POPULAR BALLADS

1
POPULAR BALLADS
2
DEFINITION ORIGINS

• ANONYMOUS SONGS OF THE FOLK, COMPOSED PROBABLY
  BETWEEN 1200 1700, AND PRE-SERVED BY ORAL
  TRADITION.

3
ORIGINS (cont.)

• CHARACTERISTIC OF PRIMITIVE SOCIETIES, SUCH AS
  THE BORDER REGION OF ENGLAND SCOTLAND IN THE
  LATE MIDDLE AGES, OR THE AMERICAN FRONTIER IN THE
  18TH 19TH CENTURIES.

4
TRANSMISSION REVISION

• REVISEDBOTH CONSCIOUSLY UNCONSCIOUSLYDURING
  TRANS-MISSION, SO ANY BALLAD MAY SURVIVE IN MANY
  VERSIONS.

5
BALLADS COLLECTED

• FIRST WRITTEN DOWN IN THE 18TH 19TH CENTURIES
  BY BAL-LAD COLLECTORS (ESP. FRANCIS JAMES
  CHILD, EDITOR OF ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH POPULAR
  BALLADS, 1882-1898).

6
DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES

• NARRATIVE, TYPICALLY RECOUNT-ING A TRAGIC
  INCIDENT, OFTEN A MURDER OR DEATH.
• MOOD IS USUALLY ONE OF SAD-NESS.

7
DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• BREVITY, SPARENESS, COMPRES-SION
• BALLAD OFTEN BEGINS AT OR NEAR THE CLIMAX OF THE
  STORY.

8
DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• OFTEN IMPORTANT DETAILS OF THE STORY ARE OMITTED,
  PRE-VIOUS EVENTS IGNORED OR ONLY IMPLIED
  (CREATING SENSE OF MYSTERY, CONFUSION).

9
DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• NARRATIVE IS MOVED FORWARD BY ALLUSIVE MONOLOGUE
  OR DIALOGUE, W/ SPEAKERS OFTEN NOT INTRODUCED.

10
DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• LACK OF EDITORIAL COMMENT THE STORY SPEAKS FOR
  ITSELF. TONE IS IMPERSONAL, OBJECTIVE.

11
DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• TYPICAL VERSE FORM
• QUATRAIN W/ FOUR-STRESS LINE FOLLOWED BY A
  THREE-STRESS LINE, RHYMING ABCB (BALLAD
  STANZA), OR
• QUATRAIN W/ FOUR STRESSES PER LINE.

12
DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• USE OF REFRAINS, REPETITION (EVEN NONSENSE
  SYLLABLES) THESE CREATE SUSPENSE BY EN-FORCING
  PAUSES IN THE NARRA-TIVE AS IT PROGRESSES TOWARD
  ITS FOREDOOMED CONCLUSION.

13
POPULAR BALLADS (cont.)

• POPULAR BALLAD TRADITION GAVE RISE TO LITERARY
  BAL-LADS, WRITTEN IN THE MANNER OF POPULAR
  BALLADS BUT NOT PART OF AN ORAL TRADITION OR
  INTENDED TO BE SUNG.