ENGL 311- Final Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam ( 75 pages long!)
Document Summary
Ballad: a folk song that tells a story, speaks to the latter de nition that they are transmitted orally and passed down between generations, and households. It must tell a story, something happens, characters speak. Modern de nition of the ballad = popular music. Transmitted orally: makes it a national importance, as the oral song/ tale being told gets the wisdom of that speci c teller. This passage between one orator to the next, the text accumulates a certain kind of wisdom [tragedy, love, wisdom ] We read ballads because they re ect a deep psychological accumulation of society, from year to year. Goes back to the middle ages of england, although were not printed until the 18th century. Thomas percy"s relics of ancient poetry from 1765 spread onto germany. As industrialization empties the countryside, scholars attempt to preserve culture. Force driven rhythm, typical of traditional ballads. The reader must feel the style of the text, and the author.