ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ "ΜΠΑΛΛΑΝΤΑ" ΤΟΥ ΝΑΣΟΥ ΒΑΓΕΝΑ

Ballad Like ballade and ballet, the word derives from the late Latin and Italian ballare 'to dance'. Fundamentally a ballad is a song that tells a story and originally was a musical accompaniment to a dance. We can distinguish certain basic characteristics common to large number of ballads: (a) the beginning is often abrupt; (b) the language is simple; (c) the story is told through dialogue and action; (d) the theme is often tragic (though there are a number of comic ballads); (e) there is often a refrain. ...

J.A. Cuddon, The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (London 1998)


Gavin Buchanan Ewart (04-02-1916 to 25-10-1995) was a prolific British poet known for his witty and sometimes unsettling treatments of unlikely subjects.

Η ποίησή του είναι από πικρόχολη ώς ξεκαρδιστική· έτσι λένε όσοι τον διαβάζουν. Βρήκα ένα δείγμα που μπορείτε και να το ακούσετε καθώς το διαβάζετε· ούτε πικρόχολο ούτε ξεκαρδιστικό, μάλλον φιλοσοφημένο - μ' ένα δάγκωμα όμως στην καρδιά μου εκεί στο τέλος. Μου 'φερε στο νου εκείνον τον θείο του Αλέκου της Eroica:

'Hurried Love'
by Gavin Ewart

Those who make hurried love don't do so
from any lack of affection
or because they despise their partner
as a human being -
what they're doing
is just as sincere as a more formal wooing.

She may have a train to catch; perhaps the
room is theirs for one hour only
or a mother is expected back or
some interruption
known, awaited -
so the spur of the moment must be celebrated.

Making love against time is really
the occupation of all lovers
and the clock-hands moving
point a moral:
not crude, but clever
are those who grab what soon is gone for ever.