Analysis of Ballade
François Villon 1431 (Paris) – 1463
I know flies in milk
I know the man by his clothes
I know fair weather from foul
I know the apple by the tree
I know the tree when I see the sap
I know when all is one
I know who labors and who loafs
I know everything but myself.
I know the coat by the collar
I know the monk by the cowl
I know the master by the servant
I know the nun by the veil
I know when a hustler rattles on
I know fools raised on whipped cream
I know the wine by the barrel
I know everything but myself.
I know the horse and the mule
I know their loads and their limits
I know Beatrice and Belle
I know the beads that count and add
I know nightmare and sleep
I know the Bohemians' error
I know the power of Rome
I know everything but myself.
Prince I know all things
I know the rosy-cheeked and the pale
I know death who devours all
I know everything but myself.
Trans. by Galway Kinnell
| Scheme | xxaxxxxB caxdxxeB xxxxxcxB xdxB e |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 11101 1101111 1111011 11010101 110111101 111111 11110011 111011 11011010 1101101 110101010 1101101 1110100101 1111111 11011010 111011 1101001 11110110 1110001 11011101 11101 110110 1101011 111011 11111 110101001 11110101 111011 111010 |
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 841 |
| Words | 183 |
| Sentences | 6 |
| Stanzas | 5 |
| Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 4, 1 |
| Lines Amount | 29 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
| Words per line (avg) | 6 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 135 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 29, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 173 Views
0 fans
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Ballade" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/13663/ballade>.
Powered by CITE.ME
Discuss this François Villon poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In