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The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 by or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli

o >> or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli >> The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3






SECTION IV

"Narada said, 'Having thus obtained weapons from him of Bhrigu's race,
Karna began to pass his days in great joy, in the company of Duryodhana,
O bull of Bharata's race! Once on a time, O monarch, many kings repaired
to a self-choice at the capital of Chitrangada, the ruler of the country
of the Kalingas. The city, O Bharata, full of opulence, was known by the
name of Rajapura. Hundreds of rulers repaired thither for obtaining the
hand of the maiden. Hearing that diverse kings had assembled there,
Duryodhana. also, on his golden car, proceeded thither, accompanied by
Karna. When the festivities commenced in that self-choice, diverse
rulers, O best of kings, came thither for the hand of the maiden. There
were amongst them Sisupala and Jarasandha and Bhishmaka and Vakra, and
Kapotaroman and Nila and Rukmi of steady prowess, and Sringa who was
ruler of the kingdom females, and Asoka and Satadhanwan and the heroic
ruler of the Bhojas. Besides these, many others who dwelt in the
countries of the South, and many preceptors (in arms) of the mlechcha
tribes, and many rulers from the East and the North, O Bharata, came
there. All of them were adorned with golden Angadas, and possessed of the
splendour of pure gold. Of effulgent bodies, they were like tigers of
fierce might. After all those kings had taken their seats, O Bharata, the
maiden entered the arena, accompanied by her nurse and a guard of
eunuchs. Whilst being informed of the names of the kings (as she made her
round), that maiden of the fairest complexion passed by the son of
Dhritarashtra (as she had passed others before him). Duryodhana, however,
of Kuru's race, could not tolerate that rejection of himself.
Disregarding all the kings, he commanded the maiden to stop. Intoxicated
with the pride of energy, and relying upon Bhishma and Drona, king
Duryodhana, taking up that maiden on his car, abducted her with force.
Armed with sword, clad in mail, and his fingers cased in leathern fences,
Karna, that foremost of all wielders of weapons riding on his car,
proceeded along Duryodhana's rear. A great uproar then took place among
the kings, all of whom were actuated by the desire for fight, 'Put on
your coats of mail! Let the cars be made ready!' (These were the sounds
that were heard). Filled with wrath, they pursued Karna and Duryodhana,
showering their arrows upon them like masses of clouds pouring rain upon
a couple of hills. As they thus pursued them, Karna felled their bows and
arrows on the ground, each with a single arrow. Amongst them some became
bowless, some rushed bow in hand, some were on the point of shooting
their shafts, and some pursued them, armed with darts and maces.
Possessed of great lightness of hands, Karna, that foremost of all
smiters, afflicted them all. He deprived many kings of their drivers and
thus vanquished all those lords of earth. They then themselves took up
the reins of their steeds, and saying, 'Go away, go away', turned away
from the battle with cheerless hearts. Protected by Karna, Duryodhana
also came away, with a joyous heart, bringing with him the maiden to the
city called after the elephant.'"



SECTION V

"Narada said, 'Hearing of the fame of Karna's might, the ruler of the
Magadhas, king Jarasandha, challenged him to a single combat. Both
conversant with the celestial weapons, a fierce battle took place between
them in which they struck each other with diverse kinds of arms. At last
when their arrows were exhausted and bows and swords were broken and they
both became carless, they began, possessed of might as they were, to
fight with bare arms. While engaged with him in mortal combat with bare
arms, Karna was about to sever the two portions of his antagonist's body
that had been united together by Jara. The king (of Magadha), then after
feeling himself very much pained, cast off all desire of hostility and
addressed Karna, saying, 'I am gratified.' From friendship he then gave
unto Karna the town Malini. Before this, that tiger among men and
subjugator of all foes (viz., Karna) had been king of the Angas only, but
from that time the grinder of hostile forces began to rule over Champa
also, agreeably to the wishes of Duryodhana, as thou knowest. Thus Karna
became famous on earth for the valour of his arms. When, for thy good,
the Lord of the celestials begged of him his (natural) coat of mail and
ear-rings, stupefied by celestial illusion, he gave away those precious
possessions. Deprived of his car-rings and divested of his natural
armour, he was slain by Arjuna in Vasudeva's presence. In consequence of
a Brahmana's curse, as also of the curse of the illustrious Rama, of the
boon granted to Kunti and the illusion practised on him by Indra, of his
depreciation by Bhishma as only half a car-warrior, at the tale of Rathas
and Atirathas, of the destruction of his energy caused by Salya (with his
keen speeches), of Vasudeva's policy, and, lastly of the celestial
weapons obtained by Arjuna from Rudra and Indra and Yama and Varuna and
Kuvera and Drona and the illustrious Kripa, the wielder of Gandiva
succeeded in slaying Vikartana's son Karna of effulgence like that of
Surya himself. Even thus had thy brother been cursed and beguiled by
many. As, however, he has fallen in battle, thou shouldst not grieve for
that tiger among men!'"



