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Structure: * 8 Lines * two lines repeated, 1st line, 4th * a b a a a b a b * Opening 2 couplet repeated at end Characteristics: Short event or story put into song. Folk ballads are one stanza, literary ballads are more formal and can be composed of several stanzas. Origins: Also called popular ballads, ballads were passed orally from generation to generation as songs. The song would usually tell a story and include a shock refrain (impacting repetition) without going into detail of setting, characterization, etc. |
Example: Around the house the flakes fly faster, And all the berries now are gone From holly and cotoneaster Around the house. The flakes fly! – faster Shutting indoors the crumb-outcaster We used to see upon the lawn Around the house. The Flakes fly faster And all the berries now are gone! Thomas Hardy |