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The poet doesn't invent. He listens.
Jean Cocteau
Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.
Edgar Allan Poe
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of the WDC Poetry Newsletter. I’m honored to once again appear as your guest host. |
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We’ve explored together in my past 'appearances' the ‘little song’ (sonnet) and verse of ‘epic’ proportions (no, not a story poem; the epic form of poetry ) and seen how each resonates with depth of meaning and imagery when read aloud. Well, the following form is, and has been over time, designed to be read aloud, even at times, sung.
The Ballad tells a story in verse using a short narrative form, often with a refrain. The first English ballads date back to the Middle Ages, where they were oral, relating folk tales and legends, myth and fantasy, and local items of interest in lyric form. Minstrels, perhaps the original ‘stand-up’ comedians, started writing them down to entertain the nobility, often waxing comedic, with lyrical refrains intended to be sung.
The literary ballad evolved from this oral tradition during the Renaissance, as literacy expanded within the population. Writing it down, the ballad stanza form was memorialized. The form maintained and memorialized much of the oral tradition.
The ballad was generally written in rhyming stanzas of four lines each, with a refrain either complete or with several key words or a line repeated. The rhyming pattern within a stanza was most likely alternating lines, i.e., a,c,b,c or perhaps a,b,a,c, or a,a,b,b and with the rhyming lines balanced in meter. Variations in the rhyming or meter often denoted evolution of the story’s plot, and the writers used internal rhyming techniques (alliteration (courting kingly kudos) and assonance (awash in allegory)), to add impact and perhaps foreshadow the conclusion to come. Here’s an example of an early ballad,
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
Yes, this is a ballad ^_^ Reading aloud, note the build-up in the first and third lines (tetrameter (4 stressed beats); and the release in the second and fourth lines (trimester (3 stressed beats). This stress and release draws the listener in, and any refrain whether complete or partial, focuses, then incites the reader/listener to continue the story. Changes to the rhyme or rhythm pattern draw attention to key elements in the resolution of the story being related in verse. The lyrical ballad was written with the intent that it be sung. Therefore, rhyming (whether exact, eye-rhyme or internal), repetition (recall the use of alliteration, assonance, for example), remained, as has the intent of the ballad - to relate a short story, memorialize an event, in lyric verse.
The ballad continued its evolutionary journey through the 20th century, where it resonated in the lyrics of some musicians/balladiers (Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Jim Croce).
In the 21st Century, as the internet provides near-instant access to a world of readers, listeners, and, yes, writers, the ballad form remains a versatile means of poetic expression. Today, any collection of verse with a refrain is by some called a ballad.
Remember, though, that the key elements are the increase and release pattern within a stanza and, perchance, the poem itself as you listen to the sound of your voice, as your worlds resonate lyrically what you see with poet's eyes.
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Enjoy reading (and reviewing some ballads penned by members of our Community ~ the variety of form as dynamic and creative as the themes are versatile
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And how about these creative venues which welcome traditional verse in its myriad voices
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During my last visit back in June, we explored the Epic Poem. I'd like to share with you some dialogue in response thereto
From: (user:outercircle}
This was a very insightful newsletter. Keep up the good work.
Ash
Thank you for your encouragement along my journey in learning to see and hear with a poet's eye.
***
From: joanna 
I thought epic poetry was dead! Thank you for breathing life back into it for me.
Thank you Epic poetry lives in the deeds and visions of heroes and villains past and present, awaiting but thescribe one to listen, hear, and give voice to their stories ~ Write On!
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From: Thomas
I find alliteration tantalizingly tempting, sublimely soothing, and especially effective.
And where but in poetic prosody can one embrace the sibilant whisper of sunset's wistful welcome of a star speckled cerulean sky Rhythm Rocks!
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From: Stan Stanley
I can not write poetry by typing directly onto the screen, I write first long hand, I can't write it silently either, I speak as I write, I need to hear the tone, cadence, the affect of the pause with a certain punctuation, just as a choreographer plans steps and moves to capture a mental picture, those of us blessed with the sense of sound, should use it fully.
It is not only poetry which I read out aloud sometimes, certain stories, which are well crafted and written, their sheer mastery of language commands me to read it out aloud, then the silence of awe is bliss.
Yes! I also know that if I listen to the words spoken I may actually hear them, and commit to paper ~ with my pencil (in order to better reshape my recall) ~ what I see.
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From: monty31802
Another great poetry newsletter Kate. Many times I judge a poem on impact although I may have given a number of entries a 5 star rateing.
Your point made on impact is well made.
Thank You Your guidance and constant encouragement inspires those of us who strive to convey the rhythm, the essence, of what we see, hear and imagine..
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From TerJa
The problem with most epic poetry, classic or modern, is that it isn't very good. English being a rhyme poor language, it just doesn't lend itself to epic poems. That being said, for anyone who wants to read good epic poetry try Byron's "Don Juan" or Pope's "Rape of the Lock." Both have the added advantage of being very funny too.
I think it's there for one who listens to the cadence, the rhythm, of an event, then works to convey it to others. In our era of 'supersized' superlatives, some may call an epic a verse that is merely epic in length, akin to an epic disaster . Thanks for the tip recalling "Rape of the Lock" ~ it was sheer fun to read!
 
Thank you all for your kind hospitality,
Until we next meet,
Keep Writing!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading |
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Poetry: August 27, 2008 Issue [#2574]
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