The ballad stanza, named for its frequent use in traditional ballads, is quatrains of alternating tetrameter and trimeter, rhyming either abab or abcb. Some examples:
In folk ballads, the meter is often irregular (as in the example above from “Barbara Allen") and the rhymes are often approximate.Oh, I forbid ye maidens all
That wear gold in your hair
To come or go by Carterhaugh
For young Tam Lin is there.In Scarlet Town, where I was born
There lived a fair maid dwellin’;
Made many a youth cry well-a-day,
And her name was Barbara Allen.
Note: This guide is still in the early stages of development.
Three question marks mean I have to write more on the subject. Bear with me.