Ballad

What is a ballad?How does it compare to a

short story?What does it looks like? (some excerpts as examples)

How do you write one?Some ideas to launch your

ballad.

It tells a story

• A ballad tells a story (similarly to the old west or miner’s song lyrics)

• Tells of love found or lost, an important event, adventure, scandal, death, disaster, or personal experience that had an impact

• Emerges with a fairly clear theme (life lesson learned)

• 4 stanzas, each of 4 lines• (generally, the best form is) The 2nd and the 4th

lines will rhyme in a scheme similar to– Xxxxxx – ind (A)– Xxxxxx –ake (B)– Xxxxxx –ane (C)– Xxxxxx – ake (B)

• Another scheme might be A, A, B, A • or even A, A, B, BA great example would be Marty Robbins’ song “El Paso” that tells the tale of a cowboy who fatally falls for a girl who already has an admirer

BalladA ballad is LIKE a short story in that it (should) contain a setting, a main character (usually the narrator), a problem, some smaller events, a solving of the main problem, and a conclusion.

A ballad is also like a short story in that almost all ballads present a theme (love lost, boy meets girl, live for the moment, overcome, appreciate what you have before you lose it, etc.)

A ballad DIFFERS from a short story in a few ways1)Like most all poetry, ballads spend time on the essence of the story, leaping from event to event and lingering on the most important elements to convey the story (or to emphasize the message from the story that the author wants to convey)2)A ballad may make use of a REFRAIN (written poem form of a ballad) or what’s known as a CHORUS (once the poem is paired with music to create a song). This repeated stanza emphasizes the importance of what is being said.3)Unlike most stories (where one expects “happily ever after,”), ballads often end in a negative or unresolved manner (due to the nature of topics like love lost or heartbreak of another type).

A Comparison to The Short Story

The

Well Known Ballads(a cowboy ballad by Marty Robbins, from El Paso)

Out in the West Texas town of El PasoI fell in love with a Mexican girl.Night-time would find me in Rosa's cantina;Music would play and Felina would whirl.

Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina,Wicked and evil while casting a spell.My love was deep for this Mexican maiden;I was in love but in vain, I could tell.

One night a wild young cowboy came in,Wild as the West Texas wind.Dashing and daring,A drink he was sharingWith wicked Felina, the girl that I loved, so in anger I

Challenged his right for the love of this maiden.Down went his hand for the gun that he wore.My challenge was answered in less than a heart-beat;The handsome young stranger lay dead on the floor.

(from "The Lady In Red“ by CHRIS DE BURGH )

I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight,I've never seen you shine so bright,I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance,They're looking for a little romance, given half a chance,

…

There's nobody here, it's just you and me,It's where I want to be,But I hardly know this beauty by my side,I'll never forget the way you look tonight…

"After The Love Has Gone" was written by Foster, David/graydon, Jay/champlin, William

(you might recognize it as lyrics from a song by Earth, Wind, and Fire)

For a while, to love was all we could doWe were young and we knewAnd our eyes were aliveDeep inside we knew our love was true

For a while, we paid no mind to the pastWe knew love would lastEvery night somethin' rightWould invite us to begin the dance

Somethin' happened along the wayWhat used to be happy was sadSomethin' happened along the wayAnd yesterday was all we had

And oh, after the love has goneHow could you lead me onAnd not let me stay aroundOh, oh, oh, after the love has goneWhat used to be right is wrongCan love that's lost be found…

"A House Is Not A Home“ by Luther Vandross

A room is a still a roomEven when there's nothin' there but gloom...When the two of us are far apartAnd one of us has a broken heart

Now and then I call your nameAnd suddenly your face appearsBut it's just a crazy gameWhen it ends, it ends in tears

Pretty little darling, have a heartDon't let one mistake keep us apartI'm not meant to live aloneTurn this house into a home

When I climb the stairs and turn the keyOh, please be thereSayin' that you're still in love with me, yeahI'm not meant to live aloneTurn this house into a home…

Start with the story – don’t worry about the rhyme yet. Use this template to help you focus on the events of which the story tells. Once you are done with this leg of the journey, go on to the next screen for

some ideas on finding rhyme in the story you are already telling.

Start by introducing main character, when and where the story takes place, and what the problem to be resolved is.

Sometimes the “problem” IS the INCITING INCIDENT, but often times it is not. For example, in El Paso, the problem is that Felina already has an admirer. The inciting incident is that the new admirer kills the first.

What other events, misdeads, rejections, or woes are there?

Like in a short story, the climax is often where the author resolves the MAIN problem. In a ballad, there is likely to be only ONE problem, but either way, look for its solution in the climax

In ballads, the conclusion can be either ill fated or happily ever after.

Does it have to rhyme?YES AND NO. Some purveyors of English insist that it rhymes (and with a specific pattern), but language is a living thing and many instructors accept non-traditional rhyming patterns, or even having no rhyme at all (but that is the very rare case) Go back a couple of pages for possible rhyme schemes.

What if I have no RHYME resource? What then?

First of all, EVERYONE has at least one “rhyme resource,” you’ve just not paid attention to it. Go back to your second grade memory back and recall “word families” like CAT, SAT, RAT, MAT, FAT etc.,. Better still, take a word you are trying to match and “walk through the alphabet” trying to find a match using other consonants. Example, I am looking for a word to rhyme with happy, so I think Bappy, Cappy, Dappy, Fappy, Gappy, Jappy, Lappy, Mappy, Nappy, Pappy, Quappy (which makes me think of “crappy”), Rappy, Sappy (and Snappy or Slappy), Tappy, Vappy, Wappy and Zappy. Okay, so only a few are useful, but YOU FOUND A COUPLE THAT ARE USEFUL!

