Before I get started on our last poetry form for our Poetry Bash 2013, I want to say thank you to the many poets, writers, and supporters who have either benefited or learned something new by this endeavor. It truly makes doing this on a yearly basis, well worth the effort I put into it. I also want to thank the many watchers and friends who have supported these poems by reading and giving them a fave.

Our 30th and final form for the 2013 Poetry Bash is the Ballad. The Ballad is one of the very oldest of poetic forms, and originated in France during the medieval period and gets its name from the French word 'ballare,' which means (to dance). The earliest Ballads were ones that were sung, rather than recited. Perhaps one of the greatest of all balladeers is Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whose ballad 'Rime Of The Ancient Mariner' is one of the most well known poems of all time. If you want to be a balladeer, here is how to write one of these buggers...

BEING WELL VERSED

A ballad is written in quatrains, or in some cases it can be in couplets (stick with the quatrains). All ballads are written in verse form, like a song. We know that songs have verses and a chorus. A ballad will have verses too, and the chorus (for a ballad) is called the Refrain. There is no limit to the number of stanzas you can have in a verse, but most are usually two to four tops. Each verse must be numbered, just like you would number verses in a song. As with the stanzas, there is no limit to the number of verses you can have in your ballad, as some can be just two verses, or like Coleridge's poem 143 verses long. It is all up to the writer...

BALLAD METER OR SIXES AND EIGHTS

Almost all ballads are written in what is called 'Ballad Meter.' Here is an illustration of how it works.

Each quatrain will have this metrical set up.

Line One: Iambic Tetrameter (Eight Syllables)

Line Two: Iambic Trimeter (Six Syllables)

Line Three: Iambic Tetrameter (Eight Syllables)

Line Four: Iambic Trimeter (Six Syllables)

Having this set up, it has garnered the nickname 'Sixes and Eights.' I have seen variations of this in many ballads, and thinking back on Coleridge's 'Ancient Mariner' you would see all kinds of different metered lines. I think that my ballad strays from the ballad meter from time to time, but only in helping the poem to keep the cadence I intended for it to have.

THE RHYME SCHEME

A ballads quatrains will have the simple rhyme scheme of a-b-c-b.

That is all for writing a Ballad, and I sure hope you will give it a try. Remember to keep the theme of your Ballad related to history, comedy, or tragedy, as that is what all ballads themes are. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to note me here or to e-mail me.

My poetry is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without my express permission. © 2013


*SIDE NOTE: The artwork is by Dutch-Painter-Bartholomeus Breenbergh, and is from a Mythology book I own.