Analysis of Ballade: Epistre
François Villon 1431 (Paris) – 1463
Have pity now, have pity now on me,
If you at least would, friends of mine.
I'm in the depths, not holly or may,
In exile, where I've been consigned
By Fortune, as God too has designed.
Girls, lovers, youngsters, fresh to hand,
Dancers, tumblers that leap like lambs,
Agile as arrows, like shots from a cannon,
Throats tinkling, clear as bells on rams,
Will you leave him here, your poor old Villon?
Singers, singing in lawless freedom,
Jokers, pleasant in word and deed,
Run free of false gold, alloy, come,
Men of wit - somewhat deaf indeed -
Hurry, be quick now, he's dying poor man.
Makers of lays, motets and rondeaux,
Will you bring him warmth when he's down below?
No lightning or storm reach where he's gone.
With these thick walls they've blinded him so.
Will you leave him here, your poor old Villon?
Come see him here, in his piteous plight,
Noblemen, free of tax and tithe,
Holding nothing by king or emperor's right,
But by grace of the God of Paradise.
Sundays and Tuesdays he fasts and sighs,
His teeth are as sharp as the rats' below,
After dry bread, and no gateaux,
Water for soup that floats his guts along.
With no table or chair, he's lying low.
Will you leave him here, your poor old Villon?
Princes of note, old, new, don't fail:
Beg the king's pardon for me, and seal,
And a basket to raise me, I'll sit upon:
So pigs behave, to each other, they say,
When one pig squeals, all rush that way.
Will you leave him here, your poor old Villon?
Scheme | xabccxdxdA efefxdgxgA hxhxxgdxgA xxxbbA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101110111 11111111 100111011 0111101 110111101 11010111 10101111 10110111010 110011111 111111111 101001010 10100101 1111111 11111101 1011111011 1011101 1111111101 110111111 111111011 111111111 11110111 111101 10101111001 111101110 1011101 1111110101 1011011 1011111101 1110111101 111111111 10111111 101101101 00101111101 1101111011 11111111 111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,437 |
Words | 274 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 6 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 277 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 68 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:25 min read
- 59 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Ballade: Epistre" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13666/ballade%3A-epistre>.
Discuss this François Villon poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In