ballad

/'bæləd/

Thân thiện

A singer performs a traditional ballad at a village gathering.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A narrative poem of popular origin: A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative poem, that tells a story. It typically originates from and is passed down through oral tradition.
   • A narrative song with a recurrent refrain: A ballad is also a slow, sentimental song, often a narrative set to music, characterized by a simple melody and a repeating refrain or chorus.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The poet wrote a ballad about a knight and a dragon. (This uses the word to mean a narrative poem.)
  • She sang a beautiful folk ballad about lost love. (This uses the word to mean a narrative song.)

Advanced Usage

• "Ballad meter": A common poetic meter (or rhythm) for ballads, often alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter.

  • The poem was written in traditional ballad meter.

• "Power ballad": A style of emotional rock song, typically slow-tempo and dealing with themes of love or loss.

  • The band's biggest hit was a power ballad from the 1980s.

Variants and Related Words

• Balladeer (n): A singer or composer of ballads.

  • The old balladeer performed songs from the region's history.

• Balladic (adj): Relating to or characteristic of a ballad.

  • The song had a balladic quality to its storytelling.

Synonyms

• Narrative poem: A poem that tells a story.
• Folk song: A traditional song originating among ordinary people.
• Lay: A short narrative poem, especially one to be sung.

Related Phrases

• "Ballad of...": A common title structure for songs or poems that are ballads.
  • He listened to "The Ballad of John and Yoko."

Related Idioms

Học thuật

Noun

1. a narrative poem of popular origin
2. a narrative song with a recurrent refrain

Từ đồng nghĩa

• lay