1. An introduction to ballads
Learning objectives: to introduce our new topic, and to explore different attitudes to poems

2. Introduction
‘Poetry is to prose what dancing is to walking’ John Wain With a friend, try to make sense of what this means. (PROSE means written words in their ordinary structure)

3. Now read the following quotes
Now read the following quotes. Be ready to share your thoughts on each one.
Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood. T. S. Eliot
Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary. Kahlil Gibran
Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat. Robert Frost
Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful. Rita Dove

4. In this topic
You will learn about the history and conventions of ballads
You will read a range of ballads by different writers
You will be able to talk about the different techniques poets use to create an effect
You will write an analysis of the language in a ballad
You will write your own ballad

5. Ballads
A ballad is a simple song or poem which tells a story – a type of narrative poem.
Ballads usually focus on the more sensational aspects of life – supernatural happenings, violence, scandal, forbidden love or the exploits of infamous criminals – rather like the tabloid newspapers of today.
Ballads have been composed for many centuries – some probably date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They were part of ordinary people’s culture.

6. Ballads continued
Ballads would often change over time. New verses might be added or old ones removed, as each new person who told or sang the ballad would adapt it a little, or remember it slightly differently. Sometimes archaic language is changed in ballads, but often it remains.
Changes in the words used are the most noticeable form of language change in English. Some words (sometimes called archaic words or archaisms) have died out altogether, while new words are always being added to the language.

7. Ballad form
The traditional folk ballad form varies but usually includes these features:
simple direct speech
a minimum of description
regular stanzas of four lines each
impersonal third-person narrative viewpoint (e.g. ‘He went/They went’ not ‘I went’)
line 2 rhyming with line 4
These features make ballads easier to remember and learn by heart.
a strong, regular rhythm
simple language – words of one or two syllables
repetition or a refrain