1. Watch
The History of English in Ten Minutes

2. Medieval Background [IN pg.15]
Medieval narratives typically focus on themes related to courage, loyalty, betrayal, love, fear, and beauty. How does Knights Charging into Battle (p. 114) reflect some of those themes?
Copy the prompt at the top of the page
Respond thoughtfully and thoroughly, drawing on evidence from the image to support your claims

3. Words Worth Knowing
Ballad: a narrative poem in short stanzas of popular origin, originally sung to a repeated tune.
Refrain: a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a song or poem, especially at the end of each stanza; chorus.

4. Lord Randall Introducing the Poem
Poetry of the People
Ballads were the poetry of the people, just as popular music is today. Ballads had subjects such as
domestic tragedy
false love
the supernatural

5. Lord Randall Introducing the Poem
Song and Dance
The word ballad is derived from an Old French word meaning “dancing song.”
The structure and meter of the English ballads make it clear that they were intended to be sung to music.
Listen to part of the ballad.

6. Lord Randall Introducing the Poem
Poetry of the People
The ballads of the Middle Ages
were passed down orally from singer to singer
had strong beats and repetition
were a gift of story passed from generation to generation

7. Lord Randall Literary Focus: Ballad
Ballads are songs or songlike poems that tell stories in simple, rhythmic language.
Ballads usually include
sensational or tragic subject matter
omitted details
supernatural events
a refrain—a repeated word, line, or group of lines

8. Lord Randall Literary Focus: Ballad
Ballad singers often used certain conventions:
incremental repetition—repeating a phrase or sentence, adding a new element each time, to build suspense
“O where hae ye been, Lord Randall, my son?
“Where gat ye your dinner, Lord Randall, my son?
“What gat ye to your dinner, Lord Randall, my son?”

9. Lord Randall Literary Focus: Ballad
Ballad singers often used certain conventions:
question-and-answer format—a series of questions whose answers reveal facts of the story little by little; used to build suspense
“O where hae ye been, Lord Randall, my son? O where hae ye been, my handsome young man?”
“I hae been to the wild wood; mother, make my bed soon, For I’m weary wi’ hunting and fain wald lie down.”

10. Lord Randall Literary Focus: Ballad
Ballad singers often used certain conventions:
conventional phrases—word groups understood by listeners to have a meaning beyond the literal one
a strong, simple beat
relatively uncomplicated verse forms
[End of Section]

11. Lord Randall Literary Focus: Ballad
Ballad Verse Forms
Ballads are generally written in groups of four lines called stanzas.
The earliest ballads were simple.
Later, authors began writing so-called “literary ballads” with a formal abcb rhyme scheme.

12. Lord Randall Reading Focus: Understanding Purpose
Although the author of “Lord Randall” is unknown, we can determine the author’s purpose from details in the text, such as
dialogue
images
repetition
In “Lord Randall,” the mother repeats several phrases in each stanza. That repetition indicates that she loves her boy and is upset by his behavior.
We can guess that the ballad’s purpose is to share a tragic event with listeners.

13. Lord Randall Reading Focus: Understanding Purpose
Into Action: As you read, note details that help you determine the purposes of the ballads. Use a chart like the one below to record your findings.
Lord Randall Get Up and
Bar the Door
mother’s pleading tone
Details:
to move to sadness
Purpose:
[End of Section] 13