If at least once in your life you found yourself thinking that you want to compose your own ballad, then before you start writing it, you need to know what its structure is and how to compose it correctly. Get ready not only to write about something real, but also to fantasize, as it should - and then your ballad will be real! And remember, you can learn everything!
What to write about?
How to compose a ballad? Before you start writing the ballad, you need to think about what you will tell. Imagine the hero of the future ballad, imagine the plot, fairy-tale characters who will be present in it. Remember that a ballad does not have to be based on real events, you can fantasize the truth.
Decide on whose behalf the ballad will be told: on behalf of the author or on the hero. Remember that the main character always appears in this narrative as a brave and fearless warrior. The composed ballad very vividly and vividly describes the events that occur and the actions taking place in it. Do not forget about rhyme - it is very important for the ballad! Feel free to use the rhyme dictionaries, they help a lot when writing.
What will it be, your ballad?
Whatever your goal, you can, adding a little imagination and your talent, compose a ballad from literature, write a congratulation to a friend in this form, and come up with a ballad song. First you need to determine what it will be, your ballad. Now German, French and English examples are gaining popularity, and finding collections of such ballads in translation in order to be inspired by them is not at all difficult.
In all three forms, there are differences that every person who once wondered how to compose a ballad should understand.
There is no plot in the French ballad per se, however, it requires a talent for rhyming and understanding the construction of the text: three end-to-end rhymes and a repeating refrain at the end of each stanza. At the end - a mandatory premise, a brief summary.
The English ballad is different in that it has lines that are repeated in each verse and at the same time each time the meaning of what is said in the following lines is reversed.
German ballads are dark and mostly Gothic.
How to compose?
How to compose a ballad? First, decide on the event. For example, you have chosen a distant past, while the characters do not have to be real. You can add some supernatural powers to such a ballad that will help your hero or, conversely, interfere with him. However, do not forget that mythical and fabulous creatures must correspond to the era you are writing about.
Next, decide who will narrate - the hero directly involved in the events, or the singer telling the ballad to the audience. Think over a plot, designate character of characters, define events which will be played in a ballad. You can choose any form and poetic size, but be sure to follow the structure: the tie, the main part with a climax and the denouement. Do not forget about rhyming, avoid cognate and grammatical rhymes. Play with rhyme, trying to make it poetic and elegant. Remember that since the thought “how to compose a ballad?” Slipped through your head, then, provided that you make an effort to do this, you will succeed.
Try it and you will succeed
Do not despair if you can’t write a ballad the first time. However, do not quit your job, and your work will be crowned with success! Try to give an old style to your creation so that it sounds in a special way. In order to achieve a similar effect, it will not be out of place to use old Russian words. Writing ballads is not an easy task, but as soon as you learn how to do it, you can flaunt this skill and your literary talent in front of your friends.
So how to compose a ballad? Do not forget about the dynamic plot, landscape sketches, dramatic dialogs, as well as your own assessment of the events taking place in the ballad. Bring out mystical, mysterious characters - mermaids, sea princes, forest king, kikimore and other fairy tale creatures. Thicken the paint! Transfer the action of the ballad to a dilapidated castle, on the river bank, in a forest with monsters. Write a ballad about death, predictions, fatal love, battles - the choice of plots is simply unlimited!