Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
What is Ballad?
A ballad is a narrative poem that often retells the story of an heroic deed, a legend or a recent event.
the folk ballad -belongs to the oral tradition -anonymous and transmitted from singer to singer by word of mouth. - folk ballads are meant to be sung
the broadside ballad -written form of a ballad -Murder ballads are a broadside ballad, told from the killers point of view.
the literary ballad -sophisticated form of ballad -written piece by a single poet, who purposely chooses the types of themes found in folk ballads and imitates their form. -literary ballads are to be read
Features of Ballad
Simple language.
The writers feature language that readers can understand easily without repeated readings.
Stories.
tend to be narrative poems / poems that tell stories
Ballad stanzas.
The traditional ballad stanza consists of four lines, rhymed abcb
In traditional ballad, the first and third lines have four stresses, while the second and fourth have three.
Example of a stanza from "Sir Patrick Spens," : 'I saw the new moon late yestreen Wi' the auld moon in her arm;
Repetition.
often has a refrain. a repeated section that divides segments of the story.
employ incremental repetition, in which a phrase recurs with minor differences as the story progresses.
For a classic example of incremental repetition in "Lord Randall. -Repeat in first two lines of each stanza-
Lord Randall
O WHERE ha you been, Lord Randal, my son? And where ha you been, my handsome young man? I ha been at the greenwood; mother, mak my bed soon, For Im wearied wi hunting, and fain wad lie down. An what met ye there, Lord Randal, my son? An wha met you there, my handsome young man? O I met wi my true-love; mother, mak my bed soon, For Im wearied wi huntin, an fain wad lie down.
Dialogue.
Ballads often incorporate multiple characters into their stories. Often, since changes of voice were communicated orally, written transcriptions of oral ballads give little or no indication that the speaker has changed.
Language used
language that focuses on actions and dialogue language that indirectly conveys information about the characters, relationships, events, time period and setting often written in third or first person have a regular beat (metrical) structure are often written in complete sentences