The Villanelle

A villanelle is a form used widely in France in the sixteenth century, and which remains popular among formal poets. Its strict repetition and rhyme scheme makes it a source of headaches and sleepless nights for those who enjoy writing them. The form lends itself better to exploration of a haunting theme than to a lyrical subject or story, simply because of the amount of repetition.

Formally, the repeated lines are strict; some people vary them somewhat, altering punctuation or a few words, to soften the form somewhat. Most villanelles are in iambic pentameter, but any meter could be used, or none. The form is made up of five tercets and a quatrain, for a total of nineteen lines. The first and third lines of the first triplet rhyme and are repeated in each stanza. Call them A1 and A2, and the rhyme/repetition scheme is as follows:

One: A1 b A2
Two: a b A1
Three: a b A2
Four: a b A1
Five: a b A2
Six: a b A1 A2

Only A1 and A2 are repeated; all the lines designated \'a\' rhyme with them, and those designated \'b\' rhyme with each other.

As you can see, a strong couplet is a good place to start; the inner lines of each stanza can help deepen the meaning. Note that you\'ll need seven words that rhyme with A and six that rhyme with B. At times that\'s the most limiting factor when working with villanelles. Another challenge is flow; try to vary your treatment of the repeating lines so that they don\'t feel like they\'re just being dropped into the poem.

I\'ve found that once you begin to write villanelles, it\'s hard to stop. The form was often read aloud and was probably intended to be performed; the repetition makes it easier for the audience to grasp its meaning quickly, and makes it easy on the ear. A similar but shorter (and easier!) form is the triolet, for those who like the repetition and rhyme but want to write more succinctly.