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Literature Focus II. The Ballad Tradition
“O I fear ye are poisoned, Lord Randall, my son!
O I fear ye are poisoned, my handsome young man!”
“O yes, I am poisoned; Mother, make my bed soon,
For I’m sick at the heart, and I fain would lie doon.”
—from “Lord Randall”
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:
•murderous acts and the desire for revenge
•tragic accidents and sudden disasters
•heroic deeds motivated by the quest for honor
•jealous sweethearts and unrequited love
For example, the stanza from “Lord Randall,” shown above, tells of a young man poisoned by his sweetheart.
The ballad genre is thought to be nearly 1,000 years old, with the earliest known ballad dating from about 1300. Because ballads were not written down until the 18th century, early ballads are all anonymous—the names of their composers lost forever in the mists of time. Most of the English and Scottish ballads we know date from the 14th and 15th centuries. 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 18th 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 may 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 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 to the musical quality of the verse.
5. Use of the refrain, a regularly repeated line or phrase at the end of a stanza. The refrain allowed listeners to join in the 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.