How to Write Villanelle Poetry

Though its name sounds French and has its roots in the Medieval Europe, most villanelles have been written in English. This form is thought to have come from Spanish or Italian ballad-like folk songs, without any strict format or length. The villanelle's current structure wasn't widely used until the nineteenth century when the form was made popular by author Theodore de Banville. Probably the most famous villanelle is the classic poem by Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night."

A villanelle is nineteen lines long, consisting of five tercets (three-line stanzas) and one concluding quatrain (four line stanza), with only two rhyme sounds. The first and third lines of the first stanza are rhyming refrains that alternate as the third line in each successive stanza and form a couplet at the close. A refrain is a line that repeats one or more times in a poem.

A notation for this scheme might look like this:

refrain(1)_a - b - refrain(2)_a ... a - b - refrain(1)_a ... a - b - refrain(2)_a ... a - b - refrain(1)_a ... a - b - refrain(2)_a ... a - b - refrain(1)_a - refrain(2)_a

In a rhyming pattern, lines ending in a sound designated by "a" only rhyme with other "a" lines, "b" lines only with other "b" lines, and so on.

In developing a villanelle, many poets start by writing the two rhyming refrains first, keeping in mind that the lines are more interesting if they can be taken in different context with each use, and then fill in the other lines. This way eight of the nineteen lines are complete immediately.

Example:

The Crowded Square(with form notations)

The rabble in the crowded square ... refrain(1)_a
had waited for their lord to speak ... b
to bring them from their deep despair. ... refrain(2)_a

His majesty was well aware ... a
that enemies abroad would seek ... b
the rabble in the crowded square. ... refrain(1)_a

The lord appeared, so debonair, ... a
and cheers became a growing pique ... b
to bring them from their deep despair. ... refrain(2)_a

The beggars jeered the staid affair, ... a
and soon they joined with harsh critique ... b
the rabble in the crowded square. ... refrain(1)_a

The lord began his evening prayer ... a
and pleaded, commerce was so bleak, ... b
to bring them from their deep despair. ... refrain(2)_a

And then the lord removed his stare, ... a
and asked, with sober, blushing cheek, ... b
the rabble in the crowded square ... refrain(1)_a
to bring them from their deep despair. ... refrain(2)_a