Poésies
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Book Overview
The most celebrated of French medieval poets, Francois Villon makes poetry out the basest material - the raw urban life of Paris with its petty officials, students, clergy, tradesmen, pimps, whores and thieves. Despite successful studies, the young Villon immersed himself in this world, embarking on a career of petty crime that brought him repeated imprisonment. Condemned to death, but then reprieved and banished from Paris, he disappears from history in 1463, leaving behind a legend of poète maudit that has never lost its fascination. Violent, indignant, ribald and often brutally physical, Villon's verse has a formidable satiric thrust, and yet it also encompasses passages of poignant nostalgia and haunting lyric expression, culminating in his digressive autobiographical masterpiece, The Testament, which counts among the most popular texts of French poetry.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:184749899X
ISBN13:9781847498991
Release Date:August 2023
Publisher:Alma Books
Length:288 Pages
Weight:0.95 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 5.0" x 7.7"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Excellent Bi-Lingual Edition of Villon Poems
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 15 years ago
This collection of the poems of Francois Villon was just what I wanted and at an excellent price! the book is in excellent condition even though it's a 1965 edition. I'm very pleased. -- Barry Benson (poet)
Villon
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I have always found Villon to be one of the most overlooked poets in history. In fact, it is likely that the casual reader would have heard only one line of his: "But where are the snows of yester-year?" There is more to Villon, however, than that. I have yet to decide if his life or his writings is more interesting. Breaking many rules of poetry, such as in "III - Ballade (of Small Talk)" in which all but one line starts with "I know," Villon broke as many rules in life. In 1455 he killed a priest and fled the country, where he was charged in multiple robberies, imprisoned, and condemned to be hanged. Mostly because the charges of murder were dropped in the name of self-defense, he was merely banished, whereafter history never sees him again. His way of living was his way of writing: he held nothing back. This earned him the title of "the Vagabond King," while inspiring such lines as "I know all, save myself." The lines I find most striking are from "The Testament" in which Villon is looking for "those laughing comrades that I was with in former days," only to find that "Some are dead and stiff--/nothing now remains of them;/may they find peace in Paradise,/and may God save the rest."
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