Ballads

Ballads are songs or song like poems that tell stories in simple, rhythmic language.

Even in Middle Ages people need entertainment……. Ballads were the poetry of the people, just like our songs are today. Ballads tell about what is happening during the time they are written

Certain predictable features of a Ballad Sensational, sordid, or tragic subject matter. Supernatural events A refrain Omission of details

Refrain- a repeated word, line or group of lines

“Ballad” is derived from an old French word meaning ‘dancing song’

Conventions of a Ballad Singer Incremental repetition A Question and Answer format Conventional phrases A strong, simple beat

METER Meter is the rhythm of a ballad. It describes where the emphasis is placed--what words are emphasized, and what words aren't.

METER Here's an example of the 4-3-4-3 meter. Try speaking the verse out loud: Haud your tongue, ye auld fac'd knight, Some ill death may ye dee! Father my bairn on whom I will, I'll father nane on thee.

Here's an example of the 4-4-4-4 meter, where all lines have four emphasized words: I am a man upon the land I am a silkie on the sea and when I'm far and far frae land my home it is in Sule Skerry. If you can't figure out what meter a ballad is in, try speaking it out loud and listening to the rhythm of your speech.

IS PERFECT METER IMPORTANT? No, perfect meter  isn't essential; what is important is that the meter work with the music. Many ballads which sound rather awkward when they're spoken sound beautiful when set to their proper tunes

RHYME Most ballads use one of three different types of rhyme: abac, aabb, or abcb. The first type of rhyme, abac, is found in ballads that include a chorus in the verse: the first and third lines of each verse rhyme, while the second and fourth lines, the chorus, are the same in every verse.

EXAMPLE OF ABAC RHYME She went down below the thorn Fine Flowers in the Valley And there has she her sweet babe born And the green leaves they grow rarely She's ta'en out her little penknife Fine flowers in the valley And there she's twinned her sweet babe of it's life

AABB RHYME As I was walking al alane I saw twa corbies makin' mane the tane untae the tither did say where shall we gang and dine the day? In the second type, aabb, the first and second lines rhyme with each other, as do the third and the fourth lines.

ABCB RHYME The third type of rhyme, abcb, is the most common type of rhyme found in Child's ballads. In this rhyme scheme, only the second and fourth lines rhyme:

ABCB RHYME EXAMPLE Her breath was strang, her hair was lang And twisted twice about the tree And with a swing she came about "Come to Craigy's sea and kiss with me" This type of rhyme is the easiest; there's only one pair of matching words to worry about per verse rather than two, which gives you more freedom in writing the verse content.

Repetition The oldest type of repetition is the repetition of entire verses, with only slight changes made to each one. Another common type of repetition used in ballads is "question/answer" repetition. Burdens, or choruses used in each verse, are a third common type of repetition

BURDENS With burdens, the first and third lines of a verse rhyme, while the second and fourth lines are the same for all verses:

There were twa sisters sat in a bow'r Binnorie, O Binnorie There cam a knight to be their wooer. By the bonnie mill-dams of Binnorie.   He courted the eldest wi' glove and ring But he lo'ed the youngest aboon a'thing.

STRUCTURE Most of the ballads that have survived to the present day can be divided into verses of four lines. This number can vary--sometimes a 6 or 8 line verse is inserted into the ballad (Tam Lin).

STRUCTURE The use of traditional motifs and phrases was heavily relied upon to "flesh out" a ballad story. the singer had a number of stock phrases--"grassy green", "milk-white steed", "massy gold", "maiden fair", "and an angry man was he," "silk so fine", to name but a few--to use when singing a ballad.

DIALOGUE BALLADS CONTAIN A LOT OF DIALOGUE Action is often described in the first person: "As I was walking all alane..."; "Oh where have ye been, my dearest dear"; “Why does your brand sae drip wi' bluid", etc. Even in ballads told from a more impersonal third person point of view, dialogue is always included, usually between the two main characters.

PERVASIVE USE OF THREES In Kempowyne, the main character has to win three kisses from Dove Isabel. In Edward, the mother asks her son three times why his sword is so bloody, and after Edward states his intention to go into exile, she asks him what he intends to (1.) Do with his property, (2.) Leave to his children and wife, and (3.) Leave to his mother.

LORD RANDALL PG 130 Typical of ballads, Lord Randall omits details. What elements of the plot are omitted and what do you think the answers should be? Give me an example of incremental repetition from Lord Randall Do you think this ballad glorifies violence? Explain your answer

Get up and Bar the Door pg132 As you read the ballad, did you find yourself siding with either the husband or the wife? Who? Why? How is the possibility of violence combined with ironic humor in this ballad? Can you name any other ballad that is a “battle of the sexes” from the modern day? If so, what is it?

Edward,Edward pg. 226 What questions are unanswered in this ballad? At what point does the ballad reach a climax? What are the possible implications of Edward’s last response to his mother in the final stanza? What structure does this ballad take?

Pages 262-267 COMPLETE THE READING OF THE TWO BALLADS ON 262-263. THEN, ANSWER THE QUESTIONS 1-10 ON PAGES 264-265 AND TURN IN FOR A GRADE.