Complete Map

The complete map shows very clearly the way in which the ballad form is circular and loops round and back upon itself. The key sites of the poem are simple and connected by the need for help to be brought from the town back to Betty Foy’s house (where Susan Gale is ill and requires a doctor). Offset against the urgency of the journey that should be happening, undertaken by Johnny on the horse, is the actual route that the horse takes as it wanders through 'the wood', 'the waterfall', 'the down' before safely delivering Johnny home again. His quest is unfulfilled but the need for it has been alleviated in his absence anyway.