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Chapter 5 - After-Play Ballads

Jigs and More

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2026

Tiffany Stern
Affiliation:
Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham
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Summary

This chapter is on ballads performed inside the playhouse but when plays were over, jigs, and then sold outside by the balladmongers. The first part considers how jigs were written and published by a range of clowns, including Richard Tarlton, Robert Armin and William Kempe; the second part looks at how ‘themes’ or poetic song exchanges, though not themselves printed, were used to enhance sales of other ballads to the same tune; and the third part is on how ‘fan fiction’ ballads, like ‘Robin Goodfellow’ and ‘Poor Tom’, which take play characters and give them new songs, were printed often enough to suggest they were themselves jigs. Jigs, themes and fan fiction ballads ensured plays and ballads were always linked by place and performance, while every production that employed jigs contributed to the selling of broadside ballads.

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  • After-Play Ballads
  • Tiffany Stern, Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Ballad Business
  • Online publication: 05 February 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316838976.007
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  • After-Play Ballads
  • Tiffany Stern, Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Ballad Business
  • Online publication: 05 February 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316838976.007
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • After-Play Ballads
  • Tiffany Stern, Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham
  • Book: Ballad Business
  • Online publication: 05 February 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316838976.007
Available formats
×