One hundred seventy-six ballads arranged by subject area.

This is a story-book, universal in its appeal and representative of a literary tradition from Chaucer to Auden. Its tales are of various kinds - romantic, humorous, ghostly, and gory, written over the past six hundred years.Here will be found Pope's 'Rape of the Lock' and Coleridge's 'Ancient Mariner'; the tale of John Gilpin and of the Idiot Boy; 'The Lady of Shalott', 'The Pied Piper', and Lewis Carroll's 'The Hunting of the Snark'. In the twentieth century the narrative tradition is exemplified by Chesterton andMasefield, Charles Causley and C. Day-Lewis, amongst others.Most of the fifty-nine poems in this collection are given in their entirety, but abridgements and extracts from book-length narratives such as 'The Faerie Queene' and 'Paradise Lost' add to the richness and variety.

"The German ballad was an unusual poetic genre: supposedly inspired by a treasure trove of authorless poems that had for centuries circulated among the common people, the ballad attained popularity in the form of deeply ironic poems written by some of Germany's most canonic authors. Supposedly a celebration of the oral culture of the German Volk, the ballad instead circulated through the emerging channels of nineteenth century culture industry: from anthologies and picture books via the exploding market for song settings, from the opera house to the vaudeville stage, the ballad hewed to its medieval pretence while sounding surprisingly modern. This book traces the strange trajectory of this poetic genre from its origins in the late 18th century to its political appropriations in the 20th. Throughout, the ballad and its path across a wide variety of milieus and media told a surprising and contradictory story of the German nation. What The Ballad Knows shows that, even though the ballad arrived in Germany as a literary genre, it very quickly came to make its home in between different genres and even different media - to the point that laypeople were as likely to encounter it in a concert hall, a classroom, an art museum or a choral rehearsal as they were to encounter it in a book. When cultural conservatives in the early 20th century sought to claim the ballad as a straightforward and serious vehicle of German nationalism, they ignored just how complex the ballad's relationship to the nation had been, and what complexities within nationalism the form had managed to highlight through the decades"--

The Oxford Book of Ballads, edited by Various, is a meticulously curated collection of traditional English ballads. These narrative songs, passed down through generations, highlight themes of love, betrayal, and supernatural elements. The literary style of the ballads reflects the oral tradition in which they were originally sung, providing readers with a glimpse into the cultural context in which they originated. The book showcases the enduring significance of these ballads in preserving folklore and storytelling traditions. The inclusion of a variety of ballads offers readers a comprehensive overview of this important genre in English literature. As the editor of The Oxford Book of Ballads, Various demonstrates a deep appreciation for traditional English literature and a dedication to preserving cultural heritage. The anthology's diverse selection of ballads reflects Various's commitment to showcasing the richness and depth of this literary tradition. Various's expertise in folk music and poetry is evident throughout the collection, making this book a valuable resource for scholars and enthusiasts alike. The Oxford Book of Ballads is a must-read for anyone interested in English literature, folklore, or traditional storytelling. Various's careful selection and expert editing make this anthology a definitive resource for understanding the enduring appeal and significance of traditional ballads in English history and culture.

The famous Oxford Book of Ballads is a monumental anthology of poetry in 4 volumes, edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch. Contents: Thomas the Rhymer Tam Lin Sir Cawline Sir Aldingar Cospatrick Willy's Lady The Queen of Elfland's Nourice Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight The Riddling Knight May Colvin The Wee Wee Man Alison Gross Kemp Owyne The Laily Worm King Orfeo King Henry The Boy and the Mantle King Arthur and King Cornwall The Marriage of Sir Gawain Bonnie Annie Brown Robyn's Confession The Cruel Mother Binnorie The Broomfield Hill Earl Mar's Daughter Proud Lady Margaret Clerk Saunders The Daemon Lover Clerk Colven Young Hunting The Great Silkie of Sule Skerrie The Wife of Usher's Well A Lyke-Wake Dirge The Unquiet Grave BOOK II: Hynd Horn Hynd Etin Erlinton Earl Brand The Douglas Tragedy Glasgerion King Estmere Fair Annie The Lass of Lochroyan Young Bekie Young Beichan Childe Waters Childe Maurice Brown Adam Jellon Grame Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard Lord Ingram and Childe Vyet Fair Janet Old Robin of Portingale Lord Thomas and Fair Annet Rose the Red and White Lily Leesome Brand Babylon Prince Robert Young Andrew The Gay Goshawk Willie's Lyke-Wake Fair Margaret and Sweet William The Twa Brothers The Cruel Brother Edward, Edward Lord Randal The Twa Corbies The Three Ravens BOOK III: The Nut-Brown Maid Fause Foodrage The Fair Flower of Northumberland Young John Lady Maisry Bonny Bee Ho'm Sir Patrick Spens The Lord of Lorn Edom o' Gordon Lamkin Hugh of Lincoln The Heir of Linne Fair Mary of Wallington Young Waters The Queen's Marie The Outlaw Murray Glenlogie Lady Elspat Jamie Douglas Katharine Johnstone Johnie Armstrong Clyde Water Young Benjie Annan Water Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow The Duke of Gordon's Daughter The Bonny Earl of Murray Bonny George Campbell BOOK IV: Judas St. Stephen and King Herod The Maid and the Palmer The Falcon The Cherry-Tree Carol The Carnal and the Crane Jolly Wat I Saw Three Ships The Twelve Good Joys The Angel Gabriel The Three Kings The Innocents Dives and Lazarus The Holy Well The Seven Virgins...

A collection of poems by American author Jane Springer.

From limericks to social satire, The Oxford Book of Comic Verse offers a remarkable collection of outstanding light poetry. John Gross has brought together the finest writers in the history of the English language - from Chaucer and Skelton to Shakespeare and Swift, Lord Byron to Robert Browning, Emily Dickinson to John Updike, as well as witty song lyrics from such artists as Irving Berlin and Cole Porter - offering delightful examples of their comic verse. Drawing on many different types of verse, including epigrams, street ballads, advertising jingles, clerihew, music-hall lyrics, and the doubledactyl of the calypso, this highly entertaining collection offers an exceptionally wide range of comic pleasures. The poems are by turns subtle, down-to-earth, macabre, ingenious, acerbic, ribald, and cheerful. Written to amuse, they call forth laughter and delight in equal measure. Compiled by one of our finest critics and anthologists, this reissue boasts a stylish new design and a fresh contemporary feel.

Across Europe, from the dawn of print until the early twentieth century, the news of crime and criminals' public executions was printed in song form on cheap broadsides and pamphlets to be sold in streets and marketplaces by ballad-singers. Singing the News of Death: Execution Ballads in Europe 1500-1900 looks at how and why song was employed across Europe for centuries as a vehicle for broadcasting news about crime and executions, exploring how this performative medium could frame and mediate the message of punishment and repentance. Examining ballads in English, French, Dutch, German, and Italian across four centuries, author Una McIlvenna offers the first multilingual and longue durée study of the complex and fascinating phenomenon of popular songs about brutal public death. Ballads were frequently written in the first-person voice, and often purported to be the last words, confession or 'dying speech' of the condemned criminal, yet were ironically on sale the day of the execution itself. Musical notation was generally not required as ballads were set to well-known tunes. Execution ballads were therefore a medium accessible to all, regardless of literacy, social class, age, gender or location. A genre that retained extraordinary continuities in form and content across time, space, and language, the execution ballad grew in popularity in the nineteenth century, and only began to fade as executions themselves were removed from the public eye. With an accompanying database of recordings, Singing the News of Death brings these centuries-old songs of death back to life.