1a. Who is the speaker referring to in this ballad? Where is she to be found?
2a. How is the person supposed to plough the field? What is she supposed to sow, or plant?
3a. What tool should be used to reap the harvest? How is the harvested crop to be bundled?
1b. Who might the speaker be addressing?
2b. How easy or difficult is this task?
3b. Do you think the speaker truly means this? Explain.
4a. On a scale of one to ten, rate each task mentioned by the speaker, with one being a simple task and ten being impossible.
4b. Why does the speaker relate these tasks that he wants someone to fulfill? What does the speaker really want? What would make the person he is referring to "a true love of mine"?
5a. Why do you think this ballad lasted for centuries? What do you think people like about it?
5b. Why do you think modern folk singers, like Simon and Garfunkel, decide to record old folk ballads like "Scarborough Fair"?
Folk Song. Traditional folk songs, such as "Scarborough Fair," are anonymous songs that have been passed down orally. What does this folk song indicate to you about traditional English culture?
Ballad. What repetition do you see in "Scarborough Fair"? How does that repetition affect the song? What rhyme patterns do you find in this song?
1. Write an additional stanza for "Scarborough Fair."
2. Imagine you are a trader at Scarborough Fair and write an inventory of the wares you are bringing to sell there.
3. Develop a short short story about the speaker and the bonny lass in "Scarborough Fair."
Rhyming Words. In "Scarborough Fair," fair rhymes with there; well with fell; land with strand; horn with peppercorn; leather with feather; and sack with back. Choose two of these sets, such as well/fell and sack/back and come up with two lists of as many new words as you can think of that rhyme with each set.
Types of Sentences. There are four main types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory. A declarative sentence gives information. An interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark. An imperative sentence gives orders or makes a request. It can end with a period or exclamation mark. An exclamatory sentence expresses strong feelings and ends with an exclamation mark.
Identify each of the following sentences as declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory. Then modify each sentence to change its function. For example, you could turn an exclamatory sentence into an interrogative sentence, or a declarative sentence into an imperative sentence. See the Language Arts Survey 3.15, "Functions of Sentences," for more information.
Examples Did you pick some basil for the spaghetti sauce? (interrogative) Pick some basil for the spaghetti sauce, please. (imperative)
1. I plan to go to the Renaissance Fair next week.
2. Get that goat out of my garden!
3. Did you bring the fish from the market?
4. My stomach hurts!
5. Are you going to work in the field now?
6. My mother is sewing me a new shirt.
7. Will you please wash a load of clothes?
8. Don't forget the fabric softener.
9. What are your favorite herbs?
10. Sophie is a bonny lass.
World Folk Music: Using the Internet, look for information about the traditional folk music of at least three cultures. Compare and contrast the types of songs, the instruments commonly used in playing the music, and the ways in which the music has been brought into the 21st century. Write a summary of what you find for each of the three cultures you choose, and write a short comparison-contrast essay. Include in your summaries an evaluation of your search. How difficult was it to find information? How helpful were the sources you did find? You may want to begin at the World Folk Music Association homepage at http://wfma.net/. Research Log. Use this log to keep track of the sources you use, the information you find, and your reactions to what you learn.
Internet sources:
Books and other print sources:
Answers to textbook questions:
