Composing the self: gender, subjectivity and Scottish balladry

Abstract

The focusing of post-structuralism on broader social discourses has led to the sidelining of the 'author' within cultural history. This article explores authorship and subjectivity in the composition of Scottish balladry – a genre transmitted over generations and collectively composed. It argues that even within texts as seemingly socially created as ballads the voice of individual singers can be heard, highlighting their concerns and subjectivities. This article focuses on songs collected from Scottish balladists by the early nineteenth-century collector William Motherwell and discusses how gender identity was explored in ballads by singers.