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.

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• by Jenny Hudock

• 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.ClassBrain.com: A Ballad (May 29, 2004) With the ballad, which has a very musical quality, you will definitely want to:

1. Read exampleseHow: How to Write a Ballad of traditional and modern ballads.Writing-World.com: Poetic Forms: The Ballad
2. Listen to as many recorded ballads as you can find.Smithsonian: The Music in Poetry
3. Check out old folk songs and listen for the ballad-like quality in the narrative story-line.Boloji.com: Beauty of Ballads

• 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.eHow: How to Write a Ballad
2. Brainstorm to come up with and strengthen ideas.ClassBrain.com: A Ballad (May 29, 2004)
3. While ballads tend to focus on mundane moments or events, often the overall reflection is on something more significant.StudyGuide.org: Ballad Writing
4. Because ballads were shared with the masses the language in them tends to be very basic and down-to-earth.Connections: The Ballad
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.Least Tern: Notes on the Ballad Form
7. You can also follow conventional story-telling with a beginning, middle and ending.
8. Include a lot of action.eHow: How to Write a Ballad
9. Don't be afraid to use dialogue to help move the plot.Least Tern: Notes on the Ballad Form
   1. A lot of dialogue used in ballads is one-sided, for example someone posing a theoretical or unanswered question.Least Tern: Notes on the Ballad Form
   2. You could switch speakers between lines or stanzas.StudyGuide.org: Ballad Writing
   3. Narrators often speak in the third person, unless they speak as a character in the story, in which case they use first person.Connections: The Ballad
   4. In many ballads there is usually no signal when the speaker in the ballad changes.Connections: The Ballad

• 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.Wikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns

• 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 WikisourceWikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns

• 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 WikisourceWikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns

• 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 WikisourceWikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns

• 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.

• The traditional ballad has a very distinct set of rules that sets it apart from other types of structured poetry.

1. Most ballads are written in common or ballad meter which breaks down into:
   1. Four linesStudyGuide.org: Ballad Writing
   2. Lines are iambicWikipedia: Iamb
   3. Alternate between an 8,6,8,6 beat patternWikipedia: Common Meter
   4. Lines one and three have four stresses—daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUMWikipedia: Common Meter
   5. Lines two and four have three stresses—daDUM daDUM daDUMWikipedia: Common Meter
2. They usually follow one of four rhyme patterns:
   1. AABBStudyGuide.org: Ballad Writing
   2. ABACStudyGuide.org: Ballad Writing
   3. ABCBStudyGuide.org: Ballad Writing
   4. ABABLeast Tern: Notes on the Ballad Form

• 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.Wikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns

• 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 WikisourceWikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns

• 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.wikiHow: How to Write a Ballad Once written, it could reappear at intervals throughout the body of the ballad.
2. Another repetition was often the refrain.Connections: The Ballad
   • 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.Connections: The Ballad

• "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 WikisourceWikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns

• 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 WikisourceWikisource: "John Barleycorn" by Robert Burns

• In stanza ten, he's laid out once more, beaten again, but still showing signs of life, so they toss him around some more.

• While there is no chorus in "John Barleycorn", the chorus in a ballad can be recognized by a full repetition of a stanza that sets the sections apart from one another.Connections: The Ballad

• 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.eHow: How to Write a Ballad
2. Spice things up with a bit of drama.Boloji.com: Beauty of Ballads
3. Don't be afraid to write the story out in prose first, and then convert it into poetry.wikiHow: How to Write a Ballad
4. Search folklore and history for ideas to write about.eHow: How to Write a Ballad
5. Try singing or humming while writing if you find yourself getting stuck.wikiHow: How to Write a Ballad
6. Keep things simple. The more complicated you get, the less appeal your ballad has.wikiHow: How to Write a Ballad

• 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.