Ballads

Six centuries ago, most people in the British Isles were unable to read or write. However, like people everywhere, they enjoyed hearing and telling a __good__ story. Some of their stories still survive in __folk ballads__ - rhymed verse that was recited or sung. The themes of these tales are familiar even today. Typical topics include:
 * The Ballad Tradition**
 * murderous acts and desire for revenge
 * tragic __accidents__ and sudden disasters
 * heroic deeds motivated by the quest for __honor__
 * jealous sweethearts and unrequited love

Most of the English and Scottish ballads known to date from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The authors of the ballads are unknown. In fact, a given ballad may exist in any __number__ of versions, because of the memory and personal tastes of the many different people who passed it on from generation to generation. First collected and published __during__ the eighteenth century, the English and Scottish ballads we know share the following characteristics.
 * 1)  //Dramatization of a single incident// . The story begins abruptly, often in the middle of the action. Little attention is __paid__ to characterization, background, or description.
 * 2)  //Little reflection or expression of sentiment// . Ballads __focus__ simply on telling what happened rather than on what people have thought or felt.
 * 3)  //Dialogue or __questions__ and answers that further the story// . Typically the tales are told through the speech of the characters rather than by a first-person narrator.
 * 4)  //A strong, __simple__ beat and an uncomplicated rhyme scheme, or pattern// . The ballads also contain repetition of a key word, line, or phrase to emphasize ideas, to heighten the emotional content, and to add the musical quality of the verse.
 * 5)  //Use of refrain, a regularly repeated line, or phrase at the end of stanza// . The refrain allowed listeners to join in teh chorus and gave singers __time__ to remember verses.
 * 6) // The tendency to suggest rather than directly state .// Although sparsely told, the ballads often contain sharp, psychological portraits and much folk wisdom.
 * 7)  //Stories that were often based on actual events// . These incidents- shipwrecks, murders, accidental deaths - might __make__ headlines today.

The __best__ of the folk ballads are among the most haunting narrative poems in British literature. Their universal themes and compelling rhythm and rhyme __continue__ to entertain.

=**Performance of Ballads**:= Medieval ballads wer often sung to the accompaniment of a lute, rebek, or other stringed instrument. The lute was about the same size as a modern acoustic, or nonelectric, guitar but had a longer neck and a pear shaped __body__. To play the lute, the musician strummed or plucked the strings. The rebec was similar in size to a modern violin. Like the violin, the rebeck was played with a bow. The rebec usually had three strings, a thin neck, and a pear-shaped __body__.



He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes __Started__ making his way past two in the morning He hasn't been sober for days
 * Remembering Sunday __lyrics__** **Songwriters:** Barakat, Jack Bassam; Dawson, __Robert__ Ryan; Gaskarth, Alexander Willi; __Merrick__, Zachary Steven;

Leaning now into the breeze remembering Sunday He falls to his __knees__, they had breakfast together But two eggs don't last like the feeling of what he needs

Now this place seems familiar to him She pulled on his hand with a devilish grin She led him upstairs, she led him upstairs Left him dying to get in

Forgive me, I'm trying to find My __calling__, I'm calling at night I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl? She's been __running__ through my dreams And it's __driving__ me crazy, it seems I'm gonna ask her to __marry__ me

And even though she doesn't believe in love He's determined to __call__ her bluff Who could deny these butterflies? They're filling his gut

Waking the neighbors, unfamiliar __faces__ He pleads though he tries But he's only denied Now he's dying to get inside

Forgive me, I'm trying to find My __calling__, I'm calling at night I don't mean to be a bother, but have you seen this girl? She's been __running__ through my dreams And it's __driving__ me crazy, it seems I'm gonna ask her to marry me

There's a neighbor said, she moved away Funny how it rained all day I didn't think much of it then But it's __starting__ to all __make__ sense

Oh, I can see now That all of these clouds are following me In my desperate endeavor To find my whoever, wherever she may be

I'm not coming back, I've done something so terrible I'm terrified to speak but you'd expect that from me I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt Now the rain is just washing you out of my hair

And out of my mind, keeping an eye on the world So many __thousands__ of feet off the ground I'm over you now, I'm at home in the clouds Towering over your head

Well I guess I'll go home now I guess I'll go home now I guess I'll go home now I guess I'll go home

media type="youtube" key="ccKV1X9uyP4" height="315" width="560" Using the criteria for a folk ballad, determine if Remembering Sunday is a modern ballad.

The three ballads that you are about to read were composed between the years 1000 and 1500 in Scotland. Although they are quite different in subject and tone, they all have elements common to folk ballads, such as a clear rhythm and central event.

Sir Patrick Spens [|Ballad/poem] [|Background]



Bonny Barbara Allen  [|Background]   [|Ballad/poem]





Get Up and Bar the Door [|Background] [|Ballad/poem]