Most clear-thinking students of the ballad accept the definition (or perhaps
better to call it a description) of a ballad as a narrative poem that is (1)
in stanzaic form (2) sung (3) to a rounded melody. (#s 1 and 3 two
separate out epics.) Function, origin, topic, and style are irrelevant. Of
course, not everyone agrees.
Norm Cohen
-----Original Message-----
From: Beena Thomas <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2000 12:09 PM
Subject: Are Work Songs Ballads?
>Dear friends
>
>With reference to J.L.Speranca’s letter
>Meant as a reply to J.Moulden’s observations
>Regarding B.Booch’s query :
>
>Chain debating is as much fun as chain singing!
>
>Well, I’d like to join the discussion on “community
>singing” by making a few observations. I’m from India,
>working on a comparative study of British folk ballads
>and Indian ballads for my doctoral thesis. The group
>of Indian “ballads” I study, are rendered as work
>songs by women working in rice fields. A lead singer
>renders a line of the song first, then the rest of the
>workers repeat the same line 3 times – and thus the
>song goes on in the same style.
>
>Mr Speranca’s point of view is that a true ballad is
>rendered by a solo performer, and that communal songs
>or work songs cannot be regarded as ballads. If this
>is indeed true, I wonder where it leaves my own
>research, because this concept shakes the very
>foundation of my studies. It’s rather like discovering
>suddenly that your husband of 8 years is actually
>someone else in disguise—I’ve been working on these
>ballads for the past 8 years! It’s made me question
>whether I’m working on ballads or what.
>
>Please remember that apart from a feature like solo
>rendering, these songs have in them all those
>qualities deemed necessary by ballad scholars like
>Gummere, Hodgart, Sidgwick and co. The songs are very
>similar in theme and content to Child ballads. And
>nothing like the "Hole in the Bucket", which seems
>more like a rhyme than a ballad.
>
>(Sorry, Mr Moulden, but I cannot afford to do away
>with categories and classifications since mine is a
>textual study which emphasises the literary qualities
>of ballads. Identifying the genre of the literary text
>is important in my case.)
>
>Here’s a simple question which requires a simple
>answer:
>
>Can communal work songs of anonymous authorship, which
>embody all the classic features of a traditional
>ballad, transmitted by oral tradition, by a folk
>community be termed as “ballads”?
>
>Please help me resolve my “identity” crisis!
>
>Best wishes
>Beena Thomas
>Dept. of English, University of Kerala, India
>
>
>
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger.
>http://im.yahoo.com/
>
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|