Ballad Homework
50 points
Please write your own ballad for homework. You may take inspiration from such poems/songs as:
Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge
The Ballad of Rudolph Reed by Gwendolyn Brooks
The Ballad of Billy the Kid by Billy Joel
Remember:
- Most ballads have a narrative form.
- Ballads tend to have a distinctive verse form—quatrains.
- Most ballads contain dialogue.
- The common rhyme scheme of many ballads is abab or abcb.
- Ballads tend to be extremely concise and tend to recount one episode.
Common themes include tragic love themes, history, supernatural, unbelievable incidents, tragic domestic stories, etc. Remember—it should be like a soap opera!
You may want to include a refrain (a repetition of a line) in various stanzas.
You must include examples of literary devices.
Grade Checklist:
- Ballad contains at least 6 stanzas _____ (5 pts)
- Ballad contains an identifiable rhyme scheme _____ (5 pts)
- Ballad contains dialogue, and it appears in quotation marks. _____ (5 pts)
- Ballad contains excellent examples of literary devices _____ (20 pts)
- Ballad has a clear and thoughtful theme _____ (10 pts)
- Ballad is typed, proofread, and grammatically correct _____ (5 pts)
I am not sure how soon this may receive a response, but if one is to include a refrain that is in itself an entire stanza, and repeat said stanza, does that count toward the required six stanzas? Or must there be six completely independent stanzas plus a refrain (or chorus, if you reference the songs we've seen as examples)?
ReplyDeleteYou can include the refrain in your total stanza count.
ReplyDeleteBallad of Billy the Kid is a great song.
ReplyDelete