before-the-lines

[before-the-lines]

The Ballad

Thought to be first created in the Middle Ages, the form of poetry known as the ballad began as stories passed down orally amongst the common people. The widespread audience of the ballad can be attributed to its accessible form, which makes them easy for performers to memorise and share. Furthermore, the simplistic style of the ballad allows it to be heard and understood by readers of all ages, making it a popular form with children, as well as adults. Its structure is typically made up of quatrains, which are four-line stanzas, with an ABAB or ABCB rhyme scheme. This clear structure of rhyme and rhythm makes ballads pleasing to hear aloud and highly compliments the fact that they were traditionally read to music; the etymology of the word ballad originates from the Middle French balade, meaning a song sung while dancing.

Remnants of this history can be found in the modern use of the term ballad, as it is now often associated more with music than literature within current mainstream media. Some modern examples of songs defined as ballads by Rolling Stone magazine include Purple Rain by Prince and Hey Jude by The Beatles (Andy Greene 2011). These modern versions of ballads appear to share the same narrative ability as their predecessors, telling emotional stories through song, but lack the structure and rhyme scheme of the typical poetic ballad. It could be argued that this evolution of the form has further served to make ballads more accessible by removing the constraints of the ABAB/ABCB scheme, however, it could also be argued that in taking away these classic conventions from the word’s meaning, it is removing what it is that makes a ballad distinct from other forms of poetry, such as, the song.

The accessibility of the ballad has also influenced the themes that they often portray, with them being used to describe tales of everyday people in extraordinary situations, whether that be tragedy or comedy or somewhere in between.

An example of this can be found in the poem The Ballad of Rudolph Reed by Gwendolyn Brooks (Pictured above). She describes the story of a black family who finally move into their new, dream house, only to be repeatedly harassed and attacked by their white neighbours until the father of the family, Rudolph Reed, becomes enraged that they have hurt one of his children. In his anger, he goes outside with weapons and attacks the neighbours until they take him down and kill him. This poem was published in the USA, in 1963, during the American civil rights movement and demonstrates the suffering of African Americans against the racism that was so present during this time. On the topic of ballads, Brooks said “I believe all those elements [literary language, rich imagery, ‘unique expressions’] can be included in a ballad that people who feel they despise poetry will not have to struggle over” (Brooks 2010) suggesting that because the ballad is so easy to read it makes it an obvious choice for writers wishing to reach as many readers as possible, even those that would not normally understand poetry. This feature of the ballad form makes it useful to poets with political messages to share, such as Brooks’ plea for racial equality.

Another ballad that features political commentary is The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde (Pictured above). In this lengthy poem, Wilde writes of the brutal living conditions of prisoners in Reading Gaol and describes the execution of one of the inmates. This ballad was published in 1898, a year after Wilde himself was released from Reading Gaol after being incarcerated for acts of homosexuality and is thought to detail his own experience in the prison so that he could make readers aware of the harsh realities of living not only in Reading Gaol, but in any prison. He demonstrates the monotony of the painful chores they were given through repetition when, in stanza 37, he writes:  

“We tore the tarry rope to shreds

With blunt and bleeding nails;

We rubbed the doors, and scrubbed the floors,

And cleaned the shining rails:

And, rank by rank, we soaped the plank,

And clattered with the pails.”

This listing of duties, paired with the long length of the poem and the ballad form serve to create a very simple and droning tone. Its sharp and uncomplicated approach makes Wilde’s message more impactful, a feature which would have only helped to rally more supporters for his political cause against the brutal living conditions of the prison.  

Despite both being written at different times in history, with Brooks’ ballad written in the 20th century and Wilde’s being written at the end of the 19th century, both poems are united by the ballad form’s ability to spread political messages. It is this feature which continues to make the ballad a long-lasting verse form, as it is always malleable to the current issues plaguing each generation and can be molded to each poet’s own political and personal viewpoint. Due to this, the ballad lends itself well to the voices of the marginalised and means the form is constantly relevant to contemporary audiences.

Bibliography

Ballad (n.d.) Merriam-Webster.com. Dictionary, Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballad. 

Brooks, Gwendolyn (1963). ‘The Ballad of Rudolph Reed’ Selected Poems. Harper & Row.

Ford, Karen Jackson (2010). ‘The Last Quatrain: Gwendolyn Brooks and the Ends of Ballads’ Twentieth century Literature, vol. 56, no. 3.

Greene, Andy (2011). Rolling Stone Readers Pick the Best Ballads of All Time. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rolling-stone-readers-pick-the-best-ballads-of-all-time-12786/12-with-or-without-you-30049/  

Wilde, Oscar (1898). The Ballad of Reading Gaol. London, England. Smithers.