What is Ballad Poetry? Ballad poetry is a narrative style of poetry that tells a story. It is written in four lines and arranged in alternate lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The name ‘ballad’ is derived from the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian words “ballare”, which means “to dance”. Traditionally, ballad poems are narrative in nature, originally used as story songs performed in traditional folk music. The narrative mode enables ballad poetry to capture various emotions, narrating facts, stories, and sentiments.
Most ballads often follow a set formula of characters, setting, and situations. Typically, the protagonist is haunted by a sense of injustice, loss, or sorrow. The poem often takes up a moral battle in the form of poetic justice, where fate can potentially restore the protagonist’s sense of justice. Ballads are often simple in structure and content but allow for depth of emotion and expression. They are often composed in a ternary form, meaning that there are three closely-related and distinct parts in the poem.
Lucille Clifton and Leonard Cohen are some of the modern day poets who have used ballad form poetry to express their emotions and ideas. Clifton writes of injustice in her poem ‘Homage to my Hips’, while Cohen exposes the disconnect between public opinion and the preoccupation that politics demands in his poem ‘Anthem’. The ballad form provides a unique platform to convey a certain emotion or passion in a succinct yet somewhat limited form. In this way, the ballad form of poetry can be thought of as a kind of intermediate language between spoken and written poetry.
The simplicity and emotion of ballad form poetry was used to great effect by many of the Romantic era poets. William Wordsworth wrote ‘The idylls of the King’, a series of romantic ballads about King Arthur, while John Keats wrote ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’, a narrative about an unfortunate king who meets a mysterious fairy. This simplicity and directness of the poem form enables these sorts of events and feelings to be moved from someone’s imagination to the page without the complication of a more complex poetic structure.
In addition, the ballad form is often used as a tool of protest and political action. Countless folk songs have been set to the ballad form, with artists like Woody Guthrie and Arlo Guthrie expressing their dissatisfaction with the status quo and demanding reform. In particular, the civil rights movement used music and poetry to move people towards action and towards equality. The ballad form has been used to address a number of social issues, from sexism and racism to the environment and immigration.
In the early days of pop music, the ballad was a mainstay of many popular bands. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones have both incorporated the form into some of their most beloved songs. John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ and Keith Richards’ ‘Angie’, for example, display the expressive potential of ballad poetry in a popular context.
In the modern day, ballad form poetry is still a very popular form of expression. Lyricists like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen are masterful in their ability to capture emotion and storytelling in their lyrics. Similarly, contemporary poets have taken up the technique of ballad poetry. In this way, the ballad form of poetry has a long history and has been used by poets and musicians to express their feelings, stories and passions throughout the ages.
What are the Benefits of Ballad Poetry?
The simple form of the ballad makes it a great platform for expression. Ballads require no elaborate setup and are relatively fast to write. They can be used to convey feelings and stories quickly and without wasting time on complex literary techniques. Additionally, the 4-line structure allows for a wide range of emotions and messages to be conveyed without too much complication.
Because of the narrative nature of ballad form poetry, it lends itself well to being set to music and sang. This is why folk music often has a distinct, narrative-style structure. Furthermore, the form is not complex, which means it is suitable for beginners and experienced songwriters alike.
The 4-line structure also makes memorization easier. In this way, ballads can be quickly learned and passed down orally. This, in part, explains the long-lasting popularity and potential of the ballad form.
What are the Challenges of Ballad Poetry?
One of the biggest drawbacks to ballad poetry is its limited form. As the poem is usually composed of only four lines, often with a strict rhyme and meter scheme, there is less room to express complex topics and feelings. To convey complex emotions and narrative structures, more complex forms of poetry may be employed.
Additionally, a successful ballad often relies on an engaging and emotionally resonant story. To generate those, a deep understanding of human emotions and behaviour is often necessary and can become a challenge for beginner poets.
Similarly, because of the need to append existing stories and traditional tales, successful ballad poets must have a good sense of structure, plotlines, and narrative tropes. Without this understanding, the ballad could be muddled and have little impact.
How Can Ballad Form Poetry be Improved?
The challenge of ballad poetry is not so much its form or structure, but rather its content. Ballads draw on existing stories and existing tale-telling tropes. To enhance the effectiveness of ballad form poetry, fresh and unique stories can be introduced. Modern versions of classic fairy tales, for example, can help challenge the traditional perception of the ballad form and introduce modern perspectives.
Furthermore, ballad poets often face the challenge of staying within the syllable count of the poem form. To improve the effectiveness of the ballad form, the poet can extended the syllable count of each line. Although this move would require exceptional grammar, rhythm and word choice, it would give the poet more flexibility in exploring complex emotions and feelings.
What is the Relationship between Music and Ballad Poetry?
The narrative nature of ballad poetry lends itself well to being structured and expressed as a song. The structured rhyme and meter of the poem can help to structurally map it to existing or original music. Ballads have been used extensively in folk music, but can also be used in other genres too. In this way, ballad poetry provides a unique opportunity to combine the beauty of poetry and music together.
The connection between music and ballad poetry can also extend beyond just their structural affinity. Through the combination of story, melody, and music, ballads can be used to convey powerful messages and feelings. For example, the Freedom Songs of the civil rights movement were used to spread the message of freedom and justice.
In this way, the relationship between music and ballad poetry can be seen as symbiotic. Ballads help to give music a narrative structure and purpose, while music helps bring out the emotion and beauty of the poem itself.
What is the Impact of Ballad Poetry?
The impact of ballad poetry is diverse and far-reaching. The narrative structure and expressive potential of the ballad has been used to convey stories, feelings, and emotions throughout history. From folk songs to the songs of the civil rights movement, the power of the ballad is undeniable. Even in our contemporary times, ballad poets like Lucille Clifton, Leonard Cohen, and Bob Dylan continue to capture the human experience in the traditional narrative form.
Furthermore, the ballad form can also be a source of comfort and solace. The repetition of the poem form, as well as its organisational structure, can be comforting in times of confusion and grief. The same could be said of its structural affinity with music, the union of which can be used to convey powerful emotional messages.
The ballad form of poetry has a long history and plays an important role in contemporary culture. Its use in storytelling, emotional expression, and political action mark it as an essential and timeless form of expression. In this way, the ballad form is an important and necessary part of the poetic canon, and its impact can still be felt today.
