Types of PoetryBALLAD

What is Ballad?• A ballad is a narrative poem that

often retells the story of an heroic deed, a legend or a recent event.

Three main types of ballads:

the folk balladthe broadside balladthe literary ballad.

• 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• Third-person objective narration. – usually do not speak in the first

person (unless speaking as a character in the story)

– Narrators often do not comment on their reactions to the emotional content of the ballad.

• 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; And if we gang to sea, master,

I fear we'll come to harm.'

• 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 I’m 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 I’m 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.

• Third-person objective narration:– Ballad narrators usually do not speak

in the first person (unless speaking as a character in the story)

– often do not comment on their reactions to the emotional content of the ballad.

The structure of a ballad

• Have an orientation, complication and resolution

• often have a tragic and sad ending• may contain verses or stanzas of four

lines (known as quatrains)• may contain repetition of stanzas or

repeated lines where a certain word is changed

• can have a question and answer format – one stanza presents the question and the next one answers the question

Rhythm and Rhymes• usually have a rhyming pattern

of either abac, aabb or abcbAs 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?

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"

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• language that is selected to convey a

particular mood or evoke an emotional response.