How to Write a Ballad Poem

Guide Note Designed to be orally passed on from one generation to the next, the ballad both transmitted historical knowledge and entertained the masses. Ballads had to be easy to remember, and one way to do this was to give them a sing-song quality with a memorable rhythm and rhyme. If you've always wanted to write a ballad, but didn't know where to begin, this is a great place to find tips on the meter, rhythm, structure and rhyme patterns that will ensure your ballads withstand the test of time.

Table of Contents

Writing a Ballad Tips

  1. Familiarize yourself with ballads.
  2. Listen to folk song examples.
  3. Choose your subject matter carefully.
  4. Use dialogue to develop the plot.
  5. Write in quatrains using common meter.
  6. Establish an easy rhyme pattern.
  7. Tack on a memorable chorus or refrain.
  8. Share it at a reading.
  9. Don't forget to sing it.

Introduction

  • When one hears the word ballad, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the romantic love songs we hear in compilations from 1980s hair bands.
    (Photo by Jenny W.)
    (Photo by Jenny W.)
    Long before the power ballad, however, ballad poetry passed orally from generation to generation because there was no written form of communication.1 History, culture, legends and stories were all related in a narrative poetic form that could be easily sung to an audience of eager listeners. Ireland and Scotland are two examples in which the cultural evidence of the ballad can be found today in their folk music.2

Step 1: Explore the Ballad

  • When it comes to writing one of the most valuable tools a poet can utilize is poetry that's already been written. The more poetry you read and listen to, the easier it is to get inside the rhythm and meter.4 With the ballad, which has a very musical quality, you will definitely want to:
  1. Read examples5 of traditional and modern ballads.6
  2. Listen to as many recorded ballads as you can find.1
  3. Check out old folk songs and listen for the ballad-like quality in the narrative story-line.2

Step 2: The Narrative Quality

  • Because so many ballads were originally orally transmitted stories and information, there is a narrative quality to the ballad that you will want to emulate when writing your own.
  1. Choose your subject matter carefully, and make sure there is enough information there to tell a good story.5
  2. Brainstorm to come up with and strengthen ideas.4
  3. While ballads tend to focus on mundane moments or events, often the overall reflection is on something more significant.7
  4. Because ballads were shared with the masses the language in them tends to be very basic and down-to-earth.3
  5. Many famous ballads written in the past featured a fascinating main character. Make sure your character is strong and memorable.
  6. Most traditional ballads begin en medias ras, which means the middle of the story, meaning you sacrifice the beginning of the plot.8
  7. You can also follow conventional story-telling with a beginning, middle and ending.
  8. Include a lot of action.5
  9. Don't be afraid to use dialogue to help move the plot.8
    1. A lot of dialogue used in ballads is one-sided, for example someone posing a theoretical or unanswered question.8
    2. You could switch speakers between lines or stanzas.7
    3. Narrators often speak in the third person, unless they speak as a character in the story, in which case they use first person.3
    4. In many ballads there is usually no signal when the speaker in the ballad changes.3
(Creative Commons photo by David Ohmer)
(Creative Commons photo by David Ohmer)
  • For example, in Robert Burns folk song, "John Barleycorn," the main character is a personification of the barley crop through the stages of his growth. Barleycorn is eventually murdered, reaped and then brewed into beer and whiskey to be consumed by the masses.9
  • There was three kings into the east,
  • Three kings both great and high,
  • And they hae sworn a solemn oath
  • John Barleycorn should die.
  • —courtesy of Wikisource9
  • The plot of "John Barleycorn" is introduced en medias ras with three kings in the east who have sworn to kill John Barleycorn.
  • They took a plough and plough'd him down,
  • Put clods upon his head,
  • And they hae sworn a solemn oath
  • John Barleycorn was dead.
  • —courtesy of Wikisource9
  • In the second stanza the action is very distinct. They plough him under to fulfill their promise, and then kill him.
  • But the cheerful Spring came kindly on,
  • And show'rs began to fall;
  • John Barleycorn got up again,
  • And sore surpris'd them all.
  • —courtesy of Wikisource9
  • While even into the third stanza, the murder of John Barleycorn seems very centralized, the underlying plot paints a far greater picture of the growing of barley to brew alcohol.

