ENGL 311 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Lyrical Ballads, Lord Randall
13 Jun 2016
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Document Summary
Not composed poems the way refined literary ballads were composed. Initially made by one poem, passed on by singer to singer orally. Tradition to learn by hearing, which means every time you sing it you might do it a little differently. Ballads also tell a story - different from lyrics. Series of actions that occur in a ballad. It"s often dramatic, it"ll often tell a story about a climactic episode. Ballads are condensed, compared to other forms of narrative poetry. In order to keep us interested for long periods of time, especially with the repetition. Repetition can make it boring since the meter is more complicated and nuanced. Ballads move more quickly - the whole thing is a direct dialogue sometimes, no narrator at all. When there are narrators, it"s often third person narration. Lyrical ballads where you combine elements of lyric poetry with traditional folk ballad, so you cant have first person narrator.
