Ballad: A narrative poem that tells a story, often of a dramatic or folkloric nature. Ballads were traditionally transmitted orally and were popular as songs. They are typically plot-driven, focusing on action and dialogue rather than on the inner emotional states of the characters. Ballads are usually composed in quatrains (four-line stanzas) and frequently use an ABAB or ABCB rhyme scheme. The meter is often a mixture of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter (four feet and three feet, respectively), a rhythm known as "common meter". This alternation of longer and shorter lines creates a memorable, sing-song rhythm ideal for storytelling. Classic examples include Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and traditional folk ballads like "Barbara Allen". The Romantic era saw a revival of interest in the ballad form, with poets like Robert Southey, Walter Scott, and Lord Byron writing their own imitations of the folk ballad style.

Ballad is a narrative poem often in quatrains with alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter, featuring rhyme (ABCB) and a folkloric or dramatic story; traditional ballads use repetition and refrain for oral transmission.