POPULAR BALLADS

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POPULAR BALLADS
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DEFINITION ORIGINS

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

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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.

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TRANSMISSION REVISION

• REVISED (BOTH CONSCIOUSLY UNCONSCIOUSLY) DURING
  TRANS-MISSION, SO A BALLAD MAY SUR-VIVE IN MANY
  VERSIONS.

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BALLADS COLLECTED

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

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DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES

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

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DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• BALLADS ARE TYPICALLY SPARE COMPRESSED, OFTEN
  BEGINNING AT OR NEAR THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY.

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DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• OFTEN, IMPORTANT DETAILS OF THE STORY ARE
  OMITTED, AND PREVIOUS EVENTS IGNORED OR ONLY
  IMPLIED (CREATING A SENSE OF MYSTERY CONFUSION).

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DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• THE NARRATIVE MAY BE MOVED FORWARD BY MONOLOGUE
  OR DIA-LOGUE, W/ THE SPEAKERS OFTEN NOT
  INTRODUCED.

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DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

• LACK OF EDITORIAL COMMENT THE STORY SPEAKS FOR
  ITSELF.

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DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES (cont.)

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

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POPULAR BALLADS (cont.)

• THE POPULAR BALLAD TRADI-TION GAVE RISE TO
  LITERARY BALLADS, WRITTEN IN THE MAN-NER OF
  POPULAR BALLADS BUT NOT PART OF AN ORAL
  TRADI-TION OR INTENDED TO BE SUNG.