Vicki Vest Central High School Ballads Vicki Vest Central High School
Origins Ballad: from the French for “dancing song” From the Middle Ages From the oral tradition From the common people, therefore usually anonymous
Defininiton A ballad is a form of verse to be sung or recited Presents a dramatic or exciting episode in narrative form
Plot En Medias Res http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/in%20medias%20res?fromAsk=true&o=100074 One episode Dramatic About common people About courage, love, tragedy Supernatural elements
Structure Incremental repetition is common Transitions are abrupt Ballad Stanzas: quatrains Closes with a Summary Stanza Ballad Meter: iambic tetrameter, followed by iambic trimeter Rhyme scheme: ABCB (mainly)
Narration Little characterization Little description Generally focused on the action
Dialogue Narration is usually detached Action usually developed through dialogue
Language Tragic and dramatic events are described in the most simplistic, plain language Repetition and Refrain
Kinds Historical (usually also tragic) Outlaw (usually also tragic) Romance (usually also tragic) Tragic (yeah, you guessed it.) Supernatural (and yes, even these are usually tragic)
Ballad examples http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7RAIwznHek El Paso Marty Robbins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcWevSHrbiA Comanche Johnny Horton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxB42cjHTGg The Battle of New Orleans Johnny Horton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKDLQWEvubc Ira Hayes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6vcvYJCkic John Henry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3ErDN50Qk Big John Jimmy Dean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgI8bta-7aw&feature=related Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Gordon Lightfoot http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/poetry.aspx Smithsonian (Scottish) http://www.folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx?itemid=3223 Smithsonian (American)