The Ballad

Ballad recalls dancing and therefore the importance of music and the musical
elements. Ballads were oral forms of poetry. In the Middle Ages
singing was very popular as well as dancing as a form of pastime.
Ballads were generally dealing with common topics like: tragic love
stories, the supernatural and the battles between England and
Scotland.

All the devices of sound were employed.

Only in the 17th and 18th century Ballads were collected and recorded in written language.

The title is very important.

The Ballads tell us the characters' social role. It is an iconic use of language.

Few references to space and time → the reader can understand the development of the story.

Popular form of poetry.

Use of dialects.

Very concrete matter of language.

3= perfect and symbolic number

Sound devices were useful to make the Ballad memorable and to be remembered which helped to pass the song from generations to generations.

Mixture of dialogue and narration.

Language is concrete and matter in fact.

Medieval → not to make mistakes = perfection!

Structural elements:

 

• narrative nature= they told stories

• oral form

• appeal to sound and rhythm (use of refrains, rhymes, repetitive rhythm,
  incremental repetition)