A poem by English author G. K. Chesterton called The Ballad of the White Horse describes the bravery of the Saxon King Alfred the Great in an idealized manner. The poem, a ballad, has been regarded as one of the last truly fantastic traditional epic poems ever composed in English. The poem describes how the Virgin Mary helped Alfred beat the Dane invaders in the Battle of Ethandun. Chesterton opted to include the Battle of Ethandune in the Valley of the White Horse even though there is no historical support for it in his poem. There are 2,684 lines of English verse throughout the entire poem. They are broken up into stanzas, which normally include 4 to 6 lines each. The Ballad Of The White Horse has been deemed a classic and has been a great collection of ideas comprehended in a single draft to be read by readers of several age groups.
G.K.Chesterton, in full Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874-14 June 1936), English critic and author of poetry, essays, novels, and short stories, known also for his dynamic personality and obese figure. He was an important English writer of the early twentieth century. His productive and various output included journalism, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction. He has been concerned to as the 'prince of paradox'. He devoted his extraordinary brain and creative power to the reform of English government and society. He was knowledgeable at St. Paul's, and went to art school at University College London. He wrote 100 books, contributions to 200 more, hundreds of poems, including the epic Ballad of the White Horse, five plays, five novels, and some short stories, including a popular series featuring the priest-detective, Father Brown. Chesterton expired on 14 June 1936 at his home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
