Ballads

TRADITIONAL BALLAD:
We are Seven - William Wordsworth
A Simple Child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage Girl: (A)
She was eight years old, she said; (B)
Her hair was thick with many a curl (A)
That clustered round her head. (B)

She had a rustic, woodland air, (C)
And she was wildly clad: (D)
Her eyes were fair, and very fair; (C)
--Her beauty made me glad. (D)

"Sisters and brothers, little Maid, (E)
How many may you be?" (F)
"How many? Seven in all," she said (E)
And wondering looked at me. (F)

"And where are they? I pray you tell."
She answered, "Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.

"Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And, in the church-yard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother."

"You say that two at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea,
Yet ye are seven!--I pray you tell,
Sweet Maid, how this may be."

Then did the little Maid reply,
"Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
Beneath the church-yard tree."

"You run above, my little Maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five."


MY RESPONSE: Firstly, I'll analyze the meter and rhyme of this poem. I think that the meter throughout most of the poem is 4-3-4-3 but I'm not entirely sure. There's a clear rhyme scheme of ABAB throughout the whole ballad (except for in the first stanza). And, these rhymes aren't like the rhymes in my modern ballad (look below) because they are pure rhymes, not just vowel-sound rhymes.

Next, I will analyze the repetitions and message of this poem. If you continue reading the rest of the poem (I have only posted a portion of it) you can see that there is a repetition of the words "we are seven" or "seven are we". That is because the little girl is so convinced that she has 7 siblings. She probably did, once. But two are dead, and so technically, they are 5 now. But she's convinced herself SO much that her family has 7 kids that no one could tell her otherwise. The message of this poem is not being able to cope with death.

MODERN BALLAD:
Way Back Into Love - Hugh Grant & Haley Bennett

I've been living with a shadow overhead (A)
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed (A)
I've been lonely for so long (B)
Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on (B)

I've been hiding all my hopes and reams away (C)
Just in case I ever need em again someday (C)
I've been setting aside time (D)
To clear a little space in the corners of my mind (D)

All I wanna do is find a way back into love (Refrain)
I can't make it through without a way back into love (Refrain)

I've been watching but the stars refuse to shine
I've been searching but I just don't see the signs
I know that it's out there
There's got to be something for my soul somewhere

I've been looking for someone to shed some light
Not just somebody just to get me through the night
I could use some direction
And I'm open to your suggestions

All I wanna do is find a way back into love
I can't make it through without a way back into love
And if I open my heart again
I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end.

MY RESPONSE: If I were to analyze this modern day ballad, according to meter, rhyme, repetition, and the message of the song, it's very similar to a traditional ballad. Firstly, I don't think there is a meter to this ballad. At least, no meter of traditional pattern. There is definitely a rhyme scheme though. Most lines are AABB, with some slight rhymes that don't work when read, but work with the pronunciation in the song. Mainly the last, clearly-heard vowel sound is what makes this rhyme scheme work. "Again" and "end" don't exactly rhyme, but they have the same last vowel sound.

There is repetition of the line "All I wanna do is find a way back into love". It is repeated twice in just the first chorus. There isn't really much other repetition of this line in verses (just the chorus) and there aren't other lines that repeat. The message of this ballad is a story about a girl who wants to fall in love. I'm guessing the story is a girl gets her heart broken, and hasn't loved since, but now she wants to fall in love, and she's wanting the special guy to help her love again.


MY BALLAD:
To Live Again - Kristen Kim
I remember that first day,
when we were in the book store,
you gave a little smile my way,
and I dropped my book to the floor.

I left that book right where it fell,
my face going pink as I went,
when, as graceful as an angel,
you gave me my book like a gent.

You said, "Miss, I think you've dropped your book,"
and my face turned even more red
but I looked in your eyes and gave you my look
of 'please-mean-more-than-you-said!'

You read that look right off my face,
and continued on to ask me to dinner.
I said, "Thanks for cutting to the chase,"
and with a smile, "I'll give you my number."

I must admit I'd never been braver,
than that moment in the book store,
but you were so cute and quite so clever,
how could I admire, but do nothing more?

I cherish that very first day that we met,
with all the love I could give.
How could I really ever forget,
the day I truly started to live?