Traditional Ballads (Folk Ballads):
* "Sir Patrick Spens" - A Scottish ballad about a shipwrecked knight, known for its tragic and haunting tone.
* "The Ballad of Robin Hood" - A collection of ballads about the legendary outlaw, known for its themes of social justice and rebellion.
* "The Wife of Usher's Well" - A Scottish ballad about a mother who grieves for her lost sons, known for its supernatural elements and emotional impact.
* "Barbara Allen" - An English ballad about a young woman who refuses to forgive her lover, known for its tragic love story and memorable verses.
Literary Ballads (Written Ballads):
* "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" - By John Keats, a Romantic ballad about a knight who is lured to his doom by a beautiful but deadly woman.
* "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" - By Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a Gothic ballad about a sailor who is punished for killing an albatross.
* "The Raven" - By Edgar Allan Poe, a dark and macabre ballad about a man who is haunted by a raven.
* "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" - By Oscar Wilde, a ballad about the death of a murderer in prison, known for its philosophical reflections on crime and punishment.
* "Ballad of the Harp-Weaver" - By Edna St. Vincent Millay, a ballad about a mother who creates a magical tapestry to represent her love for her son.
* "The Ballad of Birmingham" - By Dudley Randall, a ballad about the 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, known for its powerful social commentary.
Modern Ballads:
* "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" - By Carson McCullers, a novella that uses elements of ballad form and lyrical prose to explore themes of love, loss, and isolation.
* "Ballad of the Green Berets" - By Barry Sadler, a patriotic ballad about the Green Berets in the Vietnam War, known for its popularity during the war era.
* "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" - By Marianne Faithfull, a song that incorporates ballad elements and lyrical prose to tell a story of a woman's life and regrets.
This is just a small sample of the many literary ballads that exist. There are many other examples, both traditional and modern, that showcase the versatility and enduring power of this form.