Medieval Poetry. o The Ballad faae oo—— | The following ballad is one of the best known traditional English ballads and has been sung in different versions, | over hundreds of yeas, ight up tothe preset da. | | Usten to it and answer the questions. ‘a, What sad event does the young man announce ind. After how long does the ghost start to speak? the opening stanza? €. What does the young man want from her? 'b, How does the weather reflect his state of mind? f. What will happen ifthe young man Kisses her? ‘c. What does the young man decide to do? 4g. Do you think they will meet again and if so, when? : i Cold blows the wind to my true love And gently drops the rain never had but one true love ‘And in Greenwood she lies slain’, 11 do as much for my sweetheart s ‘As any young man may; | Til sit and mourn? all on her grave Fora twelvemonth and a day. ‘When the twelvemonth and a day is past ‘The ghost began to speak; 10 ‘Why sit you here upon my grave, ‘And will not let me sleep?” | @ The Unquiet! Grave | | “There's one thing that I want, sweetheart, ‘There's one thing that I crave’, And that isa kiss from your lly-white lips, 1s ‘Then I'l go from your grave. “My breast it is as cold as clay’, ‘My breath smells earthly strong® ‘And if you kiss my cold clay lips a ; i cuossanv ce ys they won't be long 2 angus, ; Sette, awit ‘O-down in yonder” grove’ sweetheart, 2. Sin le, dud Where you and I did walk, 3 mourn ge ‘The first flower that fever saw cove dete vey "g coe Is wither‘ toa stall 5 day-mateal from ‘The stalk is wither'd and dry, sweetheart, as ‘herbal nd the wer wl ever return «6. My breath And since [lost my own sweetheart, stongimy Boats What ean Ido but mourn? 2, yonder over there When shall we meet again, sweetheart? grove: wood When shall we meet again?” 30 f eer ‘When the autumn leaves that fall from the trees es Seaman cay) Are green and spring up again ¥ iestem set ‘Are green and spring up again.’ ¢The Ballad 9) INTRODUCTION ¢ Ballads are short folk songs that tell a story. The word ‘ballad’ comes from the late Latin ballare (to dance), so ‘ballad’ originally meant a song with a dance, They are anonymous works composed in simple language by unlettered authors and handed down orally from generation to gene- zation. Singers who learned the ballads often made changes to both the text and the tune and therefore popular ballads exist in many different versions. Ballads were very popular in England throughout the Middle Ages. Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford ISIS @) Robin Hood isa legendary English outlaw. He anc his men lived in a forest, which may | GLOSSARY @————— have been Sherwood Forest near Nottingham, fiom where they attacked and robbed rick | 1, bolt brave, travellers. They became folk heroes because they did not injure their victims and mever |». Suageous robbed from the poor. ticked Robin, with te help of one of hs best men, Little ok, invites the Bishop of Hereford | 3 atte: doing into Bamsdale Wood for a drink. The Bishop isin for a surprise. ae 6 deeds: actions Others they may tell you of bold! Robin Hood, 7. make haste: hurry up Derry, derry, down! Or else ofthe barons bold, But I'l tel you how they served? the Bishop, When they robbed him of his gold s Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! Robin Hood, he dressed him in shepherd's atire’, | Derry, derry, down! ‘And six of his men also, ‘And, when the Bishop he did come by, wo | ‘They around the fire did go, Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! “We are but poor shepherds’ quoth! bold Robin Hood, Derry, derry, down! ‘And keep sheep all the year, 1s But we've resolved to taste to-day of the best of our King’s deer.” Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! “Thou'rt' a merry fellows’ the old Bishop said, Derry, derry, down! 20 “The King of thy deeds® shall know; ‘Therefore make haste’, come along with me, For before the King shalt go!” Derry downt Hey! Derry, derry, down! The legend of Rabin Hood sn0t based on storia ac, although theres evidence that 1230 kw enforcer in Yorkshire ted to capture an oulow cold Robin Hood. The theme of ebelion against the unjust ring class, seen in the legends of Rabin Hood, wos popular in iterature throughout EurGpe at that time. He has been the subject of several ins, including Robin Hood, Prince af thieves (1991), staring Kevin Coster.Qe 10 FROM THE ORIGINS TO THE MIDDLE AGES - Medieval Poetry " 8, bugle hor: small smumpet 9, score: twenty 10.trusty: Joyal 11.Barnsdale: wood zs: eat Robin Hood he set then his back to an oak, Derry, detry, down! is foot against a thorn, And undemeath from his shepherd's cloak Pulled out a bugle horn’, Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! Robin put the small end against his ips, Derry, derty, down! And loudly a blast did blow, ‘Tll full six score” of his trusty"? men Came a-running in a row. Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! “What's the matter, master says Little John, Derry, derry, down! "You call us so hastily.” ‘Ob! Here's the Bishop of Hereford, For to-day he passes by.” Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! Robin Hood he took then the old Bishop's hand, Deny, derry, down! ‘And led him to gay Barnsdale", ‘And made him sup"? at his board that night, Where they drank wine, beer and ale. Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! Daniel Macise, Robin Hood ‘and His Merry Men (1845). 2s 0 35 «6‘Call me in the reck‘ning™ the Bishop then said, Derry, derry, down! ''m sure it’s growing high’ ‘Lend me your purse, Sir’ said Little John, ‘And Ill tell you by and by:’ Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! Little John he took then the old Bishop's cloak, Derry, derry, down! And spread it on the ground And from the Bishop his portmanteau'* He told! five hundred pound. Derry down! Hey! Derry, derry, down! Little John he took then the old Bishop's hand, Derry, derry, down! And called for the pipes to play, And made the Bishop to dance in his boots; He went gladly on his way. Derry down! He}! Derry, dery, down! The Ballad 11 50 ss 0 13.in the reck’ning: when is met 7 psy | 14,portmanteau: bag | rstota: tok COMPREHENSION 11 How did Robin disguise himself to trick the Bishop? 2 What did he tel the Bishop he was going to do? 3 Where did Robin and his men take the Bishop and. what did they do? ANALYSIS. 1 Identify the lines where the singer/narrator speaks rectly to the listener/reader. What is the purpose of these lines? |B To introduce the story. 1B To provide biographical details about Robin Hood. '8 To introduce the singer. To involve the listener/reader by creating expectations. 2 The storys told through narrative and dialogue’. Find examples of both. ‘3 What evidence is there in the text that Robin Hood was well-loved and respected by his men? Which of the following does Robin Hood use to trick the Bishop? B Inteligence ® Bribery i Flattery ‘Blackmail Violence Cunning ‘4 What did the Bishop offer to do in return for Robin Hood's hospitality? 5 Did the Bishop realise that Robin Hood and his ‘men had stolen his money? ‘4 The Bishop may be seen as representing the church of the Middle Ages. Is his behaviour in the story fitting for a man of God? 5 The line ‘Derry, derry, down.” is repeated ‘throughout the poem. What effect does it have? 6 Some of the grammatical structures used in the poem would be considered unusual in modern English, for example ‘Robin Hood, he dressed him’ (line 7) instead of Robin Hood dressed himself’. Fine ‘other examples. 7 What isthe rhyming scheme of the poem (omit. lines which are repeated: ‘Derry derry down’)? Is it regular throughout? 8 @ Listen again to the recording of the poem. Is the rhythm of the ballad regular?® ae _.12 FROM THE ORIGINS TO THE MIDDLE AGES - Medieval Poetry WANs akoy a Stock images While other forms of poetry are characterised by individual or original figures of speech, the ballad employs ‘ready-made’ images which ae referred to as stock images. Examples of stock images are ‘snow-white skin’, bold knights’, ‘merry maidens’. Stock images were used because: + they were easier to memorise and gave the singer more time to manipulate the story of the ballad; * because they were familiar to the listener and they were easier to understand. As ballads belonged to an oral tradition, listeners did not have time to interpret, original or complex imagery. Find an example of stock imagery in The Unquiet Grave and Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford. [REXTEREZEIEZELU Link the words in A to the words in B to create stock images. A B milk red rose white ruby knight chery sword blood ladies iy. water gallant royal coral Today in many respects pop songs have taken the place of ballads. Choose one or two pop ‘songs you know and examine the lyrics. Are there any strikingly original images? Can you think of any stock phrases or images that are widely used in pop/rock songs? (‘Come on. ‘everybody’, ‘Ooh baby’, ‘My heart went boom/bang’, etc.) Ballads are socal documents. They give us an insight nto what Iie was ike in England a the time they were | “written. In five hundred years’ time, when people listen to songs that were composed in the twentieth and | | twenty-fist centuries, what vl they lar about us? [Ty tink tt ens one famous ong and what wil tl pope in 2500 ex