The work by François Villon

Highlights of Poetry. Index of poetry. How to Write Poetry. Books read.

How to write specific forms: Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Tanka. Ballade. Concrete. Ghazal. Lai. Pantoum. Prose poem. Rondeau. Rubáiyát. Sestina. Skaldic verse. Sonnet. Terza rima. Triolet. Tritina. Villanelle.

Poets: Adam Zagajewski. Aleda Shirley. Anne Carson. The Beowulf Poet. Billy Collins. Billy Collins exercise. Snorri's Edda. Carl Dennis. Charles Atkinson. Corey Marks. François Villon Franz Wright. Galway Kinnell. Gary Young. The Gawain Poet. Jack Gilbert. Jane Hirshfield. Jorie Graham. Karen Braucher. Karl Shapiro. Kay Ryan. Laureate Poets: Britain; USA. Louise Glück. Len Anderson. Li-Young Lee. Linda Pastan. Nordic Skalds. Pulitzer Poetry Prize (U.S.A). Richard Hugo. Robert Bly. Sara Teasdale. Snorri's Edda. Stephen Dunn. Ted Kooser. W.S. Merwin.

The Poems of François Villon translated and with an introduction by Galway Kinnell

• Galway Kinnell translated The Poems of François Villon:
  • In 1965: the first version.
  • In 1977: the second version.

• Acknowledges first publication of parts of the translations in:
  • The American Poetry Review
  • The Paris Review

• 13-page introduction to the life and poetic style of Villon.

• Style of Kinnell's translation:
  • The stanza breaks and lines per stanza are maintained, as in Villon's original, which made considerable use of 8-line stanzas.
  • End-rhyme form of Villon is not used, to minimize awkwardness in the resulting translation.
  • The original French is shown on the page facing the translation. That French lets the reader experience the sound of the original approximately.

• The works of François Villon:
  • The Legacy (in French Le Lais).
    • 320 lines.
    • Grouped into 40 8-line stanzas.
    • Ballade-like form with 4 primarily iambic feet per line.
    • Rhyme scheme: ababbcbc. Example from lines 57-64:

      ... me fault ... certain ... desfault ... d'estain ... incertain ... relaiz ... loingtain ... laiz

    • However, the form is a Broken Ballade, in that neither the rhymes used in a stanza nor the last line of a stanza is repeated in an adjacent stanza.

  • The Testament (in French Le Testament).
    • 2023 lines.
    • Grouped into 8-line stanza, mostly, with a few 4-line and 7-line stanzas.
    • Ballade-like form with 4 primarily iambic feet per line.
    • Rhyme scheme: ababbcbc (as in The Legacy). Some slant rhyme. Example from lines 25-32:

      ... cruel ... raconte ... eternel ... compte ... compte ... ennemis ... honte ... remis

    • On the whole, the form is a Broken Ballade, in that neither the rhymes used in a stanza nor the last line of a stanza is repeated in an adjacent stanza.
    • The Broken Ballade is interspersed with various Ballades that follow the same Ballade rhyme scheme (ababbcbc) in its 3 8-line stanzas and the expected rhyme pattern in the 4-line envoy, and with repetition of the final line, including:
      • Line 329-onward: "But where are the snows of last winter [yesterday]?"
      • Line 357-onward: "But where is the valorous Charlemagne?"
      • Line 385-onward: "So much blows away on the wind."
      • Line 533-onward: "No more than cried-down money."
      • Line 625-onward (a Double Ballade without envoy): "Lucky the man who has no part of it"
      • Line 873-onward (which has 10 lines per stanza and a 7-line envoy, the first 6 lines being an acrostic on Villon's name): "In this faith I want to live and die"
      • Line 942-onward (which include acrostics in the first and second stanza): "Save a poor man before he sinks under."
      • and so on.

