ABSTRACT
It is estimated that in the second half of the sixteenth century approximately three thousand separate ballads were published in England. Many of the ballads were presented in broadside format, that is, printed on one side of a large single sheet of paper. The subject matter of ballads and other popular works was quite varied, including moral and religious themes, historical or chivalric episodes, and tales of courtship and sexual encounters. The following three ballads represent prevalent topics and attitudes. Steven Peele’s Warning to All London Dames starts as a celebration of the superiority of English women to others but then turns to musings on the transience of life. The Contented Cuckold deals with themes of women’s inconstancy, deceptiveness, and sexuality. The third ballad, A Merry Dialogue betwixt a Married Man and His Wife, pits its main characters against each other in a dispute as to who has the harder life, due largely to the other’s faults.
