Interactive Guide Grade 8

11 The Treasure Trove of Poetry and the Art of Understanding It (Excerpt from Part 2: The Ballad of the White Horse )

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Part 2: Epic Poetry

Introduction 174 Book I: The Vision of the King 188 Book II: The Gathering of the Chiefs 202 Book III: The Harp of Alfred 214 Book IV: The Woman in the Forest 229 Book V: Ethandune: The First Stroke 240 Book VI: Ethandune: The Slaying of the Chiefs 253 Book VII: Ethandune: The Last Charge 266 Book VIII: The Scouring of the Horse 280 Dedication 293 Final Project: Ballad “Tapestry” 303

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Book VII

Reading and Reading Preparation Alfred has rallied his men for a last charge against the Danes. Is there any way they can turn the tide of this battle? Read Book 7.184–264, including the information in the footnotes. Vocabulary As you come across the words below in today’s reading assignment, look them up in the footnotes or in a dictionary. Write a brief definition of each word as it is used in the poem. 173

The Treasure Trove of Poetry A Guide to Literary Devices & Reading Comprehension in 55 Lessons

And hairy men, as huge as sin, / With hornèd heads, came wading in / Through the long, low sea-mire. The Ballad of the White Horse 1.88–90

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Literary Studies: Death of Ogier In Book 7, King Alfred comes face to face with Ogier, who represents the forces of evil. Mark was only able to suppress Ogier’s destructive rage for a short time, because he represented human reason and human efforts, which will never be strong enough to conquer evil. The forces of evil can only be conquered by God’s grace. Chesterton makes this clear by arranging the story so that Alfred kills Ogier right after Mary appears (7.200–224). Ogier believes that the evil “gods behind the gods” are more powerful than any good god, but Mary comes as the representative of the Christian God to prove him wrong (3.195). She

comes with a sword in her hand to intervene and turn the tide of battle. Immediately after Mary appears to Alfred, Ogier attacks Alfred and is killed by the king’s axe. Then Alfred blows his horn and calls upon the remainder of the Christian army to charge the Danes. “The high tide!” King Alfred cries, “The high tide and the turn!” (7.241–242). The death of Ogier after the appearance of Mary teaches us that only God’s grace can defeat chaos and destruction. We can only be successful in the battle against evil thanks to God’s assistance. God won’t always intervene so obviously as with Mary’s appearance, but His grace is always there.

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The Treasure Trove of Poetry