  • Shorter poems.
    • 15 poems.
    • Occupying 30 pages of French, they average 2 pages/poem.
    • Often Ballade-like form with 4 iambic feet per line.
    • Often 8-line stanzas with rhyme scheme: ababbcbc.
    • 12 (80% of 15) are simply entitled Ballade
    • 3 (20% of 15) conclude with a stanza in which Villon's name serves as the initials of the lines (an acrostic).

    The main features of each shorter poem below show how varied were the forms that Villon used as a Ballade:

    Repeated line	Number of stanzas	Number of lines in a stanza	Number of lines in envoy	Comment
    "By injuring and taking from others."	3	10	7	Titled "Ballade" by Villon. Envoy has acronym for VILLON.
    "We cry good news so much it comes."	4	8	4	Titled "Ballade" by Villon.
    "I know everything but myself."	3	8	4	Titled "Ballade" by Villon.
    "Nor any cool heads but lovers."	3	8	6	Titled "Ballade" by Villon. Envoy has acronym for VILLON.
    "He who wishes ill on the kingdom of France."	3	11	5	Titled "Ballade" by Villon.
    "Warmly welcomed, always turned away."	3	10	5	Titled "Ballade" by Villon.
    "Good should be said of the good."	6	8	4	6 stanzas before and 4 stanza afterward of ballade form and without repetition. Titled "Epistle" by Villon.
    "Will you leave him here, the poor Villon."	3	10	6	Titled "Ballade" by Villon.
    "All you'll lose will be the waiting."	3	10	5	Titled "Ballade" by Villon. A 4-line stanza (with different rhymes from the rest of the poem) is added at the end.
    "I've nothing more to tell you -- I'll survive without it --"	4	10	7	Envoy has acronym for VILLON.
    "Better take things as they come, Villon."	3	12	5	Titled "Ballade" by Villon.
    n/a	1	4	0	A quatrain. Begins "I am François ..."
    "But pray God that he absolves us all."	3	10	5	Titled "Ballade" by Villon.
    "Mother of the good, sister of the blessed angels."	3	10	5	Titled "Ballade" by Villon.
    "Was that my cue to shut up?"	3	8	4	Titled "Ballade" by Villon. An interesting choice to end with.

• Ends with a helpful section of Notes on terms and on word plays and with a Bibliography.

Time Line.

1431.

• Born in Paris, France.
• François Villon initially known as François Montcorbier and François de Loges. He took the pen name of François Villon later, in respect for his uncle and sponsor.

1449.

• Bachelor's degree from University of Paris.

1452.

• Master's degree from University of Paris.

1455.

• Fought with and killed a priest. Pardoned a few months later for 'self-defense'.

1456.

• Wrote The Legacy.
• Broke into the College of Navarre and stole money.

1461

• Imprisoned in Meung-sur-Loire; released after a few months by the new monarch, Louise XI.

1462

• Arrested in Paris on a charge of theft. Not released until he pledged to restore his share of the money stolen in 1456 from the College of Navarre.

1463

• Arrested following a street fight. Sentenced to be hanged. Sentence commuted on appeal, to 10-year banishment from Paris.
• No subsequent further record of Villon's life.

1965

• Galway Kinnell's translation (first version) of The Poems of François Villon.

1977

• Galway Kinnell's translation (second version) of The Poems of François Villon.

Links and Books.

Links and Books.

• Best American Poetry series.
• Best Poems by the Best Poets - Some Lists of Winners.
• Laureate: the Poets Laureate of Britain
• Laureate: the Poets Laureate of the U.S.A.
• Other Books of Poetry Form.

Related pages: Alphabetic list of poetry forms and related topics. Poetry Home. How to Write Poetry. How to write specific forms: Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Tanka. Ballade. Concrete. Ghazal. Lai. Pantoum. Rondeau. Rubáiyát. Sestina. Sonnet. Terza rima. Triolet. Tritina. Villanelle.

Poets: Franz Wright. Jack Gilbert. Jorie Graham. Li-Young Lee. Linda Pastan. Richard Hugo. W.S. Merwin.

Books of Poetry Form.

Copyright © 2006-2016 by J. Zimmerman

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