Introduction
to Literature, Spring 1998
Medieval Ballads
| What is a ballad?
Simply put, it is "A formalized story, often choral, told
in a situational rather than a narrative style, which is sung
to a tune." Child's Ballads mean the ballads
in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, published
by Francis James Child at the end of the nineteenth century.
The five-volume collection embodies a definition of `ballad'
which largely holds today. |
 Ballads
"Barbara
Allen" "Sir
Patrick Spence"
Lyrics
"Western
Wind" "Now
Goes the Sun Under the Wood"
Relevank Links: Ballads
& Lyrics; Medieval
Period (ca. 1200-1485)
"Barbara Allen"
"'Barbara Allen' (Child #84) is perhaps the most widely-spread of all
Child's ballads. It goes back a long way -- Pepys wrote of hearing it
sung in 1666 -- but our earliest versions of the text date to the mid-eighteenth
century and the music can't even be traced back that far' (from Early Child Ballads)
. There are many, many versions of this poem, including
versions from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the United States.
Three Versions:
Questions for Group Discussion and
Journal
- Why does Sir John Graeme get sick and then die for Barbara
Allan? When Barbara Allen says that he once ignored her, what is his
reaction? What does that show about him?
- What kind of person is Barbara Allen? (pay attention to the
ways she treats Sir John Graeme: telling him that he is dying, leaving
him before he dies, and then dying for him after he does.)
- The ballad does not explicitly describe Barbara Allen as being
cruel, but it implies it. Identify places in the poem that reveal her
hard-heartedness.
- Barbara seems to experience a change in the poem. At what point does
she change? How are those changes
implied?
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"Sir Patrick Spence"
An e-text site with
the original spelling
Questions for Group Discussion and
Journal
- Like all ballads, this one tells a story. Briefly what is the story
presented in this traditional Scottish ballad?
- Does the fact that the king in line one likes to drink "blood-red"
wine suggest something about him? Does it foreshadow something that will
happen later in the poem?
- How would you describe Sir Patrick's character? Why, for
example, does he move rapidly from laughter to tears in the fourth
stanza?
- Why does Sir Patrick Spence goes on the trip even after he knows it
is a death-mission?
contrasts & ironies
- How is the "eldern knicht" (elder knight) contrasted with Sir
Patrick Spence? (What do they each do? Where are they?) Why
do the Scotish nobles go along with him? What details can you find in
the poem that suggest the poet was critical of the lives of the
nobles?
- A contrast is set respectively in stanza eight and stanza
nine (between the first two lines and the last two). What kind
of contrasts are they? (e.g. the sea and the play, the ladies with
fans in their hand and Patrick Spence at sea).
omission in ballad form
- As you look at the story in this ballad, it is interesting to
notice the parts of the story that the poet left out. What parts
are not included in the poem? Why do you think the poet chose
to leave them out? Also, what parts of the story did the poet
develop in detail?
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Medieval Lyrics
Topics of Medieval Lyrics: The song of spring
(the French reverdie), the love lyric and love complaint, the
celebration of Virgin Mary, the witty satire of women, the meditation
upon Calvary--and some rollicking erse in praise of good food, good
drink, and good living (Norton Anthology 365)
"Western Wind"
E-text
Questions for Group Discussion and Journal
- This poem, written around the year 1500, consists of only
one quatrain. What is the relationship between the first two lines
and the final two lines?
- Who do you think is the speaker of the poem? What clues in the
poem help you to identify and understand him? Who is the speaker
talking about in lines three and four?
- After you begin to question the identity of the speaker, you
will need to consider what the context for this short poem is.
Explain WHY the speaker is saying these lines. (It may help you
to know that in England the west wind is accompanied by
rain and warmth; it marks the beginning of spring.)
- In line three the speaker says, "Christ." What do you
think his tone is? Do you think he is praying to Christ? Or is
the speaker simply using an exclamation? (How does this invocation
of Christ in the third line compare and contrast with the invocation
of the wind in line one?)
Application and Wild Association
- Can you think of a possible story that would explain this
speaker's relationship with his lover?
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"Now Goes the Sun Under the Wood"
The
version in Modern English
The original version:
| Nou goth sonne vnder wode; Me rewes, Marie, thi
faire rode.
Nou goth sonne vnder tre;
Me rewes, Marie, thi sone and the. |
Questions for Group Discussion and
Journal
- This thirteenth century poem, like "Western Wind," focuses on
one specific moment. What is the moment being described in this
poem? And what is happening at this moment of sunset? Is the poem
simply describing a beautiful sunset?
- An understanding of Jesus' passion and death may
help you to appreciate this poem. Jesus' mother, Mary, in some
accounts, was present at Jesus' crucifixion and that she
stood at the foot of the cross. Why does the speaker pity Mary?
If you consider the Crucifixion as the background for this poem,
what new understandings of the poem do you have?
- This poem relies on words with dual meanings. For example, the
sun, mentioned in lines one and three, also suggests Jesus as
Son of God and son of Mary. Also, the word "wood" and "tree"
can both suggest the wooden cross on which Jesus died.
- Do the final two lines move beyond Mary's personal position
and suggest something about the presence of suffering, death,
and night in the world?
Ballads and Lyrics: Relevant Links
- Writing
a Period Ballad, including the definitions we downloaded
in our databank. This is a site for people who may
want to write ballads. It's discussion of the ballad style is
helpful, even for people who only want to read rather than write
a ballad
- Early Child
Ballads, definition and history of their discovery.
- E-Text
 General Introduction & Major Site
- ANGLO-SAXON
PERIOD, including introduction to Early History of England,
Religion, & Anglo-Saxon Poetry (from Fu Jen English
Literature Databank; by Dr. Marguerite Connor)
- The Labyrinth:
Resources for Medieval Studies, including library, national cultures,
international cultures, special topics, pedagogical resources,
Professional Information,etc. (Sponsored by Georgetown University)
- The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook
History and Culture
- Introduction to Medieval
History, By Paul Halsall of Fordham University.
- Music
of the 14th Century
- MEDIEVAL
SUBJECTIVITY An on-line academic discussion of medieval
subjectivity and faculty psychology. ['Patrick Diehl (_The
Medieval European Religious Lyric,_ (67-72) shows how "In many
medieval religious poems, singular and plural first-person pronominal
forms seem to be virtually interchangeable." ')
Site for Fun and Vivual Resources
Other Important Work or Writers
For Further Studies
in the English Medieval Studies
(selected from Medieval
& Renaissance History site at NYU)
E-Texts
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