Ballad of the White Horse

The Ballad of the White Horse, written by G.K. Chesterton, takes place in England during

the reign of King Alfred. The ballad follows the hero, King Alfred, through the attack of the

Danes into England. Encompassed within this piece of literature are three fables concerning

King Alfred. However, there is one crucial story held within this ballad, an epic in which King

Alfred poses as a minstrel and walks into the camp of the Danes. Each of the leaders plays on

Alfred’s harp and sings his own philosophy concerning life. Once each of the four Earls has

sung his tune, Alfred takes back the harp and sings of Christian values. This clashes with each

Earl’s ideology. He explains where each of the Earls has gone wrong in the analysis of human

nature and why Christianity covers each of the holes. King Alfred contradicts self-centered

pleasures with a path to true joy, sadness with hope, a hatred of creation with a love of creation,

and uncertainty about the meaning of life with a certainty about human purpose.

Harold, the first of the troupe of Earls, sings about his viewpoint, declaring that self-

centered luxuries are the best way to happiness. His song is simple and egocentric; he wants

only to take advantage of the pleasures on earth, “But we, we shall enjoy the world / The whole

huge world a toy” (38). He talks endlessly about the splendors of life and describes the “Great

wine like blood from Burgundy / Cloaks like the clouds from Tyre” (38). Harold is a very self-

centered Earl, concerned simply with his own desires in life. Alfred, in contrast, declares that

mere comfort will never satisfy because it can never instill true gaiety like Christianity does. He

describes friars and the bliss which they experience, depicting how “Our monks go robed in rain

and snow, / But a heart of flame therein” (46). He goes even further and says it is better to have

pure bliss through the giving of ones’ self than all the satisfaction this life has to offer when he
says, “If it be not better to fast for joy / Than feast for misery” (47). Harold believes that

pleasures were the way to happiness, while Alfred disagrees because he knows that the only way

to understand true joy is through the giving of yourself in Christianity.

Elf, the next Earl to voice his principles, sings a very sad and morose song which claims

a final disposition of destruction for all things beautiful. His sings of a tragedy about a god which

everyone loved and the hearts of those watching were moved “As he sang of Balder beautiful /

Whom the heavens loved in vain” (40). Elf’s objective for singing this allegory is to conclude

that since all the gods, who admire Balder, could not save him, all beauty and love are doomed

because “There is always a forgotten thing / And love is not secure” (40). In Alfred’s rebuttal, he

dismisses this idea and instead endorses the virtue of hope - even optimism for a seemingly

hopeless cause. He tells those listening that while England may appear to have fallen into the

hands of Danes, King Alfred “Has still some song to sing” (46) because they fight with a

purpose. Alfred continues, comparing Christians to hares when he boasts that “The hare has still

more heart to run / Than you have heart to ride” (46). King Alfred boldly states that Christians

have more spirit because of their knowledge and sense of higher purpose, while pagans are

merely fighting with no sense of meaning.

After the completion of Elf’s song, Ogier takes up the harp and sings of his hatred, rage,

and love of destruction. He alleges that under the surface of human nature, destruction is the

ultimate outcome, saying it is “Well if he finds in his soul at last / Fury, that does not fail” (41).

Furthermore, Ogier relished destruction. Only while something breaks does he find true beauty

within that object, “And the barest branch is beautiful / One moment, while it breaks” (41). He

then concludes that every action is motivated by some innate hate rooted in every person, “And

hate alone is true” (42). Opposite to Ogier’s position, King Alfred contains within his
personality a love for creation. While the Earls each believe that destruction is a glorious power,

Alfred simply dismisses that belief, declaring that destruction is bound to happen because it is a

force of nature. Due to his conclusion, Alfred praises preservation as a true power. He

acknowledges that all things will eventually deteriorate, but Christians will be the only ones

trying to preserve, therefore harnessing authentic power, “But because it is only Christian men /

Guard even heathen things” (47). Alfred proves his claim when he points to the “The White

Horse of the White Horse Vale, / that you have left to darken and fail” (47) as an example of

pagan negligence. While Ogier consumes himself with hate, rage, and a love of destruction,

Alfred recognizes that only true beauty is found in creation and preservation.

Finally, Guthrum, the eldest and most experienced Earl as well as the leader of the

invading Danes, obtains an opportunity to play his own song. He sings a pessimistic song that is

filled with the uncertainty about the meaning of life, and ultimately, despair. He opens by

asserting that hope is futile “And a man hopes, being ignorant” (43). Guthrum argues that one

can continue living life, but not with hope, “And a man may still lift up his head / but nevermore

his heart” (43). He continues to wallow in his despair proclaiming, “But the great sea is bitter /

That washes all the world” (44). Guthrum finds only one way out of absolute hopelessness: war.

He decides that the only interregnum one can get from his disparity comes while one fights in

battle so "He may forget it for an hour / To remember it again" (44). Through his time living on

earth, he has not found a true purpose in life. Alfred, on the other hand, knows what Guthrum is

missing and dismisses it as a simple question, saying, “I will even answer the mighty earl / That

asked of Wessex men” (45). Alfred continues to have hope through his song, knowing that

despair will not rule because he is certain about his purpose and reason to live. He proclaims

that God has created everything perfectly, “For our God hath blessed creation / calling it
good…” (47). Alfred recognizes that the pagan ideologies do not bring happiness, as Guthrum

shows by wallowing in his melancholy; Christianity, however, arms each man with joy and

meaning.

The Earls each take up the harp and acquire their chance to sing of their own philosophy

and impart some wisdom to which Alfred rebukes each and explains why only Christianity holds

the keys to true blitheness. Harold sings of happiness in the form of worldly pleasures and

personal gratification. He only wants to experience the profound luxuries of life and believes

that extravagance will help erase the emptiness inside him. Elf then sings concerning his view of

this world as pure sadness. He announces that the world is doomed to misery because all the

beautiful things in life can never be saved. Ogier than snatches the harp and clashes strongly with

Elf, relishing in the destruction of objects. He holds that fury and anger are the main motives

behind every action and in the end, rage will win out against any other emotion. Guthrum then

takes his turn on the harp and sings of the uncertainty about life. He believes hope is futile

because of the ambiguity of the future. Finally, Alfred refutes the pagans’ beliefs with those of

Christianity’s. He contrasts Harold’s self-indulged enjoyment with Christian values that bring

one true bliss. He diverges from Elf’s conclusion of ultimate melancholy and finds hope within

the promises of Christianity. Alfred reviles Ogier’s supposition of dominant fury and enjoyment

of ruin and replaces it with a love of creation and admiration for the preservation of all created

things. Finally, he shines hope onto Guthrum’s despair, knowing that with the ethics of

Christianity, there truly is a reason to maintain confidence. In conclusion, the four pagan Earls

describe their principles and Alfred juxtaposes each of their worldly ways of living with ideals

rooted deep within Christian faith and morality.