MB UNIUD

The ballad is arranged into twelve four- lines stanzas. The rhyme scheme is abcb, typical of the medieval English ballad. The first piece of information we have is the social rank of the wife. She was rich and had three sons, so we know also her family status. The storyline begins right from the fourth line. The alliteration of the sound w in the second line speeds up the rhythm of the line. In the third line there is also an alliteration of the sound s. the second and the third stanzas are very similar. The first and the third line of each stanza are the same, but the second and the fourth lines of each stanza are an example of the incremental repetition, which means two very similar verses.

In the fourth stanza starts the dialogue form: the composer reports the voice of the wife. The most important words in this stanza are flesh and blood: these are two words that represent the material aspect of life. This is in contrast with the principal aspect of the Middle Ages that is the spiritual aspect of life. The storyline goes on and her sons come home but they are dead. Hats of birch are a metaphor for the coffins. In the sixth stanza returns the dialogue form, and again the voice of the mother.