The Ballad<\/p>\n
Sometimes it\u2019s fun to write a poem on a topic; sometimes it\u2019s fun to try to use a form. I often use a form when I feel like my poem is wandering around or getting wordy. Forms force you to pay attention to the number of syllables you use or to a rhyme scheme.<\/p>\n
A fairly easy form is the ballad. It usually has four lines in each verse with an ABAB rhyme scheme (every other line rhymes). It also has a strong rhythm. Lines alternate between four and three beats. If you aren\u2019t good at hearing beats, use eight syllables on one line and six on the next.<\/p>\n
Try writing a ballad of at least two verses. Remember you can always write a ballad (or haiku or acrostic<\/p>\n
Ballads are great to set to music if you are musically inclined!<\/p>\n
Here’s an example I wrote:<\/p>\n
The red-winged blackbird sports a white
\nbar dully on his wing.
\nHis epaulet is not so bright;
\nhe\u2019s not begun to sing.<\/p>\n
A yellow bar will soon appear
\nand then a bright red line.
\nHis red-winged name will be more clear,
\nand it will be springtime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Ballad Sometimes it\u2019s fun to write a poem on a topic; sometimes it\u2019s fun to try to use a form. I often use a form when I feel like my poem is wandering around or getting wordy. Forms force you to pay attention to the number of syllables you use or to a rhyme … Continue reading “Poetry Challenge #24”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1172,"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771\/revisions\/1172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cindyfaughnan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}