, journalism, public lecturing and debating, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction. Chesterton has been called the "prince of paradox". Time magazine, in a review of a biography of Chesterton, observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories-first carefully turning them inside out." For example, Chesterton wrote "Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it." Chesterton is well known for his reasoned apologetics and even some of those who disagree with him have recognized the universal appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man. Chesterton, as a political thinker, cast aspersions on both liberalism and conservatism, saying, "The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and came to identify such a position with Catholicism more and more, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism. George Bernard Shaw, Chesterton's "friendly enemy" according to Time, said of him, "He was a man of colossal genius".

Table of Contents

Book I
The Vision of the KIng
Book II
The Gathering of the Chiefs
Book III
The Harp of Alfred
Book IV
The Woman in the Forest
Book V
Ethandune: The First Stroke
Book VI
Ethandune: The Slaying of the Chiefs
Book VII
Ethandune: The Last Charge
Book VIII
The Scouring of the Horse