SECTION VI

"Vaisampayana said, 'Having said these words, the celestial Rishi Narada
became silent. The royal sage Yudhishthira, filled with grief, became
plunged in meditation. Beholding that hero cheerless and unmanned by
sorrow, sighing like a snake and shedding copious tears, Kunti, herself
filled with grief and almost deprived of her senses by sorrow, addressed
him in these sweet words of grave import and well-suited to the occasion,
'O mighty-armed Yudhishthira, it behoveth thee not to give way to sorrow
thus. O thou of great wisdom, kill this grief of thine, and listen to
what I say. I tried in past times to apprise Karna of his brothership
with thee. The god Surya also, O foremost of all righteous persons, did
the same. All that a well-wishing friend, from desire of good, should say
unto one, was said unto Karna by that god in a dream and once more in my
presence. Neither by affliction nor by reasons could Surya or myself
succeed in pacifying him or inducing him to unite himself with thee.
Succumbing to the influence of Time, he became resolved upon wreaking his
enmity on thee. As he was bent upon doing injuries upon you all, I myself
gave up the attempt.' Thus addressed by his mother, king Yudhishthira,
with tearful eyes and heart agitated by grief, said these words, 'In
consequence of thyself having concealed thy counsels, this great
affliction has overtaken me!' Possessed of great energy, the righteous
king, then, in sorrow, cursed all the women of the world, saying,
'Henceforth no woman shall succeed in keeping a secret.' The king, then,
recollecting his sons and grandsons and kinsmen and friends, became
filled with anxiety and grief. Afflicted with sorrow, the intelligent
king, resembling a fire covered with smoke, became overwhelmed with
despair."



