Literary Ballad

A literary ballad is a poem written by a specific author. These ballads are not set to music. An example of a literary ballad would be Dudley Randall's ballad "Dressed All In Pink"

Dressed All In Pink
by Dudley Randall

It was a wet and cloudy day
when the prince took his last ride.
The prince rode with the gonernor,
and his princess rode beside.

"And would you like to ride inside
for shelter from the rain?"
"No I'll ride outside, where I can wave
and speak to my friends again."

They ride among the cheering crowds,
the young prince and his mate.
The governor says, "See how they smile
and cheer you where they wait."

The prince rides with the governor,
his princess rides beside,
dressed all in pink as delicate
as roses of a bride.

Pink as a rose the princess rides,
but bullets from a gun
turn that pink to as deep a red
as red, red blood can run,

for she bends to where the prince lies still
and cradles his shattered head,
and there that pink so delicate
is stained a deep, deep red.

The prince rides with the governor,
the princess rides beside,
and her dress of pink so delicate
a deep, deep red is dyed.

-written about the assassination of JFK
-Jackie Kennedy is the princess
-iambic tetrameter
-rhyming scheme: abcb
-the dress symbolizes the country itself falling from grace
-colour imagery of pink as roses and red as blood
-princess is described in colour
-"dyed" at the end has a double meaning
-dress is said to be as pink as roses but roses are also a deep shade of red, but the dress is not referred to a rose when it is covered in blood
-Pink is the colour of innocence and it turning red is significant in displaying the loss of innocence

FOLK BALLADS

Folk ballads are American ballads that date as far back as the 1700's. There are two main roots of folk ballads:
1) illiterate white people
2)illiterate African American people

These ballads sometimes have a chorus/refrain and do not follow today's standard ballad form. The plot for these ballads are usually tragic. They are written by anonymous authors and were passed on through oral tradition. Due to the fact that these ballads were passed on by word of mouth they have probably lost some of their original wording through the years. The ballads were set to music and some can still be heard today. The main characters were not of upper class. An example of a folk ballad would be "Frankie and Johnny".

Frankie and Johnny
(author anonymous)

Frankie and Johnny were lovers,
Oh, Lordy, how they could love;
They swore to be true to each other,
Just as true as the stars above;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.

Frankie and Johnny went walking,
John in his brand new suit.
Then, "Oh, good Lord," says Frankie,
"Don't my Johnny look real cute!"
He was her man, but he done her wrong.

Frankie went down to the corner,
Just for a bucket of beer.
She said to the fat bartender,
"Has my lovin' man been here?"
He was her man, but he done her wrong.

"I don't want to cause you no trouble,
I don't want to tell you no lie;
But I saw your man an hour ago
With a gal named Nelly Bly;
And if he's your man, he's a-doin' you wrong."

Frankie looked over the transom
And found, to her great surprise,
That there on the bed sat Johnny,
A-lovin up Nelly Bly.
He was her man, but he done her wrong.

Frankie drew back her kimono;
She took out her little forty-four;
Root-a-toot-toot, that girl did shoot
Right through the hardwood door,
She shot her man, 'cause he done her wrong.

"Roll me over easy,
Roll me over slow,
Roll me on my right side,
'Cause the bullet hurts me so.
I was her man, but I done her wrong."

Oh bring on your rubber-tired hearses,
Bring on your rubber-tired hacks,
They're taking Johnny to the Burying-ground,
And they won't bring a bit of him back;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.

The judge said to the jury,
"It's as plain as plain can be;
This woman shot her lover,
It's murder in the second degree,
He was her man, though he done her wrong".

"Oh bring a thousand policemen,
Bring 'em round today,
Oh lock me in that dungeon,
And throw the keys away
I shot my man, 'cause he done me wrong."


-This ballad was written in free verse it has repetition and rhyme
-narrative
-she is portrayed as a loving girlfriend who adores her man
-he's a cheater
-use of more than one voice
-communally constructed
-love relationship that ends badly
-vigilantes justice, not condoned by the legal institution
-cultural expression and tragic romance