Ballad of the White Horse

The Ballad of the White Horse is one of the last great epic poems in the English language. In the dark times before a unified England, warring tribes roved and sparred for territory across the British Isles. The Ballad of the White Horse records the deeds and military accomplishments of Alfred the Great as he defeats the invading Danes at the Battle of Ethandun. The poem follows the battle-from the gathering of the chiefs to the last war cry-with a care to rhythm, sound, and language that makes it a magnificent work of art as well as a vital piece of English history. 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.