"The Everlasting Mercy" was the first of Masefield�s narrative poems, all of which proved him to be more than just poet, but also an accomplished story teller. Within the next year, Masefield produced 2 more narrative poems, �The Widow in the Bye Street� and �Dauber�, also both of which received critical acclaim. It is noteworthy that although Masefield went through several years of melancholy and was deeply disturbed by his apparent lack of creativity, he never gave up, continuing to push himself onwards to his goals, until he finally met with success in his first 3 narrative poems, and this man with no formal university education was being described as a genius.

As a result of the writing of these three poems, Masefield became even more widely known amongst the general public and was praised by critics. One critic apparently described the poet�s work in a way that could possibly, in a nutshell, characterize Masefield�s life apart from his poetry by praising his "rugged strength" and his "deep eye for beauty." In 1912, the annual Edmund de Polignac prize, with �100.00 included, awarded to an author of a pure work of fiction, was bestowed upon Masefield. In 1913, he was invited to attend British Prime Minister Asquith�s daughter�s birthday party, which included such guests as G. B. Shaw, Rupert Brooke, Gosse, and Augustine Birrel.