Ballad against those who missay of France
LET him meet beasts that breathe out fiery rain,Even as did Jason hard by Colchis town ;Or seven years changed into a beast remain,Nebuchadnezzar-like, to earth bowed down ;Or suffer else such teen and mickle baleAs Helen's rape on Trojans did entail ;Or in Hell's marshes fallen let him fareLike Tantalus and Proserpine or bearA grievouser than Job his sufferance,Prisoned and pent in Dædalus his snare,—Who would wish ill unto the realm of France.
Four months within a marish let him plain,Bittern-like, with the mud against his crown ;Or sell him to the Ottoman, to chainAnd harness like an ox, the scurvy clown!Or thirty years, like Maudlin, without veilOr vesture, let him his misdeeds bewail ;Or with Narcissus death by drowning share ;Or die like Absalom, hanged by the hair;Or Simon Magus, by his charms' mischance ;Or Judas, mad with horror and despair,—Who would wish ill unto the realm of France.
If but Octavian's time might come again,His molten gold should down his throat be thrown,Or 'twixt two millstones he should grind for grain,As did St. Victor ; or I'd have him drownFar out to sea, where help and breath should fail,Like Jonah in the belly of the whale ;Let him be doomed the sunlight to forswear,Juno her goods and Venus debonair,And be of Mars oppressed to utterance,—As was Antiochus the king, whilere,—Who would wish ill unto the realm of France.
Prince, may winds bear him to the wastes of airOr to the mid-sea woods and sink him there:Be all his hopes changed to desesperance;For he deserves not any fortune fairWho would wish ill unto the realm of France.
Words in this poem
- teen n.
- Grief; sorrow; affiction; pain. Chaucer. [OE. tene, AS. teóna reproach, wrong, fr. teón to accuse; akin to G. zeihen, Goth. gateihan to tell, announce, L. dicere to say. See Token.]
- mickle a.
- Much; great. [Old Eng. & Scot.] [OE. mikel, muchel, mochel, mukel, AS. micel, mycel; akin to OS. mikil, OHG. mihil, mihhil, Icel. mikill, mykill, Goth. mikils, L. magnus, Gr. mahat. sq. root103]
- entail n.
- That which is entailed. Hence: (Law) (a) An estate in fee entailed, or limited in descent to a particular class of issue. [OE. entaile carving, OF. entaille, F., an incision, fr. entailler to cut away; pref. en- (L. in) + tailler to cut; LL. feudum talliatum a fee entailed, i. e., c]
- sufferance n.
- The state of suffering; the bearing of pain; endurance. [OE. suffrance, OF. sufrance, soufrance, F. souffrance, L. sufferentia, from sufferens, -entis, p.pr. of sufferre. See Suffer.]
- pent p. p.
- Penned or shut up; confined; -- often with up. [From Pen, v. t.]
- marish n.
- Low, wet ground; a marsh; a fen; a bog; a moor. [Cf. F. marais, LL. marascus. See Marsh.]
- maudlin a.
- Tearful; easily moved to tears; exciting to tears; excessively sentimental; weak and silly. [From Maudlin, a contr. of Magdalen, OE. Maudeleyne, who is drawn by painters with eyes swelled and red with weeping.]
- narcissus n.
- A genus of endogenous bulbous plants with handsome flowers, having a cup-shaped crown within the six-lobed perianth, and comprising the daffodils and jonquils of several kinds. [L. narcissus, and (personified) Narcissus, Gr. na`rkissos, Na`rkissos, fr. na`rkh torpor, in allusion to the narcotic properties of the flower. Cf. Narcotic.]
- 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.]
- debonair a.
- Characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; of good appearance and manners; graceful; complaisant. [OE. debonere, OF. de bon aire, debonaire, of good descent or lineage, excellent, debonair, F. débonnaire debonair; de of (L. de) + bon good (L. bonus) + aire. S]
- whilere adv.
- A little while ago; recently; just now; erewhile. [While + ere]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ballad against those who missay of France 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 against those who missay of France, in The Poems of Master François Villon of Paris (1892), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/villon-poems/ballad-of-those-that-missay-of-france.html, id L27074.
Form and metre
Ballad against those who missay of France is 38 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDDEDE, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 ABABCCDDEDE rainA · townB · remainA · downB · baleC · entailC · fareD · bearD · sufferanceE · snareD · franceE
- 2 ABABCCDDEDE plainA · crownB · chainA · clownB · veilC · bewailC · shareD · hairD · mischanceE · despairD · franceE
- 3 ABABCCDDEDE againA · thrownB · grainA · drownB · failC · whaleC · forswearD · debonairD · utteranceE · whilereD · franceE
- 4 AABAB airA · thereA · desesperanceB · fairA · franceB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| LET him meet beasts that breathe out fiery rain, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Even as did Jason hard by Colchis town ; | 10 | /··/˘····· |
| Or seven years changed into a beast remain, | 10 | ·/······˘/ |
| Nebuchadnezzar-like, to earth bowed down ; | 10 | ·········· |
| Or suffer else such teen and mickle bale | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| As Helen's rape on Trojans did entail ; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Or in Hell's marshes fallen let him fare | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Like Tantalus and Proserpine or bear | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| A grievouser than Job his sufferance, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Prisoned and pent in Dædalus his snare,— | 10 | /˘········ |
| Who would wish ill unto the realm of France. | 10 | ·········· |
| Four months within a marish let him plain, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Bittern-like, with the mud against his crown ; | 10 | /˘········ |
| Or sell him to the Ottoman, to chain | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| And harness like an ox, the scurvy clown! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Or thirty years, like Maudlin, without veil | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Or vesture, let him his misdeeds bewail ; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘/ |
| Or with Narcissus death by drowning share ; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Or die like Absalom, hanged by the hair; | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Or Simon Magus, by his charms' mischance ; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Or Judas, mad with horror and despair,— | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Who would wish ill unto the realm of France. | 10 | ·········· |
| If but Octavian's time might come again, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| His molten gold should down his throat be thrown, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Or 'twixt two millstones he should grind for grain, | 10 | ···/······ |
| As did St. Victor ; or I'd have him drown | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Far out to sea, where help and breath should fail, | 10 | ·········· |
| Like Jonah in the belly of the whale ; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Let him be doomed the sunlight to forswear, | 10 | ·····/··˘/ |
| Juno her goods and Venus debonair, | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| And be of Mars oppressed to utterance,— | 10 | ····˘/·/˘˘ |
| As was Antiochus the king, whilere,— | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Who would wish ill unto the realm of France. | 10 | ·········· |
| Prince, may winds bear him to the wastes of air | 10 | ·········· |
| Or to the mid-sea woods and sink him there: | 10 | ·········· |
| Be all his hopes changed to desesperance; | 10 | ·········· |
| For he deserves not any fortune fair | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Who would wish ill unto the realm of France. | 10 | ·········· |
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