Abstracts
Abstract
The broadside ballad constitutes one of the oldest forms of popular culture in Europe and America. Even though our understanding of the genre, especially in North America, has been shaped by texts drawn from oral tradition, many of its thematic and stylistic traits reveal its origins in the modern popular press. The article examines the fictional landscapes of “whiteletter” ballads as represented in G. Malcom Laws catalog, especially categories “M” through “P.” These ballads all have love relationships as their central theme, and yet the spaces occupied by the principal characters and the manner in which the relationships unfold show a marked concern for larger social issues, such as separation through emigration, interclass tensions, and the influence of bureaucratic institutions.
Résumé
La Broadside Ballad [complainte traditionnelle imprimée] constitue une des formes les plus anciennes de culture populaire en Europe et en Amérique. Même si notre compréhension du genre, surtout en Amérique du nord, a été façonnée par des textes tirés de la tradition orale, beaucoup de ses caractéristiques thématiques et stylistiques révèlent que ses origines sont à chercher dans la presse populaire moderne. L’article examine les paysages fictionnels des “whiteletter ballads” tels que représentés dans le catalogue de G. Malcolm Laws et plus particulièrement les catégories de la lettre “M” à “P”. Ces ballades ont toutes pour thème central les relations amoureuses ; cependant, les espaces occupés par les personnages principaux et la manière dont les relations évoluent témoignent d’un intérêt marqué pour des problématiques sociales plus larges, telles que la séparation par l’émigration, les tensions entre les classes sociales et l’influence des institutions bureaucratiques.
Appendices
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