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How does the abcb rhyme scheme work in an English ballad stanza?

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ballad Detail of an undated broadside ballad distributed in Boston following the execution of Levi Ames for burglary and intended to warn “thoughtless Youth.”

In an English ballad stanza, the abcb rhyme scheme functions by requiring the second and fourth lines of a four-line stanza (a quatrain) to end with the same rhyme sound, while the first and third lines remain unrhymed.1

This structure is typically paired with a specific rhythmic pattern known as ballad meter, where the lines alternate between four stresses and three stresses. While the first and third lines are generally unrhymed, the repetition of the b rhyme in the second and fourth lines provides the stanza with its characteristic musicality and familiar sound.1

This form is a hallmark of traditional ballads, which are narrative poems or songs often rooted in oral tradition. Although many poets have experimented with variations in length and rhyme, the abcb quatrain remains the most recognizable structural element of the classic English ballad.1