Lesson Topic 5: Blown Away by the Ballad

What is a Ballad?

A ballad is a narrative poem consisting of four-line stanzas where the story is told through dialogue and action, the language is simple or "folksy," the theme is often tragic (though comic ballads do exist), and the ballad contains a refrain repeated several times. Typically, ballads were written for people to sing. Remember the definition of rhyme scheme. Most ballads use one of three different types of rhyme schemes: abac, aabb, or abcb.

Ballad Practice

Look at the following example of a ballad. Note the rhyme scheme and the four-line stanzas (also known as quatrains).

An antique illustration of the nursery rhyme ballad "Sing a Song of Sixpence." A king in royal regalia sits at a table while two servants wait on him. The king holds a knife with which he has sliced a giant pie in front of him; five blackbirds have escaped from the pie. "Sing a Song of Sixpence"
by Mother Goose

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing--
Wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before the king?

The king was in his counting house
Counting out his money,
The queen was in the parlor
Eating bread and honey,

The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes.
Along came a blackbird
And snipped off her nose.

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