LORD RANDAL

Lord Randal is a Scottish popular ballad.

It consists of ten quatrains constituted by a dialog. In fact there are two characters, a mother and her son, who speaks and explain the story. It is a tragic love story where the false true love murders Lord Randal by some eels fried. The protagonist is going to die and he leaves his family his inheritance.

In the stanzas there is an incremental repetition and refrains help memorization. For example, every stanza begins by "... Lord Randal my son, ... my handsome young man" and he answers "... mak my bed soon, for I'm wearied wi'hunting/for I'm sick at the heart, and fain wad lie doon" and in every situation there is a question and an answer.

STRESS WORDS: son, handsome, man, bed soon, doon: these are words that are always repeated in every stanza.

The regular features of the ballad are refrains that characterize every stanza and give to the text a chant rhythm.

In fact in each stanza, the mother asks something to her son repeating the same sentence twice and ending with her son's name. Lord Randal answers to her mother and he always asks her if his bed is ready because he is dying.