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Showing results for tags 'ballade'.
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Poetry Prompt 14 – Ballade Let's Write a Ballade! With the Ghazal we've seen how refrain can build and lend grandeur to a work with songlike attributes. Related to that is a complex form from Southern France. A Ballade is a song/poem that is also very like the Ghazal in being flexible in what type of theme the poet wishes to select. One of the greatest French poets, François Villon, used the Ballade to write of abstract things like the seasons, as well as a very emotional plea for acceptance and forgiveness on the day he was to be executed by the State. Curiously enough, another point of connection between the Ballade and the Ghazal is the "Envoi" (or, sometimes "Envoy" in English). This is a direct address from the poet to the person or abstract notion the Ballade is dedicated to. In it's way, it's very much like the salute of the poet in the final couplet of the Ghazal. The origins of this form are a bit obscure, but they are French, and seem to come out of the genuine Troubadour traditions of songs for entertainment. By the 15th century and the heyday of François Villon, the form had been perfected and was probably not expected to be sung anymore.[1] Its structure is demanding, but I think you will see it really is an extension of the Sonnet form we've already studied. Ballade requirements: - At least three stanzas of eight lines each - A concluding quatrain addressing the inspiration (either person or idea) of the poem, and known as the Envoi - Each of the stanzas, and the Envoi too, end in an exact repeat of the same line – this is known as the refrain - All lines are of a uniform syllable count, to be determined by the poet - The rhyme scheme is very strict and minimal. Every eight-line stanza uses the same rhymes, and goes: a, b, a, b, b, c, b, c. - The quatrain is rhymed: b, c, b, c, and uses the same rhymes as the stanzas. - This means you will need a whopping total of 6 a-rhyme words, 14 b-rhyme words, and 5 c-rhyme words (as the refrain rhyme is a repeat) Wow. I know; that's a lot to take in. But it's manageable once we look at some examples. Here is a poem called Ballade of Dead Actors by William Ernest Hanley. To help you, I will put the rhyme scheme designation before each line. a Where are the passions they essayed, b And where the tears they made to flow? a Where the wild humours they portrayed b For laughing worlds to see and know? b Othello's wrath and Juliet's woe? c Sir Peter's whims and Timon's gall? b And Millamant and Romeo? c-refrain Into the night go one and all. a Where are the braveries, fresh or frayed? b The plumes, the armours – friend and foe? a The cloth of gold, the rare brocade, b The mantles glittering to and fro? b The pomp, the pride, the royal show? c The cries of war and festival? b The youth, the grace, the charm, the glow? c-refrain Into the night go one and all. a The curtain falls, the play is played: b The Beggar packs beside the Beau; a The Monarch troops, and troops the Maid; b The Thunder huddles with the Snow. b Where are the revellers high and low? c The clashing swords? The lover's call? b The dancers gleaming row on row? c-refrain Into the night go one and all. Envoi b Prince, in one common overthrow c The Hero tumbles with the Thrall; b As dust that drives, as straws that blow, c-refrain Into the night go one and all. You can see the refrain becomes a powerful line, much as the repeated word in the strict Ghazal form is. The poet chose 8-syllable lines, and pretty much stuck to that as much as possible. You can also see how demanding the rhyme scheme is. Let's look at the master at work. Here is Villon's Ballade des dames du temps jadis, which is arguably one of the word's great poems. Dictes moy où, n’en quel pays, Est Flora la belle Romaine; Archipiada, ne Thaïs, Qui fut sa cousine germaine, Echo, parlant quand bruyt on maine Dessus riviere ou sus estan, Qui beauté eut trop plus qu’humaine? Mais où sont les neiges d’antan? Où est la très sage Héloïs, Pour qui chastré fut et puis moyne Pierre Esbaillart à Saint Denis? Pour son amour eut cest essoyne. Semblablement, où est royne Qui commanda que Buridan Fust geté en ung sac en Seine? Mais où sont les neiges d’antan? La royne Blanche comme lys, Qui chantoit à voix de sereine, Berthe au grand pied, Bietris, Allys, Harembourgis qui tint le Mayne, Et Jehanne, la bonne Lorraine, Qu’Anglois bruslèrent à Rouen; Où sont-ils, Vierge souveraine? Mais où sont les neiges d’antan? Envoi Prince, n’enquerez de sepmaine Où elles sont, ne de cest an, Que ce refrain ne vous remaine: Mais où sont les neiges d’antan?[2] Again we can feel the power of the limited rhyme scheme and the way the refrain interacts will all the ideas in the poem. If you think you would like to see one more example, here is one I wrote from my novella, Unafraid. It's simply called Terry's Ballade. https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/blog/513/entry-14663-terrys-ballade/ All right, let's roll up our sleeves and write one. Where to start? With the rhymes. Start there because you need so many – 14 words alone for the b rhyme! After you've come up with a general concept, begin choosing 'power words' that speak to your theme, and see if you can come up with good, natural sounding rhymes for them. Consult a rhyming dictionary if you have one, or use one of the many online versions. Keep a running list, as ideally you will want plenty to choose from, and not feel obligated to make an awkward one 'work' simply because you run out of good choices. The prompt: write one Ballade based on images from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. You decide how many syllables to use per line, and whether you wish each stanza to be about a different panel from the ceiling, or flow as an overall impression of the artwork. Include an Envoi and address it to whomever you like. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallery_of_Sistine_Chapel_ceiling -------------------------------------------- [1] The English word 'ballad' also comes from the Troubadour tradition, but can generally mean any type of storytelling song, usually but not always about love. 'Ballade' - with an 'e' - means a very specific poetic form and should not be confused with the other, more general term. [2] Here is a more or less literal, non-poetic, translation: Tell me where, or in what land is Flora, the lovely Roman, or Archipiades, or Thaïs, who was her first cousin; or Echo, replying whenever called across river or pool, and whose beauty was more than human? But where are the snows of yesteryear? Where is that brilliant lady Heloise, for whose sake Peter Abelard was castrated and became a monk at Saint Denis? He suffered that misfortune because of his love for her. And where is that queen who ordered that Buridan be thrown into the Seine in a sack? But where are the snows of yesteryear? Queen Blanche, white as a lily, who sang with a siren’s voice; Big-footed Bertha, Beatrice, Alice, Arembourg who ruled over Maine; and Joan, the good maiden of Lorraine who was burned by the English at Rouen — where are they, where, O sovereign Virgin? But where are the snows of yesteryear? Envoi Prince, do not ask in a week where they are, or in a year. The only answer you will get is this refrain: But where are the snows of yesteryear?