Discussion Suggestion -
Compare and Contrast Cecil Sharp and Ewan MacColl
•        Both made enormous contributions to the folk revivals that happened in their lifetimes. All those with a love of and a keen interest in the traditional arts owe a huge debt to these pivotal figures.
•        Both seemed to have difficulties in accepting the views of those whose views on the traditions differed from their own leading to disputes which to a limited extent undermined the importance of their work and distracted their attention from it.
•        The two men came from hugely different backgrounds socially and politically and lived in different ages with different social and moral mores, yet they shared one important flaw. Both came to believe that their vast knowledge of aspects of the tradition gave them the right to be the arbiters of what constituted good standard of performance. In their different ways, they tried to impose a "top-down" imposition of the principles that they had developed. Others, by their very human nature, have sought to operate in way that has opposed such an approach.