SECTION VII

Vaisampayana said, "The righteous-souled Yudhishthira, with an agitated
heart and burning with sorrow, began to grieve for that mighty
car-warrior Karna. Sighing repeatedly, he addressed Arjuna, saying, 'If,
O Arjuna, we had led a life of mendicancy in the cities of the Vrishnis
and the Andhakas, then this miserable end would not have been ours in
consequence of having exterminated our kinsmen. Our foes, the Kurus, have
gained in prosperity, while we have become divested of all the objects of
life, for what fruits of righteousness can be ours when we have been
guilty of self-slaughter?[4] Fie on the usages of Kshatriyas, fie on
might and valour, and fie on wrath, since through these such a calamity
hath overtaken us. Blessed are forgiveness, and self-restraint, and
purity, with renunciation and humility, and abstention from injury, and
truthfulness of speech on all occasions, which are all practised by
forest-recluses. Full of pride and arrogance, ourselves, however, through
covetousness and folly and from desire of enjoying the sweets of
sovereignty, have fallen into this plight. Beholding those kinsmen of
ours that were bent on acquiring the sovereignty of the world slain on
the field of battle, such grief hath been ours that one cannot gladden us
by giving the sovereignty of even the three worlds. Alas, having slain,
for the sake of the earth, such lords of earth as deserved not to be
slain by us, we are bearing the weight of existence, deprived of friends
and reft of the very objects of life. Like a pack of dogs fighting one
another for a piece of meat, a great disaster has overtaken us! That
piece of meat is no longer dear to us. On the other hand, it shall be
thrown aside. They that have been slain should not have been slain for
the sake of even the whole earth or mountains of gold, or all the horses
and kine in this world. Filled with envy and a hankering for all earthly
objects, and influenced by wrath and pleasure, all of them, betaking
themselves to the highway of Death, have repaired to the regions of Yama.
Practising asceticism and Brahmacharya and truth and renunciation, sires
wish for sons endued with every kind of prosperity. Similarly, by fasts
and sacrifices and vows and sacred rites and auspicious ceremonies
mothers conceive. They then hold the foetus for ten months. Passing their
time in misery and in expectation of fruit, they always ask themselves in
anxiety, 'Shall these come out of the womb safely? Shall these live after
birth? Shall they grow in might and be objects of regard on earth? Shall
they be able to give us happiness in this and the other world?' Alas,
since their sons, youthful in years and resplendent with ear-rings, have
been slain, therefore, those expectations of theirs rendered fruitless,
have been abandoned by them. Without having enjoyed the pleasure of this
world, and without having paid off the debts they owed to their sires and
the gods, they have repaired to Yama's abode. Alas, O mother, those kings
have been slain just at that time when their parents expected to reap the
fruits of their might and wealth.[5] They were always fitted with envy
and a hankering after earthly objects, and were exceedingly subject to
anger and joy. For this, they could not be expected to enjoy at any time
or any place the fruits of victory.[6] I think that they among the
Panchalas and the Kurus that have fallen (in this battle) have been lost,
otherwise he that has slain would, by that act of his, obtain all regions
of bliss.[7] We are regarded as the cause of the destruction that has
overtaken the world. The fault, however, is really ascribable to the sons
of Dhritarashtra. Duryodhana's heart was always set upon guile. Always
cherishing malice, he was addicted to deception. Although we never
offended him, yet he always behaved falsely towards us. We have not
gained our object, nor have they gained theirs. We have not vanquished
them, nor have they vanquished us. The Dhartarashtras could not enjoy
this earth, nor could they enjoy women and music. They did not listen to
the counsels of ministers and friends and men learned in the scriptures.
They could not, indeed, enjoy their costly gems and well-filled treasury
and vast territories. Burning with the hate they bore us, they could not
obtain happiness and peace. Beholding our aggrandisement, Duryodhana
became colourless, pale and emaciated. Suvala's son informed king
Dhritarashtra of this. As a father full of affection for his son,
Dhritarashtra tolerated the evil policy his son pursued. Without doubt,
by disregarding Vidura and the high-souled son of Ganga, and in
consequence of his neglect in restraining his wicked and covetous son,
entirely governed by his passions, the king has met with destruction like
my poor self. Without doubt, Suyodhana, having caused his uterine
brothers to be slain and having east this couple into burning grief, hath
fallen off from his blazing fame. Burning with the hate he bore to us
Duryodhana was always of a sinful heart. What other kinsman of high birth
could use such language towards kinsmen as he, from desire of battle,
actually used in the presence of Krishna? We also have, through
Duryodhana's fault, been lost for eternity, like suns burning everything
around them with their own energy. That wicked-souled wight, that
embodiment of hostility, was our evil star. Alas, for Duryodhana's acts
alone, this race of ours has been exterminated. Having slain those whom
we should never have slain, we have incurred the censures of the world.
King Dhritarashtra, having installed that wicked-souled prince of sinful
deeds, that exterminator of his race, in the sovereignty, is obliged to
grieve today. Our heroic foes have been slain. We have committed sin. His
possessions and kingdom are gone. Having slain them, our wrath has been
pacified. But grief is stupefying me. O Dhananjaya, a perpetrated sin is
expiated by auspicious acts, by publishing it wildly, by repentance, by
alms-giving, by penances, by trips to tirthas after renunciation of
everything, by constant meditation on the scriptures. Of all these, he
that has practised renunciation is believed to be incapable of committing
sins anew. The Srutis declare that he that practises renunciation escapes
from birth and death, and obtaining the right rood, that person of fixed
soul attains to Brahma. I shall, therefore, O Dhananjaya, go to the
woods, with your leave, O scorcher of foes, disregarding all the pairs of
opposites, adopting the vow of taciturnity, and walking in the way
pointed out by knowledge.[8] O slayer of foes, the Srutis declare it and
I myself have seen it with my eyes, that one who is wedded to this earth
can never obtain every kind Of religious merit. Desirous of obtaining the
things of this earth, I have committed sin, through which, as the Srutis
declare, birth and death are brought about. Abandoning the whole of my
kingdom, therefore, and the things of this earth, I shall go to the
woods, escaping from the ties of the world, freed from grief, and without
affection for anything. Do thou govern this earth, on which peace has
been restored, and which has been divested of all its thorns. O best of
Kuru's race, I have no need for kingdom or for pleasure.' Having said
these words, king Yudhishthira the just stopped. His younger brother
Arjuna then addressed him in the following words.



