Wednesday 24 February 2010

B is for Ballad

BE MY VALENTINE

I like the way
you look at me
The way you see
the things I see

All the while
you know me

I like when your
eyes meet mine
you’re like a ray
of bright sunshine

All the while
you know me

I like the way
You’re always kind
the way you share
precious time

All the while
you know me

I like the fact you
always stay
to hear the words
I have to say

All the while
you know me

The way you brighten
up my day
so bad thoughts
won’t get in the way

All the while
you know me.

If I could always
make you mine
if you could be
my valentine

For all the while
I love you

Tradition shows that ballads are narratives. The above narrative is also an example of how ballads can be poems that are set to music. In other words this particular ballad has a tune. For this reason ballads are also songs and are great to recite or sing out loud.

Key Ideas
---------

Ballads often rhyme. Consider the ballad above. Can the rhyming pattern be easily worked out?

We can do this if we make a list of the words that we found at the end each line of the poem.

BE MY VALENTINE
WORD LIST (in part)

Me
See
Mine
Sunshine
BE MY VALENTINE

I like the way
you look at me
The way you see
the things I see

All the while
you know me

I like when your
eyes meet mine
you’re like a ray
of bright sunshine

Saying the words aloud and looking for spelling patterns also helps the process of ballad writing.

Top Tip: Write a synopsis for your poem
---------------------------------------

We said earlier that the ballad is a narrative. As such we can give it the same treatment as we would do were we writing a story, if we write a synopsis for the piece.

A synopsis is an outline in which can include the theme. The theme tells us what the story is about. In order to know what our story is about we can explore other elements such as plot and characters. Considering plot gives us license to think about what will happen next in our narrative right through to its conclusion. Knowing your characters, their likes and dislikes and any other aspects of them gives you more options to build into your narrative.

Photographic Series
-------------------

Why not rummage through old photographs as a way of giving you inspiration. You could put together a collage to assist you further. Collages are particularly useful because can they bring together a mixture of ideas to sit on one canvas. This may be used as a great tool for collecting ones thoughts before moving on to creating that final ballad. Think of a collage as bringing together all your thoughts and ideas. What’s useful about this tool is that you can also jot down words and phrases (to assist you in the writing of your ballad) next to the images in your collage.

Today’s Final Note
------------------

We hope you enjoy this article and that you keep checking in with us for the latest issue. We at the IPoetry team would like to wish you a wonderful valentine’s day.

Key Points to Remember
----------------------

Ballads are narratives, poems set to music. They can be spoken or sung aloud.

Write a synopsis for your ballad including such areas as theme, plot and characters.

Working out the rhythm of your poem is a great asset because it enables you to focus your thoughts into specific patterns.

Using old photographs in a collage adds to the inspirational element of your poem.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.

The IPoetry TV Team
© Copyright e1top 2010

No comments:

Post a Comment