Recognize characteristics of ballads

The genus ballad belongs to the large area of Poetry. It is a polyphonic poem, which is usually a very vivid one story told. The original form of the ballad is based on the Germanic heroic epic and reached its climax in the 15th century. and 16. Century. It is also known as a folk ballad.

Already in the 12th The term ballad came into being in the 19th century Europe as a name for a narrative dance song with refrain. Over the centuries the genre has become more and more differentiated. When ballads are spoken of as one of the literary genres today, they usually refer to art ballads. She is connected to poets like Goethe or Schiller and reached in the 18th Century their heyday.

Building a ballad

Like almost all other poems, a ballad is divided into individual stanzas, most of which are written in rhyme. Since it is also a narrative poem, the narrative aspect is one of the most important features. In a ballad, however, you will find not only the reproduction of an event or a plot but also dialogues such as those that appear in plays.

The plot of such a poem has a rising character. In the course of the ballad the situation comes to a head, which then leads to a climax, often in the form of a catastrophe. The last stanza then shows the conflict resolution. The hero either goes under or emerges victorious from the conflict.

External characteristics of ballads

When you have a text in front of you that is in the form of stanzas and follows a certain rhyme scheme, you are speaking of a poem. You can recognize the narrative or epic element in addition to the lyrical aspect by the fact that you learn something about a special incident in the poem. So you have already recognized two of the three essential characteristics of the ballad.

If you find references to verbatim speech or dialogues in the poem, then the dramatic element is also present. Now you can be sure that the text before you is a ballad.

For an overview, you will find all the features mentioned here summarized again in a checklist:

• The text is divided into stanzas.
• The stanzas follow a certain rhyme scheme (aspect of the lyric).
• An event or an action is described (aspect of the epic).
• There are references to verbatim speech or dialogues (aspect of drama).

Content characteristics of ballads

Now deal with the content of the poem: As with a drama, you will be familiarized with the characters in the first stanza. As the ballad progresses, the plot comes to a head until it reaches its climax. Thematically, ballads often deal with tragic, enigmatic or fateful turns and situations.

At the end of the ballad, you will learn what kind of climax occurred and how the main protagonist coped with the conflict. Mostly in this form of the poem you will find the expression of strong feelings such as love, hate, despair and anger.

The content characteristics of ballads can be found here once again in a checklist:

• In the first stanza the characters are introduced.
• The plot intensifies dramatically as the ballad progresses.
• It comes to a climax that often ends in disaster.
• In the end, the conflict is resolved either positively or negatively.
• Popular topics are tragic or fateful events.
• A ballad usually contains strong feelings such as love, hate, or anger.

Famous ballad poets

Among the most famous poets who wrote ballads are Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller. Some ballads have even found composers so inspiring that they have given them a musical shape. One of these special examples is Goethe's "Erlkönig", which was set to music by both Franz Schubert and Carl Loewe.

In addition to Goethe and Schiller, Heinrich Heine and Theodor Fontane are also famous ballad poets. For example, Heine wrote the ballad "Belshazzar", which tells of the fall of the Babylonian Empire. Other famous and much discussed ballads are Friedrich Schiller's "Bürgschaft" and the "Glocke". Ballads like this have such a linguistic appeal that some lines are often quoted.

The following table lists the most famous poets and their ballad titles:

author	Title of the ballad
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe	Elf king
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe	The sorcerer's apprentice
Friedrich Schiller	The guarantee
Friedrich Schiller	The bell
Heinrich Heine	Belshazzar
Conrad Ferdinand Meyer	The feet in the fire
Theodor Fontane	Mr. von Ribbeck on Ribbeck in the Havelland

On the importance of ballads

A ballad can be used very well as a poem classes or treat it in the course of studies. It offers opportunities for intensive occupation not only in terms of language, but also in terms of content. In addition to tragic and fateful twists and turns that describe some ballads, there are many poets who give their works a funny or ironic shape. This includes, for example, the frequently used example "Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck" in Havelland, but also the "Christmas Mouse" by James Krüss.