Poetry help.

I have a poetry assignment due Friday, and I need help with writing some of it. I need a few pointers on writing ballads and narrative poems. Thank you for your time.

Well, do you have a general idea on what you're going to write about?

In any case...

When I write ballads, I try to set up a repeatable rhythm in my head that I can refer to in the process of writing. Very good examples of this are Irish ballads, such as Her Mantle So Green.

As for narratives, I put an emphasis on descriptive & figurative language, as well as making the writing flow from line-to-line/stanza-to-stanza. Make it as if you were going all out in a short story, and then put it into a line and stanza format.