Allen A Dale Essay, Research Paper

Why do individuals pass down stories orally instead of by writing? Before the time period that writing even existed, individuals had no choice, but to express themselves orally. During this time, they passed down these stories from generation to generation, but there may have been some minor changes because of the misinterpretation of the readers of the stores. Another reason is that people love to hear and tell stories. There has not been a culture anywhere, at any time, in which individuals did not want to tell stories to one another. They told many different types of stories, ranging from: legends, fables, parables, tall tales, and ballads. “Robin Hood and Allen a Dale” is a ballad. A ballad is a simple narrative poem in four line stanzas, usually meant to be sung and usually rhyming, even though it has been passed down to generation to generation throughout the years (oral transmission). Like most ballads, “Robin Hood and Allen a Dale” uses the ABCB Rhyme Scheme. A Rhyme Scheme is a pattern of rhymes in a poem. In traditional ballads, the rhyme scheme is ABCB. In short, the second and fourth lines rhyme. Here is an example of the ABCB rhyme scheme:

And when he came bold Robin before,

Robin asked him courteously,

“O hast thou any money to spare

For my merry men and me?”

As you can see from the example above (stanza 30, page 7), the second and fourth lines rhyme. During the story you will find this rhyme scheme to be very common. This ballad, like many uses Incremental Repetition which is the use of a line with some slight variation. An example is:

“I have no money”, then quoth the young man,

“No ready gold nor fee,

But I will swear upon a book

Thy true servant for to be.”

The statement “No ready gold nor fee” (stanza 50, page 8) is a fine example of Incremental Repetition because the way it advances the statement.

”Robin Hood and Allen a Dale” has many characteristics that are common to all folk ballads, and most notable to myself is the ABCB Rhyme Scheme. The ABCB Rhyme Scheme is used in most all ballads. Second, like all ballads, “Robin Hood and Allen a Dale” is a simple narrative poem in four line stanzas, in order to be a ballad, the story must contain four line stanzas. This ballad, like I stated earlier in the essay, uses Incremental Repetition. Incremental Repetition is used in many ballads. Composers of ballads usually write about love and romance. For an example, Robin Hood goes out of his way to help young Allen a Dale to find his loved one, so they could love happily ever after (after many trials and tribulations of course).

There are many characteristics that may have caused “Robin Hood and Allen a Dale” to survive the oral tradition. First, compared to many other ballads, this certain one is rather short, making it easier to understand the meaning and point of the story. Second. It has a rather simple plot, and meaning towards the story, making it easier to understand.

Finally, the story has a legend of his time in it (Robin Hood), Robin Hood was a well-liked character, and people of his time respected him, and honored him. People want to read about legends, and people they know and people they respect. Without Robin Hood, one may believe that this story would not have survived the oral tradition.

In conclusion, I would like to state that there are many reasons’ individuals passed down stories orally (and still do), to generation to generation instead of by writing, many of which I have already stated in the opening paragraph. Many individuals believe that telling stories orally is much more enjoyable, therefore they are told orally more often then being written down. Telling a story orally is a way to spend time together, that is why these stories have been passed down from generation to generation. What is a better way to spend time with your children then to sit down and tell them a story? They used telling stories as a way to spend time together.