SECTION VIII

Vaisampayana said, "Like a person unwilling to forgive an insult, Arjuna
of keen speech and prowess, and possessed of energy, betraying great
fierceness and licking the Corners of his mouth, said these words of
grave import, smiling the while: 'Oh, how painful, how distressing! I
grieve to see this great agitation of thy heart, since having achieved
such a superhuman feat, thou art bent upon forsaking this great
prosperity. Having slain thy foes, and having acquired the sovereignty of
the earth which has been won through observance of the duties of thy own
order, why shouldst thou abandon everything through fickleness of heart?
Where on earth hath a eunuch or a person of procrastination ever acquired
sovereignty? Why then didst thou, insensate with rage, slay all the kings
of the earth? He that would live by mendicancy, cannot, by any act of
his, enjoy the good things of the earth. Divested of prosperity and
without resources, he can never win fame on earth or acquire sons and
animals. If, O king, abandoning this swelling kingdom, thou livest in the
observance of the wretched mode of life led by a mendicant, what will the
world say of thee? Why dost thou say that abandoning all the good things
of the earth, divested of prosperity, and reft of resources, thou wilt
lead a life of mendicancy like a vulgar person? Thou art born in this
race of kings. Having won by conquest the whole earth, wishest thou from
folly to live in the woods after abandoning everything of virtue and
profit? If thou retirest into the woods, in thy absence, dishonest men
will destroy sacrifices. That sin will certainly pollute thee. King
Nahusha, having done many wicked acts in a state of poverty, cried fie on
that state and said that poverty is for recluses. Making no provision for
the morrow is a practice that suits Rishis. Thou knowest this well. That,
however, which has been called the religion of royalty depends entirely
on wealth. One who robs another of wealth, robs him of his religion as
well.[9] Who amongst us, therefore, O king, would forgive an act of
spoliation that is practised on us? It is seen that a poor man, even when
he stands near, is accused falsely. Poverty is a state of sinfulness. It
behoveth thee not to applaud poverty, therefore. The man that is fallen,
O king, grieveth, as also he that is poor. I do not see the difference
between a fallen man and a poor man. All kinds of meritorious acts flow
from the possession of great wealth like a mountain. From wealth spring
all religious acts, all pleasures, and heaven itself, O king! Without
wealth, a man cannot find the very means of sustaining his life. The acts
of a person who, possessed of little intelligence, suffers himself to be
divested of wealth, are all dried up like shallow streams in the summer
season. He that has wealth has friends. He that has wealth has kinsmen.
He that has wealth is regarded as a true man in the world. He that has
wealth is regarded as a learned man. If a person who hath no wealth
desires to achieve a particular purpose, he meets with failure. Wealth
brings about accessions of wealth, like elephants capturing (wild)
elephants. Religious acts, pleasures, joy, courage, wrath, learning, and
sense of dignity, all these proceed from wealth, O king! From wealth one
acquires family honour. From wealth, one's religious merit increases. He
that is without wealth hath neither this world, nor the next, O best of
men! The man that hath no wealth succeeds not in performing religious
acts, for these latter spring from wealth, like rivers from a mountain.
He that is lean in respect of (his possession of) steeds and kine and
servants and guests, is truly lean and not he whose limbs alone are so.
Judge truly, O king, and look at the conduct of the gods and the Danavas.
O king, do the gods ever wish for anything else than the slaughter of
their kinsmen (the Asuras)? If the appropriation of wealth belonging to
others be not regarded as righteous, how, O monarch, will kings practise
virtue on this earth? Learned men have, in the Vedas, laid down this
conclusion. The learned have laid it down that kings should live,
reciting every day the three Vedas, seeking to acquire wealth, and
carefully performing sacrifices with the wealth thus acquired. The gods,
through internecine quarrels, have obtained footing in heaven. When, the
very gods have won their prosperity through internecine quarrels, what
fault can there be in such quarrels? The gods, thou seest, act in this
way. The eternal precepts of the Vedas also sanction it. To learn, teach,
sacrifice, and assist at other's sacrifices,--these are our principal
duties. The wealth that kings take from others becomes the means of their
prosperity. We never see wealth that has been earned without doing some
injury to others. It is even thus that kings conquer this world. Having
conquered, they call that wealth theirs, just as sons speak of the wealth
of their sires as their own. The royal sages that have gone to heaven
have declared this to be the duty of kings. Like water flowing on every
direction from a swollen ocean, that wealth runs on every direction from
the treasuries of kings. This earth formerly belonged to king Dilipa,
Nahusha, Amvarisha, and Mandhatri. She now belongs to thee! A great
sacrifice, therefore, with profuse presents of every kind and requiring a
vast heap of the earth's produce, awaits thee. If thou dost not perform
that sacrifice, O king, then the sins of this kingdom shall all be thine.
Those subjects whose king performs a horse-sacrifice with profuse
presents, become all cleansed and sanctified by beholding the ablutions
at the end of the sacrifice. Mahadeva himself, of universal form, in a
great sacrifice requiring libations of all kinds of flesh, poured all
creatures as sacrificial libations and then his own self. Eternal is this
auspicious path. Its fruits are never destroyed. This is the great path
called Dasaratha. Abandoning it, O king, to what other path wouldst thou
betake thyself?'



