THE BALLAD
Introduction:
The term ‘The Ballad’ comes from the medieval French chanson balladée or ballade which means to dance. Originally it was a poem in a short stanza describing a famous story intended to be sung by a single singer. It aimed to entertain and excite emotions in the people. But, later on, in the course of time and poetic and cultural evolution, it remained more of a song. Hence the ballad was a kind of folk literature meant for entertainment.
The Salient features of the Ballad are:
- The Ballad is a product of a community and not the individual work of a poet.
- It is impersonal i.e. it is objective in treatment.
- It usually relates to a tale. The subject matter of the ballad is war, hatred, love, pity, hunting the supernatural, etc.
- The Ballad opens abruptly without any introductory matter.
- The material structure is crude but pleasing.
- Oliver Goldsmith is known in English Literature as the singer of Ballads. He earned his livelihood by singing ballads and dancing to their tunes.
Its Theme:
The theme of the ballad is a basic experience of the community. The ballad is local, regional, or natural by character. It is often based on history, love, war, adventure, revenge, and the supernatural.
Types of Ballads:
The Ballads are of two types
Authentic Ballad:
The authentic ballad is a ballad of growth. It has been in existence for ages. It was memorized by a person or a group of persons and passed on from generation to generation. The best examples of this type of Ballads are the 15th Century Ballads- The Chevy Chase and The Nut Brown Maid. These types of Ballads were never printed.
Literary Ballad:
The Literary Ballad: Bishop Thomas Percy collected and published the Ancient English Ballads in his ‘Reliques of the Ancient English Poetry’ in 1765. It contained about 180 ballads in three volumes. Each had three sections in it.
Some important ballads in the volume are ‘The Chevy Chase’, ‘The Battle of Otterburn’, and ‘The Nut Brown Maid’. It also contained several ballads about Robin Hood and the Wandering Jew.
In the Romantic Age, great romantic poets like S.T. Coleridge and John Keats wrote Literary Ballads. As we know, Coledridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, Scott’s ‘Minstrelsy Of Scottish Border’, and Keat’s ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ are famous in English Literature.
The Victorian Poets also wrote ballads. Tennyson’s ‘Lady of Shalott’, and Rosetti’s ‘King’s Tragedy’ are fine examples of Literary Ballad.
The Art of Writing Ballads:
It is not easy to write a Ballad. It has to be impersonal. The poet has to describe a complicated story directly. The ballad is composed in a grand language with dramatic dialogues. It is written in short stanzas of four or eight lines.
Ballads are usually written in four-line stanzas of alternating lines of iambic (an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable) tetrameter (eight syllables) and iambic trimeter (six syllables), known as Ballad Meter. Usually, only the second and fourth line of a quatrain are rhymed (in the scheme a, b, c, b), which has been taken to suggest that, originally, ballads consisted of couplets (two lines) of rhymed verse, each of 14 syllables.
Example of Ballad Meter:
The horse | fair Ann | et rode | upon |
He amb | led like | the wind |,
With sil | ver he | was shod | before,
With burn | ing gold | behind |.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON ‘THE BALLAD’
Q 1. What is the origin of the term “ballad”?
a) Latin
b) Greek
c) French
d) Spanish
Answer: a) French
Q 2. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic theme of traditional ballads?
a) Love and romance
b) Heroic deeds and adventures
c) Supernatural events and occurrences
d) Urban life and modernity
Answer: d) Urban life and modernity
Q 3. Traditional ballads are often passed down through:
a) Written manuscripts
b) Oral tradition
c) Artistic illustrations
d) Digital media
Answer: b) Oral tradition
Q 4. The term “folk ballad” refers to ballads that:
a) Are composed by known poets
b) Originate from urban settings
c) Emerge from the oral tradition of a community
d) Are written in classical languages
Answer: c) Emerge from the oral tradition of a community
Q 5. Which type of ballad typically tells a story of tragic love or loss?
a) Border ballad
b) Literary ballad
c) Supernatural ballad
d) Romantic ballad
Answer: d) Romantic ballad
Q 6. Ballads originating from the Scottish-English border region are known as:
a) Border ballads
b) Literary ballads
c) Supernatural ballads
d) Historical ballads
Answer: a) Border ballads
Q 7. A ballad that incorporates elements of the supernatural, such as ghosts or witches, is called a:
a) Romantic ballad
b) Supernatural ballad
c) Border ballad
d) Historical ballad
Answer: b) Supernatural ballad
Q 8. Which poet is known for revitalizing the ballad form in English literature during the Romantic period?
a) William Wordsworth
b) John Keats
c) Samuel Taylor Coleridge
d) Sir Walter Scott
Answer: d) Sir Walter Scott
Q 9. Which of the following is NOT a common ballad stanza form?
a) AABB
b) ABAB
c) ABCB
d) AAAA
Answer: b) ABAB
Q 10. Ballads often feature:
a) Complex language and elaborate descriptions
b) Minimal dialogue and narrative simplicity
c) Dense symbolism and symbolic meanings
d) Lengthy introspection and philosophical musings
Answer: b) Minimal dialogue and narrative simplicity
Q 11. “Barbara Allen” is an example of:
a) A Border ballad
b) A Romantic ballad
c) A Supernatural ballad
d) A Literary ballad
Answer: d) A Literary ballad
Q 12. Which of the following is a traditional Scottish ballad?
a) “The Highwayman”
b) “Tam Lin”
c) “The Lady of Shalott”
d) “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
Answer: b) “Tam Lin”
Q 13. Ballads were particularly popular during which historical period?
a) Renaissance
b) Middle Ages
c) Victorian Era
d) Enlightenment
Answer: b) Middle Ages
Q 14. What distinguishes a literary ballad from a traditional ballad?
a) Literary ballads are always written by known poets.
b) Literary ballads are passed down orally through generations.
c) Literary ballads are characterized by their simplicity and brevity.
d) Literary ballads are composed in classical languages.
Answer: a) Literary ballads are always written by known poets.
Q 15. Which of the following is a characteristic feature of a border ballad?
a) Focus on rural life and pastoral settings
b) Incorporation of supernatural elements
c) Exploration of historical events and figures
d) Emphasis on themes of courtly love and chivalry
Answer: c) Exploration of historical events and figures
Q 16. Which of the following is NOT a type of ballad?
a) Literary ballad
b) Historical ballad
c) Satirical ballad
d) Epic ballad
Answer: d) Epic ballad
Q 17. A ballad that narrates the exploits of legendary or historical figures is called a:
a) Historical ballad
b) Literary ballad
c) Supernatural ballad
d) Romantic ballad
Answer: a) Historical ballad
Q 18. Which romantic poet composed ‘La Belle Dame San Merci’?
a) Keats
b) Shelley
c)Wordsworth
d) Coledridge
Answer: a) Keats