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Comment 10 of 10, added on July 15th, 2009 at 6:08 PM.
Just read this poem after aprox 30yrs....still means the same as it did then...Jesus was making a huge political statement in choosing the donkey to carry him into Jerusalem
Gillian Casey from United Kingdom
Comment 9 of 10, added on July 12th, 2009 at 7:22 AM.
S.Sukamar is right, the donkey thinks it is being worshipped, not Jesus. The Romans persistently slandered Christians and Jews with the rumour that they worshipped a donkey god. To the Greeks, the donkey was associated with Saturn and the Titans, the old Gods of Greece. The first verse, and lines like "ancient crooked will", hint that the donkey is something from a past age (and the donkey was domesticated long before the domestication of the horse, an event which must have plunged the civilised world into turmoil). The ass headed or ass eared god/monster is a common figure in a lot of mythologies (Set, Midas, Typhon, Gisbourne, Bottom, Batman etc.) sometimes benign and sometimes terrifying. To Christians, the donkey is a symbol of humility, and as such it is often contrasted with the lion, the proud king of beasts. But to pagans the donkey is also a fertility symbol, and a calendar symbol, a creature that conceives at midwinter and gives birth at midsummer, associated with holly. The holy midwinter tree that flowers in summer (e.g.In Mallory's The Quest of the holy grail Hector has a dream in which Lancelot is wreathed in holly and riding a donkey). Dionysus also rode a donkey and dressed in purple.
Pignut from Bulgaria
Comment 8 of 10, added on April 4th, 2009 at 10:47 PM.
I just reread this poem after not reading it for over 25 years. I had a copy of it folded in my Bible as a child--it is such an amazing poem. God can take the lowliest to be do significant things.
W. Cline from United States
Comment 7 of 10, added on March 30th, 2009 at 12:16 PM.
Surely the poem has been mis-quoted - it should be "tattered outlaw" not "battered".
With the wrong word, it weakens the power of "starve, scourge, deride me".
Jane Ford from United Kingdom
Comment 6 of 10, added on September 14th, 2005 at 4:16 PM.
Such an amazing poen.
Just like the story "Gift of the Magi"
Such ones come in once a life time may be.
An insignificant animal (meaning a person) like the donkey had its moments in life, had its greatness.
Never ever judge a book by its cover they say.
Rammohan Subbaram from United States
Comment 5 of 10, added on May 5th, 2005 at 2:48 PM.
I too have loved this poem ever since I was young, and used it in two poetry exams. It points to us how we see such flaws in God's creations, but even an insignificant animal (as we see it) can play such an important role....it reminds us not to judge.
Claire North from New Zealand
Comment 4 of 10, added on April 4th, 2005 at 10:33 PM.
Chesterton is refering in this poem to the time when Jesus was an adult and he rode a donkey into the city less than one week before his crucifixion. It says in the Bible that people waived palm branches as Jesus entered the city. Dale Ahlquist, President of the American Chesterton Society, had a bit of advice for those who forget God uses things, whether animals or people, often considered by the world as worthless (such as the donkey) to do great things for Him. Ahlquist's advice was, "Be careful before you call somebody {a donkey}, he may be carrying Christ."
mereplato from United States
Comment 3 of 10, added on March 19th, 2005 at 7:56 PM.
Chesterton shows that greatness can be found in modest, even lowly actions. The donkey carried Jesus at least three times: when Joseph brought Mary to Bethlehem where the He was born; when Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with the Child; and Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Ida from Canada
Comment 2 of 10, added on March 17th, 2005 at 4:13 PM.
I have loved this poem since it was first read to me as a school child It's meaning for me is that this comical animal was given the honour of carrying Jesus . It reminds me too look for beauty and worth in unlikely people and places
Margaret from United Kingdom
Comment 1 of 10, added on March 17th, 2005 at 7:29 AM.
When I read this poem for the first time I did not understand head or tail of the last stanza. Then there was this little girl on the net who told me that the last stanza referred to the time baby Jesus was atop the donkey. The donkey thinks that all people are bowing down to it whereas the people are all prostrating to Jesus
S. Sukumar from India
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Just read this poem after aprox 30yrs....still means the same as it did then...Jesus was making a huge political statement in choosing the donkey to carry him into Jerusalem
Gillian Casey from United Kingdom