Ways in which ballads may be used in the classroom or during Poetry Hours:

1. Reading aloud for development of literary taste. This is the most important educational use of ballads. The teacher should read them aloud to the class, giving them all their native swing and quick pulsation. The minstrels, who composed them, often accented words to suit the length of their lines; so if the reader will lend her voice to the rhythm of the verse, the accents will fall where they belong. Such words as country, harper, singer, damsel, lady, and battle should sometimes be accented on the last syllable, as countrÝ, singÉr, harpÉr, ladÝ.

2. Memorizing and reciting. Boys and girls enjoy learning ballads by heart. They do so with astonishing ease. The teacher may assign one ballad to the whole class; or she may divide the class into sections and assign a ballad to each section. This should be done at least two or three weeks before the period for recitation. The teacher may then call on one or more of the pupils to recite.

3. Story-telling from the ballads. The teacher may read aloud a ballad. She should read it two or three times to the class. Then the pupils may retell it in story form either orally or in writing.

4. Dramatization. Ballads are so dramatic and simple in their movement that they may be easily acted in the schoolroom with or without improvised scenery and costumes. The teacher or pupil may read aloud the ballad, while some of the boys and girls act it out in dumb show; or, better yet, the actors may recite the lines that belong to their parts, and the teacher may read aloud the descriptive parts only. Whenever a refrain occurs, as in “The Stormy Winds Do Blow,” the whole class may join in reciting it.

5. Writing from memory. The teacher may assign a ballad to the class to learn by heart; and then she may have the class write it out from memory following closely the spelling, punctuation, and dialect of the text.

6. Original ballad-writing. Young people are natural ballad-makers. At the end of the year, after memorizing and reciting ballads and listening to them read aloud, the pupils will be so saturated with ballad-spirit and meter, that ballad-writing will be a second nature. The teacher may then tell, very briefly but interestingly, the plot of a ballad, and let the pupils put it into original verses, giving them a week or two in which to do so. After this exercise the teacher may assign a local legend or story for practice in original ballad-writing.

The Programme that is given here is merely suggestive. All the ballads in the book are good to read aloud, and most of them may be dramatized or memorized. The course presented below shows a teacher how she may, by progressive steps, develop her pupils’ taste for ballad-literature, and prepare them to appreciate more mature forms of narrative poetry, such as metrical romances and epics.

COURSE FOR FORTY WEEKS—ONE PERIOD A
WEEK

1st Week. Reading aloud: The Laidley Worm O’ Spindleston-Heughs, p. 148.

2d Week. Reading aloud: Little Billee, p. 159; Brian O’Linn, p. 160; Dicky of Ballyman, p. 162; The Cinder King, p. 167.

3d Week. Dramatization: The Stormy Winds Do Blow, p. 2; The Noble Riddle, p. 208; “Earl March looked on his dying child,” p. 203.

4th Week. Reading aloud: The Lady of Shalott, p. 124; The Singing Leaves, p. 131.

5th Week. Dramatization: Kemp Owyne, p. 122; The Erl-King, p. 86.

6th Week. Reading aloud: Robin Hood and Little John, p. 291; Robin Hood and Clorinda, p. 297.

7th Week. Dramatization: Ballad of the Oysterman, p. 164; Earl Haldan’s Daughter, p. 58; The Greeting of Kynast, p. 74; A Tragic Story, p. 158.

8th Week. Reading aloud (Halloween Week): The Spell, p. 254; Sir Roland, p. 265; The Cruel Sister, p. 196; The Skeleton in Armour, p. 270.

9th Week. Dramatization: Glenara, p. 212; The DÆmon Lover, p. 7.

10th Week. Reading aloud: King Alfred and the Shepherd, p. 176.

11th Week. Story-telling from the Ballads: Young Beichan and Susie Pye, p. 237.

12th Week. Reading aloud: The Fairy Thorn, p. 87; The Kelpie of Corrievreckan, p. 97.

13th Week. Memorizing and reciting: True Valour, p. 355; The Touchstone, p. 347; Barclay of Ury, p. 341; Pilgrimage, p. 351.

14th Week. Reading aloud: The Heart of the Bruce, p. 333.

15th Week. Memorizing and reciting (for Christmas): The Royal Court, p. 353; Peace, p. 356; The Three Kings, p. 357.

16th Week. Reading aloud: Lady Clare, p. 59; Sir Galahad, p. 348.

