THE BALLAD Narrative Poetry Unit
What Is A Ballad? A ballad does not only refer to a slow, romantic or sentimental song like Taylor Swift or Adele sing. When discussing poetry, a ballad is a narrative poem (contains a plot)with a specific rhythm and rhyme scheme. Ballad poetry can be set to music and sung.
Ballad Origins Ballads originated as a way to pass stories from generation to generation in a time when most people were still illiterate. For this reason, ballads deal with only one particular event, deed, or person. Ballads have a clear beginning, middle and end and answer the questions who, what, where, when ,why and how.
Characteristics of a typical ballad Many begin with climactic episode Story usually told without expressing personal feelings or attitudes Usually written from a 3rd person perspective The narrative contains both action and dialogue Traditional ballads often use clichéd phrases Diction is carefully chosen to evoke a particular mood Ballads usually employ repetition or a refrain A typical ballad is written in quatrains with an abcb rhyme scheme and 6-8 syllables per line
Let’s Examine some examples Listen and take close reading notes (jot down comments, questions or connections) as we read aloud. Determine the rhyme scheme. How many syllables per line? From which point of view is the story told? What is the story: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Is there a beginning, middle and end? What is the tone or mood? Pick out 5 examples of different literary devices and determine their effect
Individually, read the ballad you are given. Now you try Individually, read the ballad you are given. Determine the rhyme scheme. How many syllables per line? From which point of view is the story told? What is the story: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Is there a beginning, middle and end? What is the tone or mood? Pick out examples of different literary devices and determine their effect.