Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

François Villon's "Ballad of the Lords of Old Time" serves as an elegy for an era gone by, a veneration of notable historical figures who no longer walk the earth. Through its catalogue of illustrious names, the poem engages with the transience of human glory and the inexorability of death.

The poem begins with a question: "What more?" as if to suggest that the list could go on indefinitely, that history is brimming with men of note who once shaped the world but now are mere memories. The reference to Calixt, the Pope, alongside Alfonso, king of Aragon, and other noble figures, not only amplifies the span of influence these men had but also establishes the ecclesiastical alongside the secular. This mixture of different spheres of power-religion, politics, nobility-also seems to level the field, suggesting that regardless of where one's power lay, it was ephemeral.

This ballad makes an intriguing use of repetition with the phrase, "even with the good knight Charlemain" (referring to Charlemagne, the founder of the Carolingian empire). This phrase serves as a refrain, pulling all these historical figures under one umbrella of mortality. Charlemagne acts as a kind of temporal anchor; his legendary status provides a focal point against which all other characters can be measured and found to be equally mortal.

Villon doesn't just stop at presenting this cavalcade of figures; he also adds sensory details, such as the "half vermilion" face of the Scottish king, making them as vivid as possible, reminding the reader that these were flesh and blood individuals, not just names in history books. But in doing so, he also makes their absence more palpable.

The poem drives home the idea that no one, no matter how powerful or wise, can escape death: "For death may no man born resist, / Nor make appeal when death comes on." This is a leveling of the playing field in the most ultimate sense. The kings and the dukes, the religious and the secular, all find the same end.

The poem concludes by asking, "Where is Guesclin, the good Breton?" among others, pulling the reader back into the central question of where all these influential figures have gone. They are "even with the good knight Charlemain"-part of a long list of the greats, whose greatness could not save them from the finality of human life.

In the end, Villon's ballad serves as a poignant reminder of human fragility, a poetic memento mori that chronicles the great but does not shy away from acknowledging their shared fate with all of humanity. The ballad ennobles even as it humbles, reminding us of the inexorable march of time that makes equals of us all.

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