SECTION IX

"Yudhishthira said, 'For a little while, O Arjuna, concentrate thy
attention and fix thy mind and hearing on thy inner soul. If thou
listenest to my words in such a frame of mind, they will meet with thy
approbation. Abandoning all worldly pleasures, I shall betake myself to
that path which is trod by the righteous. I shall not, for thy sake,
tread along the path thou recommendest. If thou askest me what path is
auspicious that one should tread alone, I shall tell thee. If thou dost
not desire to ask me, I shall yet, unasked by thee, tell thee of it.
Abandoning the pleasures and observance of men of the world, engaged in
performing the austerest of penances, I shall wander in the forest, with
the animals that have their home there, living on fruit and roots.
Pouring libations on the: fire at due hours, and performing ablutions at
morn and eve, I shall thin myself by reduced diet, and covering myself
with skins, bear matted locks on my head. Enduring cold, wind, and heat
as also hunger and thirst and toil, I shall emaciate my body by penances
as laid down in the ordinance. Charming to the heart and the ear, I shall
daily listen to the clear strains of, cheerful birds and animals residing
in the woods. I shall enjoy the fragrance of flower-burthened trees and
creepers, and see diverse kinds of charming products that grow in the
forest. I shall also see many excellent recluses of the forest. I shall
not do the slightest injury to any creature, what need be said then of
those that dwell in villages and towns?[10] Leading a retired life and
devoting myself to contemplation, I shall live upon ripe and unripe
fruits and gratify the Pitris and the deities with offerings of wild
fruits and spring water and grateful hymns. Observing in this way the
austere regulations of a forest life, I shall pass my days, calmly
awaiting the dissolution of my body. Or, living alone and observing the
vow of taciturnity, with my head shaved clean, I shall derive my
sustenance by begging each day of only one tree.[11] Smearing my body
with ashes, and availing of the shelter of abandoned houses, or lying at
the foot of trees, I shall live, casting off all things dear or hateful.
Without indulging in grief or joy, and regarding censure and applause,
hope and affliction, equally, and prevailing over every couple of
opposites, I shall live casting off all the things of the world. Without
conversing with anybody, I shall assume the outward form of a blind and
deaf idiot, while living in contentment and deriving happiness from my
own soul. Without doing the least injury to the four kinds of movable and
immovable creatures, I shall behave equally towards all creatures whether
mindful of their duties or following only the dictates of the senses. I
shall not jeer at any one, nor shall I frown at anybody. Restraining all
my senses, I shall always be of a cheerful face. Without asking anybody
about the way, proceeding along any route that I may happen to meet with,
I shall go on, without taking note of the country or the point of the
compass to which or towards which I may go. Regardless of whither I may
proceed, I shall not look behind. Divesting myself of desire and wrath,
and turning my gaze inwards, I shall go on, casting off pride of soul and
body. Nature always walks ahead; hence, food and drink will somehow be
accomplished. I shall not think of those pairs of opposites that stand in
the way of such a life. If pure food in even a small measure be not
obtainable in the first house (to which I may go), I shalt get it by
going to other houses. If I fail to procure it by even such a round, I
shall proceed to seven houses in succession and fill my craving. When the
smoke of houses will cease, their hearth-fires having been extinguished,
when husking-rods will be kept aside, and all the inmates will have taken
their food, when mendicants and guests Will cease to wander, I shall
select a moment for my round of mendicancy and solicit alms at two,
three, or five houses at the most. I shall wander over the earth, after
breaking the bonds of desire. Preserving equability in success and
failure, I shall earn great ascetic merit. I shall behave neither like
one that is fond of life nor like one that is about to die. I shall not
manifest any liking for life or dislike for death. If one strikes off one
arm of mine and another smears the other arm with sandal-paste, I shall
not wish evil to the one or good to the other. Discarding all those acts
conducive to prosperity that one can do in life, the only acts I shall
perform will be to open and shut my eyes and take as much food and drink
as will barely keep up life. Without ever being attached to action, and
always restraining the functions of the senses, I shall give up all
desires and purify the soul of all impurities. Freed from all attachments
and tearing off all bonds and ties, I shall live free as the wind. Living
in such freedom from affections, everlasting contentment will be mine.
Through desire, I have, from ignorance, committed great sins. A certain
class of men, doing both auspicious and inauspicious acts here, maintain
their wives, children, and kinsmen, all bound to them in relations of
cause and effect.[12] When the period of their life runs out, casting off
their weakened bodies, they take upon themselves all the effects of their
sinful acts, for none but the actor is burdened with the consequences of
his acts.[13] Even thus, endued with actions, creatures come into this
wheel of life that is continually turning like the wheel of a car, and
even thus, coming thither, they meet with their fellow-creatures. He,
however, who abandons the worldly course of life, which is really a
fleeting illusion although it looks eternal, and which is afflicted by
birth, death, decrepitude, disease, and pain, is sure to obtain
happiness. When again, the very gods fall down from heaven and great
Rishis from their respective positions of eminence who, that is
acquainted with truths of causes (and effects) would wish to have even
heavenly prosperity?[14] Insignificant kings, having performed diverse
acts relating to the diverse means of kingcraft (known by the means of
conciliation, gift, &c.) often slay a king through some contrivance.
Reflecting on these circumstances, this nectar of wisdom hath come to me.
Having attained it, I desire to get a permanent, eternal, and
unchangeable place (for myself). Always (conducting myself) with such
wisdom and acting in this way, I shall, by betaking myself to that
fearless path of life, terminate this physical frame that is subject to
birth, death, decrepitude, disease, and pain.'"

