Poetic Form
Ballad
A narrative poem, often set to music, that tells a story in regular stanzas.
StanzasQuatrainsFour-line verses
RhymeABCBSometimes ABAB
MeterBallad meterFour beats, then three
SubjectA storyLove, adventure, tragedy
About the Ballad
A ballad is a narrative poem that tells a story, usually of love, adventure, tragedy, or the supernatural, in short, regular stanzas. Originally an oral tradition meant to be sung, the form survives today in folk songs, popular music, and literary verse.
Structure
Most traditional ballads are written in quatrains rhyming ABCB or ABAB, with alternating lines of four and three iambic feet, known as "ballad meter" or "common measure." A refrain often repeats between stanzas.
Ballad stanza
The first two stanzas shown; the pattern repeats
Stanza 1
1A
2B
3C
4B
Stanza 2, and so on
5D
6E
7F
8E
A Short History
- Middle AgesFolk ballads are sung and passed on by ear.
- 1765Thomas Percy's Reliques puts old ballads in print.
- 1798Coleridge's Ancient Mariner opens Lyrical Ballads.
- 1882 to 1898Francis James Child publishes 305 English and Scottish ballads.
- TodayIt lives on in folk songs and popular music.
Famous Ballads
- 01"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- 02"La Belle Dame sans Merci"John Keats
- 03"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"Bob Dylan
Questions About the Ballad
The things people ask most, answered in a sentence or two.
Most ballads use four-line stanzas rhyming ABCB, so only the second and fourth lines rhyme. Some rhyme ABAB instead.
Ballad meter, also called common measure, alternates lines of four iambic beats with lines of three. It is easy to sing, which is why so many songs and hymns use it.
A ballad tells a story, with characters and events. A lyric poem expresses a feeling or a moment, usually in the poet's own voice.