Ballade
Encyclopedia
The ballade is a form of French poetry
. It was one of the three formes fixes (the other two were the rondeau
and the virelai
) and one of the verse forms in France most commonly set to music between the late 13th and the 15th centuries.
The ballade is a verse
form typically consisting of three eight-line stanza
s, each with a consistent metre and a particular rhyme scheme
. The last line in the stanza is a refrain. The stanzas are followed by a four-line concluding stanza (an envoi
) usually addressed to a prince
. The rhyme scheme
is therefore usually 'ababbcbC ababbcbC ababbcbC bcbC', where the capital 'C' is a refrain.
The many different rhyming words that are needed (the 'b' rhyme needs at least fourteen words) makes the form more difficult for English than for French poets. Geoffrey Chaucer
wrote in the form. It was revived in the 19th century by English-language poets including Dante Gabriel Rossetti
and Algernon Charles Swinburne
. Other notable English-language ballade writers are Andrew Lang
and G. K. Chesterton
(below). A humorous example is Wendy Cope
's 'Proverbial Ballade'.
Cyrano de Bergerac
, it is a ballade that Cyrano composes impromptu during a duel
.
Though all the critics' canons grow—
Far seedier than the actors' own—
Although the cottage-door's too low—
Although the fairy's twenty stone—
Although, just like the telephone,
She comes by wire and not by wings,
Though all the mechanism's known—
Believe me, there are real things.
Yes, real people— even so—
Even in a theatre, truth is known,
Though the agnostic will not know,
And though the gnostic will not own,
There is a thing called skin and bone,
And many a man that struts and sings
Has been as stony-broke as stone…
Believe me, there are real things
There is an hour when all men go;
An hour when man is all alone.
When idle minstrels in a row
Went down with all the bugles blown—
When brass and hymn and drum went down,
Down in death's throat with thunderings—
Ah, though the unreal things have grown,
Believe me, there are real things.
Prince, though your hair is not your own
And half your face held on by strings,
And if you sat, you'd smash your throne—
Believe me, there are real things.
and chant royal
.
Some ballades have five stanzas. An example is note a good example here.
A seven-line ballade, or ballade royal, consists of four stanzas of rhyme royal
, all using the same three rhymes, all ending in a refrain, without an envoi.
An example is note a good example here.
A ballade supreme has ten-line stanzas rhyming ababbccdcD, with the envoi ccdcD or ccdccD.
An example is Ballade des Pendus
by François Villon
.
There are instances of a double ballade and double-refrain ballade.
An example is note a good example here.
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. It was one of the three formes fixes (the other two were the rondeau
Rondeau
Rondeau is a surname with French origins. Some notable people with this name include:-People:*Jane Rondeau, the wife of Claudius Rondeau, an English minister in St Petersburg in 1720-1739...
and the virelai
Virelai
A virelai is a form of medieval French verse used often in poetry and music. It is one of the three formes fixes and was one of the most common verse forms set to music in Europe from the late thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries.A virelai is similar to a rondeau...
) and one of the verse forms in France most commonly set to music between the late 13th and the 15th centuries.
The ballade is a verse
Verse (poetry)
A verse is formally a single line in a metrical composition, e.g. poetry. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza....
form typically consisting of three eight-line stanza
Stanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s, each with a consistent metre and a particular rhyme scheme
Rhyme scheme
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes or lines...
. The last line in the stanza is a refrain. The stanzas are followed by a four-line concluding stanza (an envoi
Envoi
In poetry, an envoi is a short stanza at the end of a poem used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem.-Form:...
) usually addressed to a prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
. The rhyme scheme
Rhyme scheme
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes or lines...
is therefore usually 'ababbcbC ababbcbC ababbcbC bcbC', where the capital 'C' is a refrain.
The many different rhyming words that are needed (the 'b' rhyme needs at least fourteen words) makes the form more difficult for English than for French poets. Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
wrote in the form. It was revived in the 19th century by English-language poets including Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
and Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...
. Other notable English-language ballade writers are Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
and G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
(below). A humorous example is Wendy Cope
Wendy Cope
Wendy Cope, OBE is an award-winning contemporary English poet. She read history at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She now lives in Ely with the poet Lachlan Mackinnon.-Biography:...
's 'Proverbial Ballade'.
Notable ballades
In Edmund Rostand'sRostand
Rostand may refer to:*Edmond Rostand was a French poet and dramatist.*Jean Rostand was a French biologist and philosopher....
Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
, it is a ballade that Cyrano composes impromptu during a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
.
Examples
A Ballade of Theatricals by G. K. Chesterton (1912)Though all the critics' canons grow—
Far seedier than the actors' own—
Although the cottage-door's too low—
Although the fairy's twenty stone—
Although, just like the telephone,
She comes by wire and not by wings,
Though all the mechanism's known—
Believe me, there are real things.
Yes, real people— even so—
Even in a theatre, truth is known,
Though the agnostic will not know,
And though the gnostic will not own,
There is a thing called skin and bone,
And many a man that struts and sings
Has been as stony-broke as stone…
Believe me, there are real things
There is an hour when all men go;
An hour when man is all alone.
When idle minstrels in a row
Went down with all the bugles blown—
When brass and hymn and drum went down,
Down in death's throat with thunderings—
Ah, though the unreal things have grown,
Believe me, there are real things.
Prince, though your hair is not your own
And half your face held on by strings,
And if you sat, you'd smash your throne—
Believe me, there are real things.
Variations
There are many easy-to-identify variations to the ballade. It is in many ways similar to the odeOde
Ode is a type of lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist...
and chant royal
Chant royal
The Chant Royal is a poetic form that is a variation of the ballad form and consists of five eleven-line stanzas with a rhyme scheme a-b-a-b-c-c-d-d-e-d-E and a five-line envoi rhyming d-d-e-d-E or a seven-line envoi c-c-d-d-e-d-E...
.
Some ballades have five stanzas. An example is note a good example here.
A seven-line ballade, or ballade royal, consists of four stanzas of rhyme royal
Rhyme royal
Rhyme royal is a rhyming stanza form that was introduced into English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer.-Form:The rhyme royal stanza consists of seven lines, usually in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is a-b-a-b-b-c-c. In practice, the stanza can be constructed either as a terza rima and two couplets...
, all using the same three rhymes, all ending in a refrain, without an envoi.
An example is note a good example here.
A ballade supreme has ten-line stanzas rhyming ababbccdcD, with the envoi ccdcD or ccdccD.
An example is Ballade des Pendus
Ballade des pendus
The Ballade des pendus, also known as Epitaphe Villon or Frères humains, is the best-known poem by François Villon. It is commonly acknowledged, even if not clearly established, that Villon wrote it during his imprisonment awaiting his execution following the Ferrebouc affair, in which a pontifical...
by François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
.
There are instances of a double ballade and double-refrain ballade.
An example is note a good example here.
External links
- 'Ballads in Blue China and Verses and Translations' by Andrew Lang from Fullbooks.Com