HubHip: Arts: Literature: Poetry: Forms: Fixed Verse Forms: Villanelle (0)

DescriptionThe villanelle is a French poetic form consisting of five three-line verses and a sixth four-line verse. The first and third lines of the first verse are repeated alternately as the last line of the next four verses and then placed together as the ending couplet of the last verse.

In addition, the five three-line verses all rhyme aba, with the last verse rhyming abaa. Thus there are only two rhymes in the entire poem.

In most villanelles the repetition is light and graceful, but in some, including the most famous one, Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," the repetition is used to express powerful emotion.

Villanelle

In addition, the five three-line verses all rhyme aba, with the last verse rhyming abaa. Thus there are only two rhymes in the entire poem.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night (Site) - By Dylan Thomas. The most famous example of the form in English.
Pan - Double Villanelle (Site) - By Oscar Wilde.
Poetic Form: Villanelle (Site) - An explanation of the form, with the example of Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and a link to Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art," from the Academy of American Poets.
Poetic Forms: The Villanelle (Site) - An article by Conrad Geller with examples by E. A. Robinson, Sondra Ball, and Dylan Thomas. Part of a series in Writing-World.com.
Poetry Form - The Villanelle (Site) - A description and explanation of the form, with examples and a step-by-step guide to writing one.
Poetry Knowledge Zone: Villanelle (Site) - Explanation, history, and step-by-step instructions for writing by Smitha Chakravarthula. Includes examples.
The Rapist's Villanelle (Site) - By Tom Disch.
The Villanelle (Site) - By Sondra Ball. The poem describes the qualities of a villanelle while exemplifying it.
Theocritus: a Villanelle (Site) - By Oscar Wilde.
Villanelle (Site) - By W.H. Auden
Villanelle (Site) - A description of the form with examples by Suzanne Honour.
Villanelle (Site) - By William Empson.
Villanelle (Site) - Descriptions and examples from a course taught by Alberto Rios.
Villanelle at Sundown (Site) - By Donald Justice.
Villanelle Central (Site) - Links to numerous villanelles and villanelle sites of the Web.
Villanelle of Change (Site) - By Edwin Arlington Robinson.
Villanelles for Free (Site) - A collection by Nicholas Gordon that can be used free for any personal or non-commercial purpose.