BALLAD form the LATIN “ BALLARE” to dance
Definition An oral narrative poem which was often sung, it belongs to the ORAL TRADITIION
What it is about? One single situation, one story
Origins? ENGLAND and SCOTLAND between the 13th and the 15th century
Authors? Anonymous
Structure? Usually short stanzas of two or four lines
Narrative technique? Mixture of narration and dialogue (no detailed descriptions); rapid flashes; no continuous sequence of events
Narrator? impersonal,never intruding or moralizing
Language? concrete,simple, musical and repetitive; use of stock phrases and refrains
Refrain? some words or lines which are repeated at intervals, usually at the end of a stanza
Incremental repetition? a line or stanza is repeated but with some addition advancing the story
Rhyme Scheme? usually ABCB
Themes? love (unhappy love), death,jealousy,revenge,war betrayal, the magic and the supernatural
Characters? not described in detail; no psychological complexity
Interest in ballads? Ballads were written down in later periods; in 1765 Thomas Percy assembled and published the famous collection Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. In the Romantic period poets wrote literary ballads
BALLADS of MAGIC
BORDER BALLADS
BALLADS of LOVE and domestic tragedy
BALLADS of OUTLAWS with the cycle of ROBIN HOOD
( a great folk hero who probably lived in the 12th century)
Traditionally depicted as being dressed in greenis often portrayed as "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor"alongside his band of Merry Men