Second of all, if you have the internet, you have a ton of resources. Do not go to “ask.com” and have someone else do your homework. Instead, go to reputable web sites like www.RhymeZone.com , www.rhymer.com or www.wikirhymer.com . They are easy to use. Type in a word you are trying to match and it will give you possibilities (even far fetched \ stretching options). Again, if line 2 can’t match line 1, make line 1 match line 2! Do not be afraid of multiple drafts – REVISE until you have a poem that tells a story, coherently, and one that has matching lines!

Third of all, if you plan on going to college, if you are in a GATE class, or you just enjoy language, buy a good quality rhyming dictionary for your personal library. It comes in real handy when you need it!

Assume this passage below is the one you created (based on the book Holes)

The Yelnats Ballad

Stanley Yelnats the 4th, born to a family curseFalsely blamed for the theft of shoes, but it gets worseSent to a camp that’s neither green nor has a lakeXXXXXXXX

It’s hard to make friends under good conditionsXXXXXXXThe irony is that while the judge believed that he could not be innocentHis new friends could not believe he could be guilty

A solitary friend, a quiet boy named zero,Makes a new friend in Stanley and quickly becomes camp heroAs he runs off XXXXXQuickly followed by Stanley who goes looking for him

Together they find solace on God’s thumbEat tons of onions and revive and get ready to runBack to the camp, back to the holes, Risking life, risking being raked over the coals

Treasure found! Warden thwarted!Lawyer rescues Stanley and Zero tooBack at home, mom locatedTwo friends for life, curse lifted.

Step 1: fill in the holes in your ballad’s narrative

The boy had never been to camp, for goodness’ sake!

Step 2: Look up a word that rhymes with “conditions”

They did not believe him, by their own admissions

As he runs away, mostly on whim

Step 3: Now put it all together, check the rhymes and review the finished product!

Assume this passage below is the one you created (based on the book Holes)

The Yelnats Ballad

Stanley Yelnats the 4th, born to a family curseFalsely blamed for the theft of shoes, but it gets worse

Sent to a camp that’s neither green nor has a lakeThe boy had never been to camp, for goodness’ sake!

It’s hard to make friends under good conditionsThe other boys did not believe him – by their own admissions

The irony is that while the judge believed that he could not be innocentHis new friends could not believe he could be guilty

A solitary friend, a quiet boy named zero,Makes a new friend in Stanley and quickly becomes camp hero

As he runs away, mostly on whimQuickly followed by Stanley who goes looking for him

Together they find solace on God’s thumbEat tons of onions and revive and get ready to run

Back to the camp, back to the holes, Risking life, risking being raked over the coals

Treasure found! Warden thwarted! Lawyer rescues Stanley and Zero too

Back at home, mom locatedTwo friends for life, curse lifted.

Step 5: revise into draft 3

Step 4: find and fix errors in detail, logic, or typing.

kid

Stanley makes a new friend of him

Plans in ruin

Back at home, Zero giftedTwo friends for life, curse is lifted.

Assume this passage below is the one you created (based on the book Holes)

The Yelnats Ballad

Stanley Yelnats the 4th, born to a family curseFalsely blamed for the theft of shoes, but it gets worse

Sent to a camp that’s neither green nor has a lakeThe boy had never been to camp, for goodness’ sake!

It’s hard to make friends under good conditionsThe other boys did not believe him – by their own admissions

The irony is that while the judge believed that he could not be innocentHis new friends could not believe he could be guilty

A solitary kid, a quiet boy named zero,Stanley makes a new friend of him and quickly becomes camp hero

He runs away, mostly on whimQuickly followed by Stanley who goes looking for him

Together they find solace on God’s thumbEat tons of onions and revive and get ready to run

Back to the camp, back to the holes, Risking life, risking being raked over the coals

Treasure found! Warden thwarted! Plans in ruin!Lawyer rescues Stanley and Zero too

Back at home, Zero is gifted,Two friends for life, curse is lifted.

Step 6: If time allows, consider adding one or two more stanzas to include crucial details like the first No good, pig

stealing, Yelnats being cursed by Zeroni, or Stanley carrying a Zeroni up the mountain to get stronger.

If time does not allow, at least it looks good as is.

Draft #3

COMEDY

DRAMADRAMA ROMANCEROMANCE ACTIONACTION

You are blessed: you can see the future, but nobody believes you

(and a disaster is about to happen)

Two people in their 70s look back on their

relationship – they met as toddlers, had a

crush in JH and married after college

An assassin comes out of retirement to protect your family

COMEDY GRAPHIC NOVEL

(COMIC BOOK)

HISTORICAL HISTORICAL DRAMADRAMA

A video of a dog delivering pizza (or stopping to steal a bite) goes viral on

BlueTube

A team of espionage agents turns against the government they work for to play

Robbing Hoods.

Follow Crispus Attucks during the

last week of his life.

DRAMA ROMANCE

HORROR FANTASY SCIENCE FICTION

Everyone but a few buys the next gotta-

have-it gadget… only it controls their

thoughts.

A fairytale prince shows up to marry his bride but she is busy playing video games

from the future

Microchips are embedded into

everyone’s brain cortex. Good idea?

NOVELHISTORICAL

DRAMA

Copyright 2008 KPariseau

GRAPHIC

Use one of these ideas to launch your own ballad!