Christopher Clausen has argued that The Ballad of the White Horse was a significant influence on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings fantasy novel.[4] He argues that the basic structure and themes of the Ballad were borrowed and incorporated into the Lord of the Rings. However, after Clausen's writing, it was revealed that Tolkien wrote disparagingly of parts of Chesterton's Ballad in his private letters. "The ending is absurd. The brilliant smash and glitter of the words and phrases (when they come off, and are not mere loud colours) cannot disguise the fact that G. K. C. knew nothing whatever about the 'North', heathen or Christian."[5]
Robert E. Howard, the American author, poet and widely known pulp magazine "fictioneer", was much impressed by Chesterton's The Ballad of the White Horse. In a letter to his friend Tevis Clyde Smith, dated 6 August 1926 (when Howard was 20), he writes: "There is great poetry being written now. G. K. Chesterton, for instance." In another letter to Smith c. September 1927, after a trip to San Antonio from his home in tiny Cross Plains, Texas, he writes: "Several books I purchased on my trip, among them G. K. Chesterton's The Ballad of the White Horse. Ever read it? It's great. Listen:…", which he follows by quoting several stanzas. Howard uses select excerpts from Chesterton's poem to serve as epigraphs for chapter headings in some of his stories. He frequently numbers Chesterton among his favourite poets.[6]
A musical setting for baritone soloist, chorus and orchestra (using about 20 percent of the text) was composed by John Gardner in 1959.[7]
