A book of readings has long been needed to supplement the many col­lections of ballads on the market. The essays included in this volume have been carefully selected to make available in one volume many of the basic studies that previously lay widely scattered in the journal literature. They offer the reader a clear view into major areas of ballad scholarship, introduce him to the latest ideas in the field of folksong, and give him an insight into ballads that goes far beyond amateur enthusiasm and entertainment. All the essays are written by internationally recognized authorities, and in each case have become standard statements of the particular thesis they argue.   All the essays deal with theory—i.e., with ballad origins, variation, transmission, artistic atmosphere, and music and meter. Each essay is, in the opinion of the editors, important and at the same time difficult for students and seriously interested amateurs to locate. No effort has been made to in­clude materials that are presently in wide distribution or deal with the more technical aspects of ballad scholarship.