Ballad: in this article you will understand what is a ballad poetry, it's origin, definition, types & examples. This is especially created for B.A. English honours semester l students of BBMKU & VBU. 

BALLAD POETRY

Table of Contents 
1. Ballad Origin
2. Ballad Definition
3. Types of Ballad
4. Ballad Examples

Ballad Poetry Origin:
Etymologically, the term ballad comes from the Scottish word 'ballare' which means "to dance". Ballades were folk song that people used to sing moving one place to another and by singing them they used to earn their livelihood. The ballad style emerged in13th century. 

Ballad Poetry Definition: 
Ballad is one of the oldest form of poetry. It was a folk song that tells a story. It is a short narrative poem. It is a musical composition. In ancient time shepherd's used to sing ballad song moving from one place to another. Ballad poem is one of the most popular form of objective poetry. In late 16th century and 17th centuries it had a major influence in almost all Europe. Ballad consist ballad stanza form, four line stanza, using ABAB rhyme scheme. It is written in common metre. Ballad poems contain themes like life, death, religion, love, supernatural things, honour of warrior, archetypale stories etc. 

Ballad Poetry Types:
There are mainly three types of ballad poetry such as folk ballad, lyrical Ballad and modern ballad. All the three types are discussed below:

   (1) Folk ballad: it is the oldest form of ballad. Shepherds made this form popular. They used to orally recite it. There were no specific writer of folk ballad. Adventures and love stories were the main theme of this form of ballad. It is written in common metre. Ex- Beowulf. 

  (2) Lyrical Ballad: it is also called literary ballad. This form of ballad emerged in 18th century. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge first started to write lyrical ballad. The theme of lyrical Ballad is day to day life's stories. 

 (3) Modern ballad: it is the third type of ballad. This form of ballad is written with a musical touch. It is the most popular form of ballad. The use of colloquial language is an indispensable feature of ballad. 

Ballad Poetry Examples:
Here are some example of ballad written below-
(1) La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats
(2) "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel" Taylor Coleridge
(3) "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe
(4) "The Ballad of the Red Earl" by Rudyard Kipling
(5) "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" by Oscar Wilde

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