Sunday Wisdom #20: The Villanelle
Heard about a villanelle? As poetry lovers, I’m sure you have.?
A villanelle is a poem that has five tercets followed by a quatrain. Then comes two repeating rhymes and two refrains.?
A??villanelle has 19 lines. The following poem by Dylan Thomas is an example of a villanelle.
“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.”
To read the full poem, click here.
Note:
It is a group that has three lines of verse. It rhymes with an adjacent triplet. Or, connects with an adjacent triplet.?
A quatrain is a stanza of four lines. Here, the alternate rhyming lines are a speciality.
A refrain is a word, line or phrase within a poem which is repeated; within the lines or the stanzas of the poem.
The villanelle’s home is in France but it has become an English resident now.?Jean Passerat wrote the first villanelle in the 16th century.?
It became a popular poetry form only in the 20th century.
A dainty thing’s the Villanelle,
Sly, musical, a jewel in rhyme,
It serves its purpose passing well.
A double-clappered silver bell
That must be made to clink in chime,
A dainty thing’s the Villanelle …
(William Ernest Henley: A Dainty Thing’s the Villanelle)
Receive more such interesting newsletters every Sunday.
Have you subscribed to the Sunday Wisdom Newsletter series?
If not,?SUBSCRIBE NOW!