Dedication

The Dedication introduces Christianity as the most significant theme in the ballad. Chesterton works his way up to this by posing several questions. He asks why anyone should write about events from the distant past. Those days will never return, and the popular tales about Alfred that have come down to the present might seem more like fairy tales than actual history. He wonders who will be able to capture Alfred and the age he lived in, since “His century like a small dark cloud / Drifts far” (Lines 43-44). Nevertheless, there is a lens through which Alfred can be seen, and that lens is a Christian one: “By one light only / We look from Alfred’s eyes” (Lines 47-48). According to Chesterton, the fact that Alfred fought for Christian civilization is the most important thing about him. 

This leads Chesterton to his tribute to his wife, Frances, “Who brought the cross to [him]” (Line 54). He then remembers an occasion when he and Frances visited the battle-site of Ethandune. Writing in the first person, he says he will go with her, and with God, into “the fiery cross of love and war / That like yourself, goes on” (Lines 69-70).