 They are written in the voice of the named subject and elaborate on that person's character, exploits or predilections.The form is associated with, and takes its name from, Balliol College, Oxford.In 1880, seven undergraduates of Balliol published 40 quatrains of doggerel lampooning various members of the college under the title "The Masque of B–ll––l", now better known as "The Balliol Masque", in a format that came to be called the "Balliol rhyme".