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Looking at Ballad Form, and the Nature of Voice

Thumbnail image for Looking at Ballad Form, and the Nature of Voice March 31, 2010

We are in traditional ballad country the second Auden writes “As I Walked Out One Evening” (see “The Streets of Laredo”). He is not mocking the structure or form of the ballad (except perhaps the way a lover would tease his beloved); he is reveling in the cliche. He trusts his own ability to have fun with cliché (something Ashbery also trusts).

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