the ballad gives little analysis of character. We are not given details as to what the persons of the ballad are thinking about. The traits of character are simple: the man is brave, or a coward, or the sport of fate. The king is a king because he can sit in his tower and drink blood-red wine; the ladies are recognized as ladies because they have gold combs in their hair. Most of the ballads are intensely realistic. The richly described knights and ladies of the romances are not met here. Lovers do not woo in courtly language or sigh or write poetry, though they may die of a broken heart. The virtues are simple: faith, loyalty, courage, true friendship.

Something has already been said about ballad-style: the absence of detail, of decoration, of any of the devices that we call literary. Since the ballad is to be sung to a simple tune, there are no complicated stanza-forms. Usually a fourline stanza in which the second and fourth lines rime, with four accents in the first and third lines and three in the second and fourth, is characteristic. Certain phrases are used over and over and become conventions of ballad style. These will be pointed out in the notes. The most striking characteristic of ballad style is what has been called "incremental repetition," by which is meant the repetition of a line with just a little addition or increment to the story. Good illustrations will be found in "Lord Randal." Apparently the lines say the same thing over and over, but you will notice that the variations, though slight, are sufficient to carry forward the story, so that at the end the entire situation is plain.

Illustrations of the principal kinds of folk ballads are included in the pages you are now to read. The first four selections are of the simplest, most primitive, type. In these you will be able to find illustrations of the different characteristics of the folk ballad that have been pointed out. This group is followed by three ballads of the heroic type, and these in turn by two romantic ballads. Three ballads dealing with the supernatural, the world of the dead or of the fairies, are next given, and an excellent humorous ballad completes the group.

In reading these ballads do not be alarmed by the seeming strangeness of the language. It is the language of the people, not a literary language. Difficult words are explained in the notes, but many words seem strange merely because of the spelling. If you will read the stanza aloud, the sound of the word will often give you the meaning. Only by reading aloud do you get the spirit of the ballad: its vigor, its simplicity, its rapidity of movement. And if you should be so fortunate as to be able to hear some of these old songs of the people sung to their ancient music, you will learn more about the ballad spirit than through any amount of study.

Since the great revival of interest in the ballads began, many writers have tried to imitate this form of poetry. You will find, beginning on page 259, a group of selections from these literary ballads. It will be interesting for you to point out the various likenesses and differences between these modern imitations of the ballad and the songs of the unlettered folks of long ago.

naturally to the next following question? (c) How much of each stanza is repetition or refrain? (d) If someone suggested the question, could you make the rest of the stanza, or sing it if you knew the tune, without paying further attention to the composition? (e) Does the refrain in the fourth line of each stanza ever vary? If so, why, and what effect is gained? Is the refrain merely a set of repeated words, or does it help the story in any way?

2. The "legacy" is a convention, or commonplace, in many ballads. What change in the structure of the stanzas marks the introduction of this convention here? What persons are named? Of these, only one is important. Which one, and why? What, then, is the "increment," or addition to the story, that this set of repetitions contributes?

3. Reconstruct the story of the ballad, including both what you are told in the poem and what you know must have happened. How do you know that these things, not definitely mentioned, must have happened? Underline the parts of the story that are thus taken for granted, not definitely stated. About what proportion of the whole story is told in this indirect way?

4. In what way does this ballad resemble a short story? How does it differ?

THE TWA SISTERS

There was twa sisters in a bowr, Edinburgh, Edinburgh,

There was twa sisters in a bowr,

Stirling for ay,

5

There was twa sisters in a bowr,
There came a knight to be their wooer,
Bonny Saint Johnston stands upon Tay.
He courted the eldest wi glove an ring,
But he lovd the youngest above a' thing.
He courted the eldest wi brotch an knife,
But lovd the youngest as his life.
The eldest she was vexéd sair,
And much envi'd her sister fail.

Into her bowr she could not rest:
Wi grief an spite she almos brast.
Upon a morning fair an clear,
She cried upon her sister dear:

10. brotch, brooch. 15. brast, burst.

10

15

1. Study the repetition and refrain. Which lines in the complete stanza carry on the story? Which lines are purely refrain, with no relation to the story? Which line in each stanza is repeated three times? What is the effect? What use of repetition, binding stanzas together, do you discover in the lines which carry the story from stanza to stanza?

2. Write out, or be prepared to tell to the class, the story of the ballad. What facts in this story are not given directly but are left to be supplied by the reader or hearer? What descriptive elements, such as the description of the heroine, are repeated? Are there any conventional expressions for describing her hands, her jewels, etc.?

3. Note that the song of the harper is a variant of the "legacy" theme met in "Lord Randal." Why does the harp play this tune?

"My brother's name is Baby Lon."

"O sister, sister, what have I done! O have I done this ill to thee!

"O since I'ce done this evil deed, Good sall never be seen o me."

He's taken out his wee pen-knife,

35

And he's twyned himsel o his ain sweet life. 13. may, maid. 30. gin, if. 38. twyned, deprived.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

1. Note that the second and fourth lines, constituting the refrain, are printed only in the first stanza. If you were to sing the ballad, of course you would include this refrain in each stanza. How does it differ from the refrain in "Lord Randal"? Does it add to the story,

or to the setting, or to the mood of the ballad in any way?

2. Omitting the refrain, what other repetitions are there in this ballad? Make a study of these in the following way: (a) How many persons are present? What part does each play in the action? (b) If you have heard the part of the ballad dealing with the first sister, can you make the part referring to the second? To the third? (c) What "increment," addition, then, do you find? How does it help tell the story? (d) Why are there no repetitions in the last five stanzas?

or

3. Reconstruct the story in your own words, just as you did in studying "Lord Randal." Underline, or point out to the class, the facts in the complete story that are not told directly by the ballad. How do you know these things happened? How much of the real story happened before the ballad-action begins?

4. Is there any description of character in this ballad? How does the third sister differ from the first two? Do you recall any similar instances in other poems?

1. Oliver Goldsmith, a great English poet, speaks of the time when an “old dairy maid sang me to tears with the cruelty of Barbara Allan." This was a boyhood memory, and he says that no music that he heard in after life ever seemed half so fine. The incident illustrates not only the power of the ballads as sung to their original music, but also the way in which these old songs were handed down from generation to generation before anyone ever thought of printing them. You might try to find the music to which "Barbara Allan" has always been sung.

2. Note the musical quality of the name "Barbara Allan" and the effect of the constant repetition of the name in the ballad.

3. Who are the speakers in lines 13-20? Who is the speaker in lines 33-36? Do these lines remind you of a stanza in a ballad previously read? In lines 29-32 note the first line and cite a similar style of phrasing from an earlier ballad.

4. Wherein lies the tragedy of this poem? Why was Barbara Allan so unrelenting? Did she love Sir John Græme?

THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE It fell about the Lammas tide,

When the muir-men win their hay, The doughty Douglas bound him to ride Into England, to drive a prey.

2. muir-men, moor men. win, winnow, dry by airing.