Report on The Ballad of the White Horse by G. K. Chesterton - Book Report/Review Example

English Literature ic and Modern) 11 January Book Report on “The Ballad of the White Horse” by G. K. Chesterton Part 1 PASSAGE 1 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker is the Virgin Mary. 2. The Virgin Mary is the blessed mother of Jesus Christ, the mother of God. B) SITUATION 1. Mary is addressing King Alfred at the moment he is meditating after being defeated by the Danes. 2. The Virgin Mary addresses King Alfred at the time of his meditation near the river island of Athelney. King Alfred loses his confidence after being defeated by the Danish army several times. 3. This event take place before the battle of Ethandune and before King Alfred gathers his chiefs. Mary reveals to King Alfred about the true essence of Christian life, part of which is the fundament of fighting against overwhelming odds. C) PARAPHRASE After being defeated by the Danes, a pagan people, King Alfred meditates and questioned God as to why he allow the Danes to defeat them. The Virgin Mary appears before him to console him and gives him guidance on his mission. She tells King Alfred that the Danish army may try to know the future in advance through astrology, but also claims that those who fight for the cause of Christ and who entrust their future to God are better off. D) SIGNIFICANCE/IMPORTANCE The Danes invaded and nearly conquer England. King Alfred fled to river island of Athelney. He questions the will of God and he meditated. Mary comes to him and motivated him to keep fighting for the cause and promises him a salvation. The significance of this passage is that the words of Mary encourage King Alfred to fight for his cause. PASSAGE 2 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker is Mary 2. The Virgin Mary is the blessed mother of Jesus Christ, the mother of God. B) SITUATION 1. The Virgin Mary is addressing King Alfred in his time of despair. 2. King Alfred is hiding on the river island of Athelney where Mary comes to him to comfort him in his time of despair. 3. The Danes invades and nearly conquered England. The Danes drive the Wessex King Alfred into hiding on the river island of Athelney. After hearing the words of wisdom from Mary, King Alfred gathers his courage to gather the Christian chief to fight for his cause. C) PARAPHRASE The Virgin Mary tells King Alfred that her words are not meant to console nor comfort him. Mary tells him that thing will get more difficult for him and that he will need to endure many pain and sufferings. The Virgin Mary does not promise King Alfred earthly victory but promises him salvation. Soon after, Mary disappears; King Alfred gains his confidence and set out to defeat his enemies. D) SIGNIFICANCE The Virgin Mary promises him salvation and this make King Alfred renewed his courage to fight against the Danes. Greatly encouraged by Mary's words and her promise of salvation, Alfred sets out to try to muster the remaining Catholic chieftains and their followers. He obtains the support of Mark (a Roman) and Colan (a Gael). PASSAGE 3 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker is Ogier 2. Ogier is an old Danish Earl under King Guthram B) SITUATION 1. King Alfred disguises as a minstrel and captures the Danish army. Ogier is singing to the Danes and King Alfred. 2. Ogier is singing in the Danish camps and the Danish in turns sings using King Alfred’s harp. 3. The singing takes place before the battle of Ethandune. Ogier sings after Harold pass the harp to him. King Guthrum takes the harp to mock the Christian army. C) PARAPHRASE Ogier sings to the young army men who sit around the fire telling them that they have many things to look forward to and that true love awaits them. He states that he and King Alfred are growing older and further claims that only hate is true. He believes in the love of women but still advocates hatred to the young men. D) SIGNIFICANCE: This passage reveals the pessimist nature of Ogier. He feels unfulfilled and pessimistic about life. His hatred for life is reflected at the battle of Ethandune, where Ogier gives a raging battle speech to the Danes after he slays Mark, demonstrating his hatred for the Christian army. PASSAGE 4 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker is King Guthrum 2. King Guthrum is the king of Danes. B) SITUATION 1. King Guthrum is singing to the Danish army and King Alfred who disguises as a minstrel. 2. King Guthrum is singing at the Danish camp where the Danes sings in turn using King Alfred’s harp. 3. The singing takes place before the battle of Ethandune. King Guthrum takes turn from Ogier to confront Alfred into war by mocking the Christians and their army. C) PARAPHRASE King Guthrum is a man of culture and many experiences, but he sings of unfulfilled hopes and pessimistic view. From King Guthrum perspective, no matter what a man accomplish, all life ends in death as no one can escape out of it. He compares the soul to a lost bird and a body of broken shells. D) SIGNIFICANCE King Guthrum song tells us the true nature of his belief and his doubt in the existence of human soul. After this incident King Alfred goes to war with the Danes to stop them from blaspheming their God. PASSAGE 5 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker is King Alfred 2. King Alfred is the King of England who speaks of hope and goodness B) SITUTATION 1. King Alfred is addressing the British Army. 2. After the singing from the Danes, he makes his way to the meeting place to join the Wessex chiefs where he comes to the hut of a poor woman. 3. This happens after King Alfred sings with his harp in the Danish camp. C) PARAPHRASE Alfred explains to the soldiers that he is the first king known of heaven to be struck like a slave by an old lady. He tells his soldier about the dangers of pride and that man who knows more than a priest and a king is just an ill servant as he knows only about earthly things. D) SIGNIFICANCE: After the old lady slaps King Alfred right on the cheek, he gathers his army and lectures them about the danger of pride and he gathers his army for the fight. King Alfred laughs at his own foolishness and this brings him back to reality. He marches his army towards the split road where the battle will be fought. PASSAGE 6 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker in this passage is Marcus. 2. Marcus is the commander of the Christian Army. B) SITUATION 1. Marcus is addressing the Christian army. 2. He is addressing them on the battle field where Eldred is killed by the Danes. 