Ballad of the Debate of the Heart and Body of Villon
WHAT is't I hear ?— 'Tis I, thy heart ; 'tis IThat hold but by a thread for frailty,I have nor force nor substance, all drained dry,Since thee thus lonely and forlorn I see,Like a poor cur, curled up all shiveringly.—How comes it thus ?—Of thine unwise liesse.—What irks it thee ?—I suffer the distress.Leave me in peace.—Why ?—I will cast about.—When will that be ?—When I'm past childishness.—I say no more.—And I can do without.
What deemest thou ?—To mend before I die.—At thirty years ?—'Tis a mule's age, perdie.—Is't childhood ?—Nay.—'Tis madness, then, doth plyAnd grip thee ?—Where ?—By the nape.—Seemeth meNothing I know ?—Yes, flies in milk, maybe :Thou canst tell black from white yet at a press.—Is't all ?—What words can all thy faults express ?—If't's not enough, we'll have another bout.—Thou'rt lost.—I'll make a fight for't none the less.—I say no more.—And I can do without.
Dule have I, pain and misery thou thereby:If thou wert some poor idiot, happilyThou mightst have some excuse thy heart anigh.Lo, foul and fair are all alike to thee!Or harder is thy head than stone by seaOr more than honour likes thee this duresse.Canst thou say aught in answer? Come, confess.—I shall be quit on't when I die, no doubt.—God! what a comfort 'gainst a present stress !I say no more.—And I can do without.
Whence comes this evil ?—Surely, from on high:When Saturn made me up my fardel, hePut all these ills in.—'Tis a foolish lie :Thou art Fate's master, yet its slave wilt be.Thereof see Solomon his homily;The wise, he says, no planets can oppress:They and their influence own his mightiness.—Nay, as they've made me, so shall it fall out.—What sayst thou ?—'Tis the faith that I profess.—I say no more.—And I can do without.
Wilt thou live long ?—So God vouchsafe me, yes.—Then must thou—What ?—Repent; forswear idlesseAnd study—What ?—The lore of righteousness.—I'll not forget.—Forsake the motley routAnd to amendment straightway thee address:Delay not till thou come to hopelessness.I say no more.—And I can do without.
Words in this poem 20
- frailty n.
- The condition quality of being frail, physically, mentally, or morally, frailness; infirmity; weakness of resolution; liableness to be deceived or seduced. [OE. frelete, freilte, OF. fraileté, fr. L. fragilitas. See Frail, a., and cf. Fragility.]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- shiveringly adv.
- In a shivering manner.
- childishness n.
- The state or quality of being childish; simplicity; harmlessness; weakness of intellect.
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- maybe adv.
- Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
- idiot n.
- A man in private station, as distinguished from one holding a public office. [F. idiot, L. idiota an uneducated, ignorant, ill- informed person, Gr. Idiom.]
- happily adv.
- By chance; peradventure; haply. Piers Plowman. [From Happy.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- fardel n.
- A bundle or little pack; hence, a burden. [OF. fardel, F. fardeau; cf. Sp. fardel, fardillo, fardo, LL. fardellus; prob. fr. Ar. fard one of the two parts of an object divisible into two, hence, one of t]
- solomon n.
- One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man.
- homily n.
- A discourse or sermon read or pronounced to an audience; a serious discourse. [LL. homilia, Gr. homélie. See Same.]
- mightiness n.
- The quality of being mighty; possession of might; power; greatness; high dignity.
- vouchsafe v. t.
- To condescend to grant; to concede; to bestow. [Vouch + safe, that is, to vouch or answer for safety.]
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
- forswear v. t.
- To reject or renounce upon oath; hence, to renounce earnestly, determinedly, or with protestations. [OE. forsweren, forswerien, AS. forswerian; pref. for- + swerian to swear. See For-, and Swear, v. i.]
- righteousness n.
- The quality or state of being righteous; holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude. [AS. rihtwisnes.]
