Theme : English ballads in the 14th and 15th century

Literature of the 15th century
Chaucer as a poet is so good that he makes the fifteenth century appear dull. His death was a great blow to English poetry. Almost two centuries passed before a poet equal to him was born. But folk poetry flourished in England and Scotland in the 15th century. The most interesting examples of folk poetry were ballads. Ballads and songs expressed the sentiments and thoughts of people. They were handed down orally from generation to generation. The art of printing did not stop the creation of folk-songs and ballads. They were still composed at the dawn of the 18th century.

The original authors of ballads are unknown; in fact, a given ballad may exist in several

versions, because many different people told and revised the ballad as it travelled from village to village. But when a version seemed just right, its teller would be urged to recite the story again and again without changing a thing.
Below you’ll read some stanzas that represent the style of folk ballads.