17th Week. Story-telling from the Ballads: The Earl of Mar’s Daughter, p. 115.

18th Week. Reading aloud: Ballad of Meikle-Mouthed Meg, p. 32.

19th Week. Dramatization: The Gay Goss-Hawk, p. 218; Thomas the Rhymer, p. 93.

20th Week. Reading aloud: Young Tamlane, p. 255.

21st Week. Memorizing and reciting: Lord Lovel, p. 204; The Beggar-Maid, p. 214; The Sands of Dee, p. 190; Lochinvar, p. 215.

22d Week. Reading aloud: Fair Anny of Roch-royal, p. 191; Bonny Baby Livingston, p. 224.

23d Week. Story-telling from the Ballads: Blancheflour and Jellyflorice, p. 209.

24th Week. Reading aloud: The Child of Elle, p. 244.

25th Week. Writing from memory: The Birth o’ Robin Hood, p. 290; The Wee Wee Man, p. 114.

26th Week. Reading aloud: More Modern Ballad of Chevy-Chase, p. 21.

27th Week. Story-telling from the Ballads: Cochrane’s Bonny Grizzy, p. 70; The Frolicksome Duke, p. 169.

28th Week. Reading aloud: May of the Moril Glen, p. 138.

29th Week. Writing from memory: The Wife of Usher’s Well, p. 263.

30th Week. Reading aloud: Sir Patrick Spens, p. 3; Hynd Horn, p. 231.

31st Week. Writing from memory: Proud Lady Margaret, p. 62.

32d Week. Reading aloud: Song of the Outlaw Murray, p. 301.

33d Week. Original ballad-writing: Barbara Allen’s Cruelty, p. 201; Alice Brand, p. 81; The Famous Flower of Serving-Men, p. 65.

34th Week. Reading aloud: The Eve of St. John, p. 279.

35th Week. Memorizing and reciting: The Fairy Tempter, p. 80; The Luck of Edenhall, p. 135; La Belle Dame sans Merci, p. 91.

36th Week. Reading aloud: The Mermaid, p. 10.

37th Week. Original ballad-writing: King James the First and the Tinkler, p. 173; Valentine and Ursine, p. 314; Belted Will, p. 47.

38th Week. Reading aloud: Kilmeny, p. 101.

39th Week. Original ballad-writing: The teacher may assign a subject for this—a local legend or story of a patriotic or historical event.

40th Week. Entertainment for Parents and Friends of Pupils: The ballad-course may close with an afternoon or evening entertainment. This may be made delightful. All the pupils should take part in the exercises.

Many of the old ballads are set to charming ancient tunes, and may be sung by the whole school. Banjo or guitar accompaniment is specially appropriate to ballad airs. Musical scores for some of the ballads in this book—“The Cruel Sister” (“The Twa Sisters”), “Hynd Horn,” “Sir Patrick Spens,” “Young Beichan,” “Proud Lady Margaret,” “The Famous Flower of Serving-Men,” and “Lord Lovel”—may be found in Professor Child’s English and Scottish Popular Ballads, large edition, part 10. If the music of old ballads is not obtainable, then popular, well-known ballads, such as “Annie Laurie,” “Ben Bolt,” and “Loch Lomond,” may be sung in their stead.

The following outline for an entertainment may be varied to suit the abilities and interests of the boys and girls who are to take part:

PROGRAMME FOR AN ENTERTAINMENT

One or more ballads sung by the pupils.
Recitation.
Dramatization.
Ballad-reading.
A ballad solo.
Recitation.
Reading of the best original ballad composed by a pupil.
Dramatization.
Recitation.
Close: the audience and pupils may sing one or more popular, well-known American ballads, such as may be found in any good song-collection.

In making up her Programme, the teacher should avoid selecting very long ballads for memorization and recitation. It is best to let the pupils who are to recite, choose the ballads they like best. She should be careful to balance her Programme with verses of all kinds—grave and gay, sad and weird, romantic and historical. She should so artistically compose her Programme that it will play on the emotions of her audience, moving it from laughter to tears, from awe to the heroic. That is what ballads are for, to touch the heart, as well as the head.

FOR LIBRARIANS AND SOCIAL WORKERS

This entire course, as outlined for forty weeks, may be followed by Librarians and Social Workers. They may, however, shorten the Programme or alter it to suit the occasion.