Investigate how language has shaped the meaning and tone of romantic narrative ballads over centuries. The millennial poetry of romance ballads is as old as the Spanish language itself and has been sung for more than 10 centuries. Sometimes serious, sometimes satirical, they address history and its heroes, as well as courtly love, incest, religion, and pastoral themes, and are often on the lips of children. In the Hispanic world, women are the main keepers and singers of these ballads. Romance is actually the name of a language — the earliest form of Castilian, on its journey from Latin to Spanish.

This resource contains transcripts, teaching tips, background reading, discussion questions, and vocabulary to help contextualize student analysis.

NOTE: Transcriptions in this resource include an English translation of Spanish-language music.