3. This occurs during the Battle of Ethandune. The words were said when Chief Eldred had been killed by the Danes. C) PARAPHRASE After the death of Eldred a wave of fear sweeps across the Christian Army. Marcus encourages the army to be steady since they too can fall to the swords like Eldred. He asks then to stand tall like a Roman and to be on their guard. D) SIGNIFICANCE The speech of Marcus serves to alert the Christian army to be careful and be alert. This speech comforts the Christian army and encourages them to fight their enemy back. Marcus kills Elf in this event. PASSAGE 7 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker is King Alfred 2. King Alfred is the English King B) SITUATION 1. King Alfred is addressing his army 2. He gives this speech at the Christian camp, at the moment the Danish army appears to advance and empowers them. 3. The event occurs during the battle of Ethandune. This was a time when the Christian chiefs are being killed by the Danes. This weakens the Christians moral as they appear weaker as compared to the Danish army. After this speech the Christian army recovers from their loss and advances towards the Danes and overpowers them. C) PARAPHRASE King Alfred claims that to be a slave of the Danes is like partaking an infamy. He further says that he would rather die than be captured by the Danish army. He is willing to fight the Danes until his last breath rather than to be enslaved by the Danish people. King Alfred proclaim that he will fight till his death or till the Danish people died. D) SIGNIFICANCE The Speech of King Alfred encourages the Christian Army to charge forward and fight for their cause. The Christian Army was losing the battle as fear sweeps across them. The speech of King Alfred gives them the courage to fight back and defeat their enemy. The Christian army gives up their fear and charge towards the Danes with courage after King Alfred’s speech. PASSAGE 8 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker of this passage is the Persona. 2. The persona is an onlooker from the Christian Army B) SITUATION 1. The persona is addressing the reader of the poem. 2. This event takes place in the forest where the apparition of Mary has been put. 3. This is during the battle of Ethandune when King Alfred and his army are in desperate straits. C) PARAPHRASE In the moment of extreme sacrifice, the Virgin Mary interceded on behalf of her people. The seven swords of Mary’s heart feel sorrow because of the suffering of her children and she becomes one with her people by wielding her hand on behalf of her people. D) SIGNIFICANCE The apparition of the Virgin Mary who appears when King Alfred and his army are on the brink of defeat encourages the men to charge their enemy once again. The vision gives them a new strength to fight back. PASSAGE 9 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker is King Alfred 2. King Alfred is the king of England who speaks of hope and goodness B) SITUATION 1. He is addressing his army. 2. This event takes place in the Christian camp when they overpower the Danish army. 3. The events occur during the battle of Ethandune. During this battle, water current rises high and disadvantages the Danish army against the Christian army. This event leads the Christian army to win against the Danes. C) PARAPHRASE King Alfred sees the tide rising and cried out. The water waves soar high to the extent of sweeping the Danes. The tide turns on the tall grey seas and wavers in the trees to save the deliver the Christian army from their enemy. The Virgin Mary moves over the water into the sky. The white horse appears and guides them towards victory. The interventions lead the Christian army to victory. D) SIGNIFICANCE This statement foreshadows the victory that the Christian army have over the Danish army. It also symbolizes the extent to which Christianity will spread over England. This is symbolizes by the water of the sea and the clouds in the sky. PASSAGE 10 A) SPEAKER 1. The speaker is the Persona 2. He is addressing the reader B) SITUATION 1. The persona is addressing the reader 2. The events take place when king Guthrum is defeated by the Christian king and he agrees to be baptized. 3. This is after the defeat of the Danes by the Christian army C) PARAPHRASE The Persona reflects on the battle. After many days of bloodshed the Christian Army finally wins the battle and manages to convert Guthrum to Christianity. D) SIGNIFICANCE This passage signifies the power of God. King Alfred and his men after many days of battle not only win the battle but the heart of King Guthrum who is a pagan. PART II 1. The main theme of the poem “Ballad of the White Horse” is that evil is always attacking good, Christians must not only defend the good with courage and perseverance, but also with a strong faith and humility. The theme is demonstrated throughout the poem through the events and the characters. King Alfred is defeated by the Danish army who does not believe in the existence of God. They have won so many battles yet there is no evidence of fulfillment or Joy for them. In his songs, Guthrum also illustrates that inside he is a pessimist without a feeling of satisfaction in life. Ogier also indicate earthly pleasure and encourages his army to hate. This illustrates the fact that without God, there is no happiness and fulfillment as earthly pleasure cannot last for long. On the other hand, King Alfred based his strength on his faith even though he is constantly being attacked by pagan worshippers. He obtains humility through his defeat and again at the hands of an old woman. Pride had a fall and God cannot favor proud people as they overshadow God. When King Alfred gains his strength from the Virgin Mary and when he learned humility, he is able to defeat the Danes. Through his courage and faith, he not only defeated his enemy but also converted them to Christianity. 2. The First apparition of Mary occurs when King Alfred is losing his battles and hiding on the river island of Athelney. Mary encourages King Alfred and gives him words of consolation. In the first apparition Mary does not promise King Alfred earthly victory, but reminds him of the promise of salvation. This greatly gives courage to King Alfred and gives him the strength to fight back his enemy. The second apparition occurs when King Alfred and his army is on the brink of complete defeat. The vision of Virgin Mary encourages Alfred and his line charges once again. Read More