Define the ballad form and explain the difference between a literary ballad and a folk ballad.

Answer:

Responses may vary but should include some or all of the following information: A ballad is a narrative poem that uses rhyme and meter. It may use a repeated line, called a refrain, and generally involves a tragic tale from an actual or imagined event. It has all the characteristics of any narrative: plot, characters, setting, and theme. The plot will have rising action, climax, and falling action, but it is not generally fully developed. A ballad also includes characters who also are seldom fully developed. Dialogue may be used. Ballads use rhyme and meter, but there is no set pattern for either. A folk ballad is one that has been passed down orally for generations, and because of that, the author is unknown. A literary ballad mimics the style of the folk ballad, but the author is known and the ballad may commemorate an event. Literary ballads tend to be more complex in their techniques and messages.