Sophie Lakes
Word Count - 530
What I find interesting about “Ballad”
“Ballad” is a poem about a young woman who is seduced by a Shepard and falls pregnant, and then is left to raise her child alone, a child that brings her shame and everyday reminds her of her regrets. “Cousin Kate” by Christina Georgina Rossetti is relatively similar in the sense that it also portrays a woman being fooled by a man and later discovering she is carrying his baby.
The author of “Ballad” is unknown, it simply states “anon” (anonymous) By using the first person, telling the story using words such as “I”, “me” and “my”, the poet is adopting a persona, this may or may not be the poet, however this technique does the experience seem more real for the reader, you feel more as if the narrator is speaking to you, and telling you their story. This makes the reader feel more involved and therefore feel more sympathy for their situation. Cousin Kate, on the other hand, has the narrator talking to her cousin, “O cousin Kate, my love was true”