Ballade

ballade · form · validated

Three stanzas and a shorter envoi, all on the same rhymes and all closing on the same refrain line.

Provenance

• Source: Traditional; the form of François Villon's Grand Testament (1461)
• Attribution: traditional — classical or folk; no single origin to name
• Checkability: self — decidable from the text and its parameters alone
• Attested: codified — formulated as a rule by a tradition rather than declared by an author

Details

• Kind: restrictive
• Languages: en
• Requires: tokens, phonemes, stress, syllables.heuristic
• Deterministic: yes
• In other languages: Ballade (de), Ballade (fr)

Prompt hint

Write three stanzas and an envoi, all sharing rhymes and ending on one refrain.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
unknown_rhyme	string	undecidable	What a line ending absent from the pronouncing dictionary means: leave the pair unscored (undecidable), let it satisfy the scheme (free), or fail it (strict).

Examples

three-stanzas-and-an-envoi

en — this text satisfies the procedure.

a cat can climb a tall old tree
the dog will run and play all day
the kestrel flies out to the sea
the sun will shine and light the way
the sky will clear by first of may
the wall was built of gray old stone
the birds will call what they all say
until the northern wind has blown
the clock will chime at half past three
the boys will laugh and run to play
a fish will leap and swim so free
the guests will come and wish to stay
the storm clouds turn both dark and gray
the barn stood dark and stayed alone
the goats will roam and love to stray
until the northern wind has blown
he holds the door shut with a key
the trees will bend then start to sway
the priest will grant the poor his plea
the child will shape the wet soft clay
the light comes down in one long ray
the truth at last to all was known
the hens will rest then soon they lay
until the northern wind has blown
the men will come at dusk to pay
the corn stood tall for it had grown
the ships will sail out past the bay
until the northern wind has blown

Source: constructed example

broken-refrain

en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

a cat can climb a tall old tree
the dog will run and play all day
the kestrel flies out to the sea
the sun will shine and light the way
the sky will clear by first of may
the wall was built of gray old stone
the birds will call what they all say
until the northern wind has blown
the clock will chime at half past three
the boys will laugh and run to play
a fish will leap and swim so free
the guests will come and wish to stay
the storm clouds turn both dark and gray
the barn stood dark and stayed alone
the goats will roam and love to stray
until the northern wind has blown
he holds the door shut with a key
the trees will bend then start to sway
the priest will grant the poor his plea
the child will shape the wet soft clay
the light comes down in one long ray
the truth at last to all was known
the hens will rest then soon they lay
until the northern wind has blown
the men will come at dusk to pay
the corn stood tall for it had grown
the ships will sail out past the bay
until the southern wind has blown

Source: constructed counterexample; the envoi closes on a line that is not the refrain

twenty-eight-lines-one-mis-rhymed

en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

a cat can climb a hill at dawn
the dog will run and play all day
the kestrel flies out to the sea
the sun will shine and light the way
the sky will clear by first of may
the wall was built of gray old stone
the birds will call what they all say
until the northern wind has blown
the clock will chime at half past three
the boys will laugh and run to play
a fish will leap and swim so free
the guests will come and wish to stay
the storm clouds turn both dark and gray
the barn stood dark and stayed alone
the goats will roam and love to stray
until the northern wind has blown
he holds the door shut with a key
the trees will bend then start to sway
the priest will grant the poor his plea
the child will shape the wet soft clay
the light comes down in one long ray
the truth at last to all was known
the hens will rest then soon they lay
until the northern wind has blown
the men will come at dusk to pay
the corn stood tall for it had grown
the ships will sail out past the bay
until the northern wind has blown

Source: constructed counterexample; the refrain holds, one line leaves the a-rhyme

twenty-eight-lines-one-unmetrical

en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.

he climbed over the tall old tree
the dog will run and play all day
the kestrel flies out to the sea
the sun will shine and light the way
the sky will clear by first of may
the wall was built of gray old stone
the birds will call what they all say
until the northern wind has blown
the clock will chime at half past three
the boys will laugh and run to play
a fish will leap and swim so free
the guests will come and wish to stay
the storm clouds turn both dark and gray
the barn stood dark and stayed alone
the goats will roam and love to stray
until the northern wind has blown
he holds the door shut with a key
the trees will bend then start to sway
the priest will grant the poor his plea
the child will shape the wet soft clay
the light comes down in one long ray
the truth at last to all was known
the hens will rest then soon they lay
until the northern wind has blown
the men will come at dusk to pay
the corn stood tall for it had grown
the ships will sail out past the bay
until the northern wind has blown

Source: constructed counterexample; the refrain and the rhymes hold, one trochee falls against the beat

drei-strophen-und-geleit

de — this text satisfies the procedure.

der Wandrer zieht durch weites Land
die Glocke schlägt zur langen Nacht
das Feuer wärmt die kalte Hand
der Regen fällt und niemand lacht
der Morgen hat das Licht gebracht
der Wind bewegt den alten Baum
die Stunde ist nun ganz vollbracht
ein Kind erwacht in seinem Traum
die Blume welkt an jener Wand
der Bote hat es nicht bedacht
die Welle stirbt am flachen Strand
der Richter hat daran gedacht
der Garten steht in voller Pracht
der Nebel füllt den kalten Raum
der Abend kommt und alles sacht
ein Kind erwacht in seinem Traum
der Wandrer geht durch feinen Sand
der Kaiser zeigt uns seine Macht
das Feuer greift zum grünen Rand
das Heer verliert die große Schlacht
das Schiff verliert die schwere Fracht
das Wasser trägt den weißen Schaum
das Kind ist aus dem Traum erwacht
ein Kind erwacht in seinem Traum
die Sonne hat den Tag entfacht
das Kleid bekommt am Rand den Saum
der Wächter hat das Tor bewacht
ein Kind erwacht in seinem Traum

Source: constructed example; three eight-line stanzas in iambic tetrameter on three rhymes, closing on the refrain, then the four-line envoi