Le Testament

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Le Testament, long poem by François Villon, written in 1461 and published in 1489. It consists of 2,023 octosyllabic lines arranged in 185 huitains (eight-line stanzas). These huitains are interspersed with a number of fixed-form poems, chiefly ballades and chansons, including the well-known “Ballade des dames du temps jadis” (“Ballad of the Ladies of Bygone Times”). While it is full of cruel humour, it is less overtly comic and much more complex than his earlier Le Petit Testament.

In the poem, Villon bitterly reviews his life and expresses his horror of prison (the poem itself was written after he was released from prison), sickness, and old age with its attendant misery and his fear of death. It is notable for the poignant note of regret for his wasted youth and squandered talent. As in Le Petit Testament, he makes bequests to those he is leaving behind, but his tone in this work is much more scathing than that in his earlier work, and he writes with greater ironic detachment.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.