This literary genre in the modern world is not very popular and is something very unusual and refined. In many respects this happens because this form of narration is very complex and requires the author to have mastery and real talent. It is very easy for a person familiar with the literary world to explain what a ballad is.
Folklore singing
The ballad is a lyrical work with a plot of an epic character. This form of narration gives the writer the opportunity to use a large number of expressive means, to strengthen the text's emotionality with the help of alliteration and assonance, to emphasize the beauty of the character's direct speech using beautiful rhymes. Most often the story of ballads is associated with folklore, some heroic stories and legends. Often it is possible to meet songs with the name "Ballad of a Hero", "Ballad of a Warrior" and the like. It is always assumed that a ballad can be put on music, so it reads almost in a singsong. Ideally, the ballad on which music is written should contain a large number of assonances for the softest sound.
Sweet song flows
To understand what a ballad is, you need to read at least a short excerpt of the work of this genre. Usually ballads are not easy to perceive to the modern reader, as it is inconvenient for him to perceive any great poetic text. Attention is distracted by the form of the narrative, and the events described are skipped past the ears, and the unprepared reader will rather note the beauty of the rhyme than he can keep track of the details of the plot and the motives of the characters. Perhaps that is why the ballad genre is not very common, and few of the "uninitiated" know exactly what a ballad is. In the majority, it is associated with literature of ancient times, when the ability to use the sublime syllable was mandatory for each author. Today poetry has become much simpler, and it concerns song lyrics as well. Much more attention is paid to the visual design of a video clip than the textual content of a modern song. However, even now modern, modernized ballads are born, again bringing listeners back to the past.
France - the birthplace of the genre
It is instructive to explain what a ballad is, best of all with a concrete example. It should begin with French literature, since it was in France that this attractive form of literary creation was born. It is in this state that the ballad genre emerged as a result of the cancellation of canzone in the last decades of the thirteenth century. We can say that the love French song "evolved" into something more serious and profound, into a style with a more complex form and vast content. One of the very first ballads in France was created by Lafontaine, known throughout the world for his immortal fables. His ballads were fairly simple in content and form, so later they were mercilessly criticized by more experienced and sophisticated ballad makers. The same mood, the same properties that had the fables of La Fontaine, the writer transferred to his ballads. A good example of a French, almost modern ballad is the "La ballade de la nonne" by Victor Hugo. His skill in writing works of this genre once again confirms the skill of the writer.
Ballads of Misty Albion
The genre of the ballad was also widespread in England. It is believed that the genre itself was brought to the lands of the Foggy Albion by the Norman conquerors. In England, the ballad acquired even more serious features, began to touch on dark themes and changed significantly in the mood. Who knows, maybe the fog has done its work. First, the English sang the Scandinavian god Odin, and then smoothly moved to the theme of the exploits of the Scottish heroes. In these ballads, the national color of this country is very clearly observed, which can not be confused with anything else. Few people have not heard the story of Robin Hood, the prince of thieves, plundering the rich and giving away the looted poor. About him, the British also piled up ballads. English literary works in the genre of ballads also widely cover the theme of the adventures of King Arthur and his knights. Even now it is not difficult to imagine how tired characters sit comfortably around the fire, take lutes and sing each other ballads about the search for the Holy Grail and the magic of the great Merlin Ambrosius.
Harsh German ballads
Like the British, German ballad writers also preferred gloominess and seriousness, so German ballads differ in a heavy atmosphere. The best ballads of Germany were created in the heyday of romanticism. In this genre, such famous writers as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Gottfried August Burger and Heinrich Heine tried their feather. The German character of these authors can be traced even in such a refined literary work as a ballad. Goethe's ballad, Der Erlkönig, is very famous. There are several translations of this name, but most often you can see "The King of Elves". The plot of this ballad is very sad and almost stereotyped in German, harsh. The ballad describes the death of a little boy, presumably at the hands of this very king of elves. It can not be said for sure that the ballad has a mystical character. It is possible that the boy was dying of the disease, and the supernatural beings just saw him in a fever.
Ballads of our time
The definition of the ballad genre is now somewhat blurred. In modern times, this literary genre has acquired lightness and simplicity, but has not lost its authenticity. Examples of such works or at least similar ballad songs can be found almost everywhere in the work of folk groups. For example, the groups Fleur and "Mill" sometimes use the word "ballad" directly in their songs, so they sound more romantic and refined. Sometimes ballads sound in the cinema on a historical or heroic theme, and sometimes they can be heard in computer games. The best example is the relatively new game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, where the bards sang beautiful ballads about local heroes and conquerors. The literary genre, which has such beauty, is unlikely to ever completely lose its relevance.