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Mary Stewart Cutting - "The Blossoming Rod"

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik - "The Laurel Bush"

Hannah More - "Stories for the Young"

Zora Hurston - "Poker!"

Poster poems: Ballads
Articles published by guardian.co.uk Books

Fidel and Che: a revolutionary friendship

After last week's fairly open theme, I thought I'd go with something a bit more structured this time. As I type this, I'm listening to Steeleye Span and thinking about the great ballad traditions of Britain and Ireland. What is a ballad? I suppose the most inclusive definition would be that it's a singable narrative poem: that covers a multitude but will do for the moment.

Ballads in English stretch back to the middle ages, with fine examples to be found among the Scottish border ballads and the English Robin Hood poems. These early ballads are among the best-known poems and stories in the language, and form part of the common heritage of English speakers everywhere. They gave rise to a tradition of ballad-making that endures down to the present day.

In fact, most poets since have tried their hand at the ballad at one time or another, and the result has been to deny any definition more specific than the one I ventured in my first paragraph. If you look around the internet, you'll come up with a wide selection of poems that are called ballads but have little in common formally. Stanza length varies from two to 10 or more lines, and all sorts of metrical and rhyming patterns are used. A good number will be singable in only the loosest possible sense, and at times the narrative tends to get lost in a mesh of more-or-less successful verbal embroidery.

So, what should a ballad be? Well, "proper" ballad stanzas are quatrains in which the first and third lines have four stresses and the second and third have three. The lines will rhyme A-B-C-B or A-B-A-B. It's as simple, and as difficult, as that. Here's an example, from Robert Burns's extremely singable Comin Thro' the Rye:

Gin a body meet a body
          Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body –
          Need a body cry.

Burns wrote a good number of ballads, and his lead was followed by many 19th-century poets. Two examples that I particularly like are Robert Browning's Confessions and Christina Rossetti's Up-Hill, but you can find ballads by just about any Romantic or Victorian poet if you look for them.

There is a long, strong tradition of ballads and ballad singers in Ireland, too. It is hardly surprising, then, that the great appropriator of tradition, WB Yeats, tried his hand at the form. At least four of his poems have the word "ballad" in the title; the pick of the bunch, for my money, is The Ballad of Father Gilligan, which may have benefited from having been written with a specific tune in mind.

Ballads continued to be written in the 20th century; perhaps the most unexpected exponents were Ezra Pound, with his Ballad of the Goodly Fere, and WH Auden. In fact, the ballad The Quarry is probably my favourite Auden poem.

And so, this week I invite a chorus of balladeering. You may choose to go the whole hog and write in ballad stanzas or you might prefer to take a more liberal view of the formal requirements. Either way, sing up and – as they say at all the best Irish sessions when calling for a bit of hush for the singer – one voice please.

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