The treatment of women in English folk ballads
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The innocent bystanders in Babylon
- The belief that a maiden's virginity is more important than her life : A hidden moral message
- The robber's question
- The impact of sexual License on the Scots
- The emphasis on the role of the parents
- Conclusion
- Works cited
SummaryOne of the distinguishing characteristics of folk ballads is the impersonal attitude shown by their makers towards the story's events: "The story is told for the story's own sake, while the prepossessions and judgments of the author or authors are kept for the most part in the background" (Gerould 8). Despite this impersonality, the true sentiments of a ballad's folk are often revealed through their use of certain phrases, images, and adaptations through time. The most genuine of these sentiments are incorporated unconsciously, without the intent to moralize, but doing so nonetheless. It is these hidden sentiments, pried from the unconscious depths of the ballads' lyrics and melody, which give us the most insight into the experiences, beliefs, and imaginations of the folk to which the ballads belong.
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