Philip Levine's poem "Baby Villon" is a representation of the effect of youth exposed to the savagery of war. The speaker tells of time he spent with his cousin following his experiences traveling the world and the treatment he receives in various cultures. As a reader, we never learn the age of Villon but from the description in the poem we can garner he is of a young age. The speaker describes him as, "Stiff, 116 pounds, five feet two / No bigger than a girl," (Levine). Even though Villon is young, he has endured many hardships in his life with a profound sense of internal strength. This poem is a representation of the loss of innocence due to the effects of war.
The poem begins with the speaker expressing Villon's stories of travel and the treatment he receives. In various countries he is believed to be of different nationalities and as a result is discriminated against. Villon has learned to overcome these hardships and has gained a great sense of internal strength. He does not buy into the victim role as evidenced by the line, "Everywhere and at all times, and he fights back" (Levine). The effect of Villon's treatment has made him numb to the ways of the world. "And there's no passion in his voice, no anger / In the flat brown eyes flecked with blood" (Levine). Villon's life experiences have caused him to see the world as a callous land of survival where the deaths of all his family have caused him to depend on himself.
Villon has lost his family to war and it seems as if the only family he has is the speaker. The memory of these family members live on in Villon's life. He says, "'Here they live, here they live and not die'" (Levine). Villon is tasked with carrying these memories on. Due to the loss of his family he has gained the strength to survive at a young age. The speaker says Villon asks him to tell him about his family. This alludes to Villon's young age as he is tasked with carrying on the memories of figures he cannot remember, possibly due to his young age. This places a heavy burden on Villon, who at a young age must live in remembrance of these important people.
Villon's visit has a profound effect on the speaker. In the fifth stanza, the caesura in the second line shows the impact Villon has had on the speaker. The speaker seems taken aback by the level of strength Villon holds as evidenced by the line "He touches my hair / Tells me I should never disparage / The stiff bristles that guard the head of a fighter" (Levine). The juxtaposition of the the speaker and Villon shows how differently the two boys have lived. Villon remarks at how fair and smooth the speaker's skin is, which only suggests Villon's skin must be tough and reflective of his life conditions. Rather than appearing as a young man like his cousin his hair is disheveled and his skin is possibly scarred. This is the first time the speaker has met his cousin, but the impact of this visit greatly impacts him. The speaker empathizes with his experiences by saying, "Myself made otherwise by all his pain" (Levine). These two boys who come from the same family have experienced life very differently. This poem is a moving representation of the effect of war on youth.
Works Cited:
Levine, Philip. "Baby Villon."
