Tanya: "Villon" could refer to the executed French poet of the same name, about whom Pound wrote an opera. James Atkinson [log in to unmask] Responding To: Tanya Adele Koehnke <[log in to unmask]> Original Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 14:47:24 -0500 > > Dear Ezra Pound List Subscribers: > > In my second-last year of undergraduate studies in English Literature, I > wrote an essay > on Ezra Pound's poem, "Villonaud for this Yule". After researching the > word > "villonaud", I came up with little more than my own insight about its > meaning. I > suggested that Pound, an Early Modernist, may have been mocking the > traditional > "villanelle" form by using the term "villonaud". Noting that "vil" is > the French word > for "cheap, of little value", and that "aud" rings of "ode", I further > argued that > "Villonaud for this Yule" is a cheap ode (or spiritually impoverished > "hymn") about > Christmas. > > In retrospect, I am now wondering whether I was on the right track with > regards to the > term "villonaud". I would greatly appreciate any responses to my > insights!! > > Sincerely, > > Tanya ([log in to unmask]) >