A Merry Ballad of Vintners
BY dint of dart, by push of sharpened spear,By sweep of scythe or thump of spike-set mace,By poleaxe, steel-tipped arrow-head or shearOf double-handed sword or well-ground ace,By dig of dirk or tuck with double face,Let them be done to death ; or let them lightOn some ill stead, where brigands lurk by night,That they the hearts from out their breasts may tear,Cut off their heads, then drag them by the hairAnd cast them on the dunghill to the swine,That sows and porkers on their flesh may fare,The vintners that put water in our wine.
Let Turkish quarrels run them through the rearAnd rapiers keen their guts and vitals lace ;Singe their perukes with Greek fire, ay, and searTheir brains with levins; string them brace by braceUp to the gibbet; or for greater grace,Let gout and dropsy slay the knaves outright :Or else let drive into each felon wightIrons red-heated in the furnace-flare :Let half a score of hangmen flay them bare ;And on the morrow, seethed in oil or brine,Let four great horses rend them then and there,The vintners that put water in our wine.
Let some great gunshot blow their heads off sheer ;Let thunders catch them in the market-place ;Let rend their limbs and cast them far and near,For dogs to batten on their bodies base;Or let the lightning-stroke their sight efface.Frost, hail and snow let still upon them bite ;Strip off their clothes and leave them naked quite,For rain to drench them in the open air;Lard them with knives and poniards and then bearTheir carrion forth and soak it in the Rhine;Break all their bones with mauls and do not spareThe vintners that put water in our wine.
Prince, may God curse their vitals ! is my prayer;And may they burst with venom all, in fine,These traitorous thieves, accursed and unfair,The vintners that put water in our wine.
Words in this poem
- dint n.
- A blow; a stroke. [OE. dint, dent, dunt, a blow, AS. dynt; akin to Icel. dyntr a dint, dynta to dint, and perh. to L. fendere (in composition). Cf. 1st Dent, Defend.]
- poleaxe n.
- Anciently, a kind of battle-ax with a long handle; later, an ax or hatchet with a short handle, and a head variously patterned; -- used by soldiers, and also by sailors in boarding a vessel. [OE. pollax; cf. OD. pollexe. See Poll head, and Ax.]
- dirk n.
- A kind of dagger or poniard; -- formerly much used by the Scottish Highlander. Dirk knife, a clasp knife having a large, dirklike blade. [Ir. duirc.]
- dunghill n.
- A heap of dung.
- vitals n.
- Organs that are necessary for life; more especially, the heart, lungs, and brain.
- gibbet n.
- A kind of gallows; an upright post with an arm projecting from the top, on which, formerly, malefactors were hanged in chains, and their bodies allowed to remain asa warning. [OE. gibet, F. gibet, in OF. also club, fr. LL. gibetum;; cf. OF. gibe sort of sickle or hook, It. giubbetto gibbet, and giubbetta, dim. of giubba mane, also, an]
- outright adv.
- Immediately; without delay; at once; as, he was killed outright.
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
- gunshot n.
- Act of firing a gun; a shot.
- batten v. t.
- To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten. [See Batful.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Merry Ballad of Vintners is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Master François Villon of Paris, now first done into English verse, in the original forms, with a biographical and critical introduction, by John Payne, Internet Archive, the John Payne translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: François Villon, A Merry Ballad of Vintners, in The Poems of Master François Villon of Paris (1892), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/villon-poems/a-merry-ballad-of-vintners.html, id L27079.
Form and metre
A Merry Ballad of Vintners is 40 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCCDDEDE, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABBCCADEDE spearA · maceB · shearA · aceB · faceB · lightC · nightC · tearA · hairD · swineE · fareD · wineE
- 2 ABABBCCDDEDE rearA · laceB · searA · braceB · graceB · outrightC · wightC · flareD · bareD · brineE · thereD · wineE
- 3 ABABBCCDDEDE sheerA · placeB · nearA · baseB · effaceB · biteC · quiteC · airD · bearD · rhineE · spareD · wineE
- 4 ABAB prayerA · fineB · unfairA · wineB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| BY dint of dart, by push of sharpened spear, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| By sweep of scythe or thump of spike-set mace, | 10 | ·········· |
| By poleaxe, steel-tipped arrow-head or shear | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of double-handed sword or well-ground ace, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| By dig of dirk or tuck with double face, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Let them be done to death ; or let them light | 10 | ·········· |
| On some ill stead, where brigands lurk by night, | 10 | ·········· |
| That they the hearts from out their breasts may tear, | 10 | ·········· |
| Cut off their heads, then drag them by the hair | 10 | ·········· |
| And cast them on the dunghill to the swine, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That sows and porkers on their flesh may fare, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The vintners that put water in our wine. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/· |
| Let Turkish quarrels run them through the rear | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And rapiers keen their guts and vitals lace ; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Singe their perukes with Greek fire, ay, and sear | 10 | ······/··· |
| Their brains with levins; string them brace by brace | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Up to the gibbet; or for greater grace, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Let gout and dropsy slay the knaves outright : | 10 | ···/˘···// |
| Or else let drive into each felon wight | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Irons red-heated in the furnace-flare : | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Let half a score of hangmen flay them bare ; | 10 | ·········· |
| And on the morrow, seethed in oil or brine, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Let four great horses rend them then and there, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The vintners that put water in our wine. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/· |
| Let some great gunshot blow their heads off sheer ; | 10 | ···/······ |
| Let thunders catch them in the market-place ; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Let rend their limbs and cast them far and near, | 10 | ·········· |
| For dogs to batten on their bodies base; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Or let the lightning-stroke their sight efface. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Frost, hail and snow let still upon them bite ; | 10 | ·········· |
| Strip off their clothes and leave them naked quite, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| For rain to drench them in the open air; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Lard them with knives and poniards and then bear | 10 | ·········· |
| Their carrion forth and soak it in the Rhine; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Break all their bones with mauls and do not spare | 10 | ·········· |
| The vintners that put water in our wine. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/· |
| Prince, may God curse their vitals ! is my prayer; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And may they burst with venom all, in fine, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| These traitorous thieves, accursed and unfair, | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| The vintners that put water in our wine. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/· |
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