Rhyming Forms: Villanelle
The Villanelle is a French form thought to have been invented by the French poet, Jean Passerat in the late 1500's. This form of poetry has a definite rhyme scheme that consists of only two continuous rhymes as well as two refrain lines. It has 5 tercets (three line stanzas) and one quatrain (four line stanza).
The Villanelle does not conform to a specific meter or syllabic count, but does not forbid the use of them. So, what we have is a strict form that also has some leeway in that you can use patterned meters or syllabic lengths; or you can completely dismiss those and conform to only the definite structure of five tercets and a couplet, with refrains.
The rhyme scheme for a Villanelle is as follows: (Capital letters indicate refrain lines)
A1
b
A2
a
b
A1
a
b
A2
a
b
A1
a
b
A2
a
b
A1
A2
Some ideas that could work in with a Villanelle are:
1. the use of even lines or uneven lines of patterned meters (iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic pyrrhic, spondaic etc...)
2. Alternating iambs with trochees or perhaps alternating anapests with dactyls
3. Alternating syllabic counts, for example "a" lines could be 10 syllables and "b" lines could be 8 syllables
4. the use of eye rhymes, assonant rhymes and consonant rhymes
Example of a Villanelle:
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
http://allpoetry.com/poetry/2906
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieve it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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Mingled Realm - A Villanelle
~homewrecker
Existence a mingled realm which we dwell
Romancing false obsessions with purity
Actuality and metaphor carry us to Hell
Juxtapose logic to belief and one must quell
Abstract decorum damned in obscurity
Existence a mingled realm which we dwell
Independence a disease which will compel
Eager ambition to kill perceived immaturity
Actuality and metaphor carry us to Hell
Beauty is a terrificly suspect magic spell
Reality is asserted with glorious impurity
Existence a mingled realm which we dwell
As Love arrives it bids a word of farewell
In its own defense the heart needs security
Actuality and metaphor carry us to Hell
Complexities simplified before the death knell
Living the only guarantee against deaths surety
Existence a mingled realm which we dwell
Actuality and metaphor carry us to Hell
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Villanelle
For me this is an extremely good villanelle Regards Pinksheep -
ok question, if the third line all rhyme and A1 and A2, why then on the first line that do rhyme do they not stay capital A1 and A2? they all rhyme. ????
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all capital letter lines are "refrain" lines, repeated lines and those that are lower case letters are not repeated lines BUT they rhyme with their capital mate.
Notice in Dylan Thomas's villanelle that the A1 and A2 lines alternate as the last line of each tercet and all lower case "a's" rhyme with all capital "A's".
So, all A1 lines are the same and all A2 lines are the same and both rhyme with all lowercase "a's" but the lowercase "a's" are not repeated lines.
A1-Do not go gentle into that good night,
b- Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
A2-Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
a- Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
b- Because their words had forked no lightning they
A1-Do not go gentle into that good night.
a- Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
b- Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
A2-Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
a- Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
b- And learn, too late, they grieve it on its way,
A1-Do not go gentle into that good night.
a- Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
b- Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
A2-Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
a- And you, my father, there on the sad height,
b- Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
A1-Do not go gentle into that good night.
A2-Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Hope this helps
s ~Genie~
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I only learn by example so thank you for that piece of work, now I can go look at the a, b, A1 stuff and make sense of it all.
OCD here and ADD so I work upside down sometimes !
You are a good teacher of this work in poetry
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