Mr. J. Corson Miller “was introduced to the poetry of Chesterton by Mr. William Rose Benet who dilated on the vigor and splendor of ‘The Ballad of the White Horse.’ I read that magnificent work, and thereafter read all the verse that G. K. C. produced. I am a great admirer of his poetical work. I admire his flexible sonnets, with their vast sweep of thought, and radiant vision. His various lyrics, love, nature, and religious lyrics, are all excellent; his religious poetry is sublime. His well known lyric, ‘The Donkey,’ with its superb last two lines, or couplet, is unforgettable. His ‘Queen of the Seven Swords’—his second last, if not his last, published volume of verse, bears in my humble opinion, the breadth and fire of eternal life. His was, indeed, a great spirit: no toadying, or cavilling; no smirking or masking, but strong and free, with the strength of the clean West wind, he put his thoughts and opinions and visions in books and papers, and let the seeds of his ideas fall where they would, with results be what they might. His many-sided genius is well known: political and social economist; poet, historian, novelist, short-story writer, artist and cartoonist, playwright—hardly any field in art and literature can be mentioned—without his having touched it in some manner and left his mark, too.”
Prof. Joseph J. Reilly holds that Chesterton will be best remembered for his poetry,
“The initial book I read was ‘Varied Types.’ My first reaction was one of delight in Chesterton’s brilliance, my second a realization that his views were colored so decidedly by his personality that one could not hope to get a genuinely objective appraisal from him. This has always seemed to me an element of strength and of weakness and ever since I have turned to Chesterton’s criticism most largely for the unusual flashes of insight which he shows than for any completely balanced judgment. In one sense he is like a delicious dessert: it is not the main part of a dinner but no dinner would be satisfying without it.
“My next acquaintance was with his ‘Orthodoxy’ which I found full of wisdom, insight, and inspiration. As I went on, I sometimes grew a little weary of his paradoxes but changed my mind when I happened one day upon his statement that to him paradox was ‘truth standing on its head.’
“After reading his volume of poems through several times and thinking him over for many months preparatory to writing an article on Chesterton as poet, I came to the conclusion to which I still cling that Chesterton’s best claim to the attention of our great-grand-children will be based on his poetry.”
John Gould Fletcher considers “Lepanto” is Chesterton’s finest poem, “next to that superb ‘Ballad of the White Horse’—too long for most people, I fancy, but absolutely characteristic of his great, generous, simple, and manly nature.
“I did not learn to like his poetry because of a parent or teacher. From my earliest years I have always read all the poets I could lay my hands on; and in later years, I have continued the practice. I read ‘Lepanto’ and the ‘Ballad’ some time back in 1912 as I recall, during my early years in London—read them and liked them. As regards the American poets, I should say that it was particularly marked in the case of Vachel Lindsay.”
“I am on record,” declares Clement Wood, “that he is the greatest poet of his generation. I well remember when ‘Lepanto’ was recited to Vachel Lindsay by Floyd Dell; but Lindsay missed the rhythm which was ballad measure—seven beats to the line. Lindsay was influenced by Chesterton’s ballad measure which he re-used in the ‘Congo’ and other poems—but as four beats to the line.
“‘The Ballad of the White Horse’ is the greatest of all modern ballads, possibly the greatest of all ballads,—more sustainedly memorable, glorious throughout. Many of the shorter pieces, too, have my warmest admiration.”
“The story of my reading ‘The Battle of Lepanto’ on the shore of Lake Michigan to Vachel Lindsay is true,” declares Floyd Dell. “Note the echo of ‘Lepanto’ in ‘General William Booth,’