1. The Ballad Not Just a Love Song

2. Definition A form of narrative poetry meant to be sung or recited and characterized by its presentation of a dramatic or exciting episode in simple narrative form.

3. Ballad stanza four lines rhyming ABCB first and third lines carrying four accented syllables (iambic tetrameter) second and fourth lines carrying three accented syllables (iambic trimeter). Rhyme often approximate, with consonance and assonance frequently appearing

4. General characteristics of the genre Supernatural likely to play important role in events Frequent themes of love, death, physical courage, revenge Incidents are usually such as happen to common people (as opposed to nobility)

5. General characteristics of the genre Slight attention is paid to characterization or description Tragic situations are presented with the utmost simplicity Incremental repetition is common A single episode of a highly dramatic nature is presented is brought to closure with some sort of summary stanza or the ending of the domestic episode

6. Let’s Identify a Ballad Let’s check several stanzas of a poem and see if it meets the basic criteria for the genre.

7. The Unquiet Grave Cold blows the wind to my true love, And gently drops the rain, I never had but one sweetheart, And in greenwood she lies slain, And in greenwood she lies slain. I'll do as much for my sweethear As any young man may; I'll sit and mourn all on her grave For a twelvemonth and a day When the twelvemonth and one day was past, The ghost began to speak; "Why sittest here all on my grave, And will not let me sleep? "There's one thing that I want, sweetheart, There's one thing that I crave And that is a kiss from your lily- white lips-- Then I'll go from your grave

8. "My breast it is as cold as clay, My breath smells earthly strong And if you kiss my cold clay lips, Your days they won't be long. "Go fetch me water from the desert, And blood from out of a stone; Go fetch me milk from a fair maid's breast That a young man never had known." "O down in yonder grove, sweetheart, Where you and I would walk, The first flower that ever I saw Is wither'd to a stalk "The stalk is wither'd and dry, sweetheart, And the flower will never return And since I lost my own sweetheart, What can I do but mourn? "When shall we meet again, sweetheart? When shall we meet again?" "When the oaken leaves that fall from trees Are green and spring up again Are green and spring up again."

9. Is it a Ballad? Was the piece written in ballad stanza? Rhyme scheme correct? meter correct? Any supernatural? Theme? Commoner versus nobility? Characterization or description? Tragic situation? Any repetition? Single episode? Is it highly dramatic? Closure in final stanza?