We have already noted the characteristics of folk poetry emphasised by commentators whose inspiration was Romantic or nationalist, or a combination of the two. The Romantic view of folk song as ‘spontaneous’ has been considerably modified by modern studies of oral tradition, and yet the notions of charming simplicity and a hirsute sort of artistry have by no means been dispelled by the post-war British and American revival of folk singing. Very few Greek songs, it must be said at once, are either charming or simple. Most are formal and highly organised, although as with any well-developed art form, these characteristics are not always immediately apparent. The ideas they express are complex, often hauntingly elusive; and alongside their lyricism and fine imagery there is a violence and an uncompromisingly pragmatic outlook which are not easily sentimentalised. Some of these qualities will be apparent in the song of Mikrokostantinos, or Little Constantine, which I quote in full.