English Ballad Group Writing Project Littlestown High School English 12
My Group: _________________________________________________________________
After reading and considering several ballads from British Literature anthologies and
recordings, meet with your collaborative writing group to create an original folk ballad.
The Ballad: A narrative poem originally composed to be sung or recited; usually written by
“anonymous,” the ballad is part of the oral tradition and can feature many versions of the
same story; it is often based on true stories; it is created for the common folk and quickly
becomes a communal product (hence the Group Writing Project).
Subject Matter: Ballads are often tragic, ending in a death by accident, murder or suicide, or
with the return of the dead. They often have lots of action, but not much background or
character development. The action may be developed by dialogue and it generally features
one dramatic episode. The ballad often begins in the middle of the story. Ballads are usually
about adventure or romance, and they may contain supernatural elements. Themes
sometimes concern courage, love, loss.
Poetic Characteristics: Ballads are often abcb rhyme scheme, totaling four or six-line
stanzas. They often use refrains or repeated words, phrases and lines; ballads sometimes use
incremental repetition – repetition with slight variations. The ballad usually has a
summarizing stanza. Some ballads feature abrupt transitions. Traditional ballads offer stock
or conventional diction, often with alliteration and sometimes with overused expressions like
“red, red rose,” “wealthy wife,” “stout and stalwart sons.”
Requirements: Each writing group will compose a ballad of at least 24 lines; all may exceed
the minimum. The objective is to apply the characteristics of a classic ballad to an original
story-song. It may be sad, funny, satiric, whatever tone the group chooses, but it should be
consistent, it should feature the characteristics of the ballad, and it should tell a story. DO
NOT compose a lyric poem.
Assessment: To earn an A, a ballad offers a conventional story with a steady rhythm and
rhyme scheme, includes at least one dramatic episode, is about adventure or romance, offers
an entertaining narrative, and is clean grammatically and mechanically; to earn a C, a ballad
offers a conventional story, erratic rhythms and rhyme scheme, is about adventure or
romance, contains some minor grammatical and/or mechanical errors, and offers a
moderately interesting story in poetic format. Worth 100 points.