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ballad of the Debate of the Heart and Body of Villon 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, Ballad of the Debate of the Heart and Body of Villon, in The Poems of Master François Villon of Paris (1892), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/villon-poems/ballad-of-the-debate-of-the-heart-and-body-of-villon.html, id L27075.
Form and metre
Ballad of the Debate of the Heart and Body of Villon is 47 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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 A-AA--BCBC iA · frailty · dryA · seeA · shiveringly · liesse · distressB · aboutC · childishnessB · withoutC
- 2 A-AA-BBCBC dieA · perdie · plyA · meA · maybe · pressB · expressB · boutC · lessB · withoutC
- 3 A-ABBCCDCD therebyA · happily · anighA · theeB · seaB · duresseC · confessC · doubtD · stressC · withoutD
- 4 ABAB-CCDCD highA · heB · lieA · beB · homily · oppressC · mightinessC · outD · professC · withoutD
- 5 A-ABAAB yesA · idlesse · righteousnessA · routB · addressA · hopelessnessA · withoutB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| WHAT is't I hear ?— 'Tis I, thy heart ; 'tis I | 10 | ·········· |
| That hold but by a thread for frailty, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| I have nor force nor substance, all drained dry, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Since thee thus lonely and forlorn I see, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Like a poor cur, curled up all shiveringly.— | 11 | ·······/˘˘˘ |
| How comes it thus ?—Of thine unwise liesse.— | 9 | ······˘/· |
| What irks it thee ?—I suffer the distress. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Leave me in peace.—Why ?—I will cast about.— | 10 | ·········· |
| When will that be ?—When I'm past childishness.— | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| I say no more.—And I can do without. | 10 | ·········· |
| What deemest thou ?—To mend before I die.— | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| At thirty years ?—'Tis a mule's age, perdie.— | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Is't childhood ?—Nay.—'Tis madness, then, doth ply | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| And grip thee ?—Where ?—By the nape.—Seemeth me | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nothing I know ?—Yes, flies in milk, maybe : | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| Thou canst tell black from white yet at a press.— | 10 | ·········· |
| Is't all ?—What words can all thy faults express ?— | 10 | ········˘/ |
| If't's not enough, we'll have another bout.— | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Thou'rt lost.—I'll make a fight for't none the less.— | 10 | ·········· |
| I say no more.—And I can do without. | 10 | ·········· |
| Dule have I, pain and misery thou thereby: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| If thou wert some poor idiot, happily | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Thou mightst have some excuse thy heart anigh. | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Lo, foul and fair are all alike to thee! | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Or harder is thy head than stone by sea | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Or more than honour likes thee this duresse. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Canst thou say aught in answer? Come, confess.— | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| I shall be quit on't when I die, no doubt.— | 10 | ·········· |
| God! what a comfort 'gainst a present stress ! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I say no more.—And I can do without. | 10 | ·········· |
| Whence comes this evil ?—Surely, from on high: | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| When Saturn made me up my fardel, he | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Put all these ills in.—'Tis a foolish lie : | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thou art Fate's master, yet its slave wilt be. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thereof see Solomon his homily; | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| The wise, he says, no planets can oppress: | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| They and their influence own his mightiness.— | 11 | ···/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| Nay, as they've made me, so shall it fall out.— | 10 | ·········· |
| What sayst thou ?—'Tis the faith that I profess.— | 10 | ········˘/ |
| I say no more.—And I can do without. | 10 | ·········· |
| Wilt thou live long ?—So God vouchsafe me, yes.— | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Then must thou—What ?—Repent; forswear idlesse | 10 | ····˘/˘//˘ |
| And study—What ?—The lore of righteousness.— | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| I'll not forget.—Forsake the motley rout | 10 | ··˘/˘/·/˘· |
| And to amendment straightway thee address: | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Delay not till thou come to hopelessness. | 10 | ˘/·····/˘˘ |
| I say no more.—And I can do without. | 10 | ·········· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.