Abstract
The marginal status quo of ballad study is disproportionate to the importance of the ballad genre in medieval English literature. From Middle English ballads preserved in medieval manuscripts to traditional British ballads presented in early modem or modem anthologies, a ballad takes shape in the process which witnesses its constant adaptation, amplification, localization and individualization, in terms of both form and content. Such a poetic text in flux preserves and demonstrates the linguistic, metrical and rhetorical features of each period in which it was rewritten. This article analyzes one Middle English ballad and two traditional British ballads in their original languages, and compares different versions of them, attempting to explore the possible ways in which a medieval ballad evolves and to facilitate a better understanding of the ballad genre and its stylistic features.
First Page
48
Last Page
57
Recommended Citation
Bao, Huiyi. 2020. "On Middle English Ballads and "Medievalized" Traditional British Ballads." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 40, (4): pp.48-57. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol40/iss4/11
