'I've shot the man that shot bill brown': some observations on ballads and revenge

Atkinson, David (2002) 'I've shot the man that shot bill brown': some observations on ballads and revenge. Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 47 (1-2). pp. 61-68. ISSN 1216-9803

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Abstract

There is considerable moral ambivalence in the representation of revenge in anglophone ballads (compared, perhaps, with folktales). A ballad like 'Lamkin' internalises the notion of personal injury as crime. In contrast, the poaching ballad 'The Death of Poor Bill Brown' depicts revenge without legal consequences, giving a sense of moral clarity which is nonetheless deceptive when set against its social background. 'The Gallant Poacher', on the other hand, employs a kind of popular theology to replace the impulse to revenge. Ballads like these do not teach morality, but rather invite the exploration and negotiation of ethical ideas like revenge and justice.

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