Step 3: Meter and Rhyme

  • The traditional ballad has a very distinct set of rules that sets it apart from other types of structured poetry.
(Creative Commons photo by Steve Evans)
(Creative Commons photo by Steve Evans)
  1. Most ballads are written in common or ballad meter which breaks down into:
    1. Four lines7
    2. Lines are iambic10
    3. Alternate between an 8,6,8,6 beat pattern11
    4. Lines one and three have four stresses—daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM11
    5. Lines two and four have three stresses—daDUM daDUM daDUM11
  2. They usually follow one of four rhyme patterns:
    1. AABB7
    2. ABAC7
    3. ABCB7
    4. ABAB8
  • The first stanza of Robert Burns' "John Barleycorn" follows the common meter and an ABCB rhyme pattern. Note the stressed syllables in each line, which are capitalized and bold so they stand out.9
  • There WAS three KINGS inTO the EAST, (A)
  • Three KINGS both GREAT and HIGH, (B)
  • And THEY hae SWORN a SOLemn OATH (C)
  • John BARleyCORN should DIE. (B)
  • —courtesy of Wikisource9

Step 4: Chorus and Refrain

  • Most of the components that stand out in the ballad, such as the meter and rhyme pattern, are part of the grand design to make the story more memorable for those who would be passing it on. The use of repetition throughout the ballad was another great way to make sure the story was easily remembered.
  1. An easy-to-remember form of repetition was often the chorus.12 Once written, it could reappear at intervals throughout the body of the ballad.
  2. Another repetition was often the refrain.3
    • Refrains could also be incremental repetitions, meaning instead of repeating a phrase fully, it took the phrase and reworded it in other parts of the poem.3
  • "John Barleycorn" uses an incremental repetition, for example the eighth and tenth stanzas repeat similar actions:
  • They laid him down upon his back,
  • And cudgell'd him full sore;
  • They hung him up before the storm,
  • And turned him o'er and o'er.
  • —courtesy of Wikisource9
  • In stanza eight, he's laid out on his back, beaten sore, hung up and turned again and again.
  • They laid him out upon the floor,
  • To work him farther woe;
  • And still, as signs of life appear'd,
  • They toss'd him to and fro.
  • —courtesy of Wikisource9
  • In stanza ten, he's laid out once more, beaten again, but still showing signs of life, so they toss him around some more.

Step 5: Tips and Tricks

  • Once you've had time to familiarize yourself with ballads, you'll be eager to get started writing your own. Here are a few tips to help you make sure your ballad is memorable:
  1. Try to incorporate some humor into your ballad.5
  2. Spice things up with a bit of drama.2
  3. Don't be afraid to write the story out in prose first, and then convert it into poetry.12
  4. Search folklore and history for ideas to write about.5
  5. Try singing or humming while writing if you find yourself getting stuck.12
  6. Keep things simple. The more complicated you get, the less appeal your ballad has.12

Conclusion

  • Remember that because the ballad is simple, you want to avoid making complicating it with complex words, thoughts and ideas. Be sure to share the finished product with friends, your writer's group, or you could read it aloud at the next local poetry reading. No matter where you decide to share, don't be afraid to sing it to your audience.

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References for How to Write a Ballad Poem

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Smithsonian: The Music in Poetry
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Boloji.com: Beauty of Ballads
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Connections: The Ballad
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 ClassBrain.com: A Ballad (May 29, 2004)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 eHow: How to Write a Ballad
  6. ↑ Writing-World.com: Poetic Forms: The Ballad
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 StudyGuide.org: Ballad Writing
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Least Tern: Notes on the Ballad Form
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Wikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns
  10. ↑ Wikipedia: Iamb
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Wikipedia: Common Meter
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 wikiHow: How to Write a Ballad


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