Professor: Patricia Fumerton
Time and Place:
Office Hours: Fumerton SH 2506, [TBA] and by appt.
This course will study the evolving culture of the most published and most read of literary forms in early modern England: the broadside ballad. The goal is to understand the printed ballad within its changing aesthetic and historical contexts. In each class, we will read a sampling of ballads from the period in light of critical works that address the following topics: definition (what is a ballad?), formal features (paper, print, illustrations), production and dissemination (authors, printers/publishers, and peddlers/chapmen), orality (music and performance), collectors and collecting processes (Pepys, Roxburghe et al), the specific collections of the Pepys and Roxburghe ballads, and, finally, some popular ballads that cross collections and genres.
Links to Other Ballad Sites
Bibliography and Recommended Reading
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