SOURCE: "The Theme of Authority in the Works of François Villon," in The Centennial Review, Vol. XXIV, No. I, Winter, 1980, pp. 65-78.

Below, Tukey Harrison comments on the respect for authority displayed in Villon's poetry.

Because of his life as an activist, both student and postgraduate, Francois Villon has often appeared to be engaged in a lifelong rebellion against all authority figures. He was supremely poor, often in difficulty with the law, and he wrote irreverently about many of the men of high station of his time and place; it is easy to conclude that he condemned authority out of hand. Yet, a close reading of his poems reveals a mixed set of attitudes expressed through the varied assortment of specific references to influential persons and powerful institutions interwoven with opinions of the author. Even the most recent Villonistes arrive at contrasting if not contradictory conclusions. Evelyn...