#5: Interesting Facts about the Ballad Stanza

Some facts about the Ballad Stanza:
-In the form of a song.
-Usually deals with folklore or legends.
-Written in the rhyme scheme ABAB or ABBA.
-Usually a four to six line form.
-Used in The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.
-Used in early historic tales, such as Beowulf.


http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~dougt/terms.htm
http://www.freebase.com/view/en/ballad_stanza
http://www.writing-world.com/poetry/ballad.shtml

What I found interesting about my research was the different ways that ballad forms are used. I know that I really should know better, but often times when I think of a ballad, I think of sappy love songs and what-not. I didn't know that Beowulf or The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner were written in ballads, or that people use ballads for story telling. I like how the ballad can be used for many different things as well. You can use a ballad to tell a tragic tale, a funny story, or to mock something. I just never knew ballads could be so interesting!