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The Broadside Ballad and Textual Publics
- SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 51, Number 1, Winter 2011
- pp. 1-19
- 10.1353/sel.2011.0004
- Article
- Additional Information
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This essay investigates the role of the broadside ballad in creating early modern textual publics and the role they played in developing a culture of printed controversy in which all levels of society could participate. Through analysis of a broadside flyting involving Thomas Churchyard and Thomas Camel, I show that broadside ballads were particularly well-suited for encouraging participation in textual publics because they were cheap, widely distributed, and variedly consumed. Furthermore, I argue that broadside ballad controversies were crucial to opening a space for printed debate in England for controversies such as that surrounding the Marprelate tracts.