Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 5094
Location: Scotland
The Villanelle
The Villanelle is a French verse form which didn’t appear in English until the late 1800s.
It is 19 lines long and only has two rhymes, arranged
aba aba aba aba aba abaa
. That is the relatively easy part. The difficult part is the fact that two lines are constantly repeated. The 1st and 3rd lines from the first stanza are alternately repeated such that the 1st line becomes the last line in the second stanza, and the 3rd line becomes the last line in the third stanza. The last two lines of the poem are lines 1 and 3 respectively, making a rhymed couplet. No metre or line length is imposed.
Does that description confuse you? Maybe an example would help. Perhaps the most wonderful example is Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good night”, written when his father was dying. It moves me to tears every time, and is a perfact 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.
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 grieved 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.
Mb
xx
(
information distilled from various sources on the web - the DT poem is one of my all-time favourites
)
_________________ all posted material (c) Marie Marshall, unless otherwise stated.
Thank you that is very nice.
I have always enjoyed that poem.
Hugs,
Evee
Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:52 pm
Mairi bheag
Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 5094
Location: Scotland
You're welcome, Evee.
Mairi
xx
_________________ all posted material (c) Marie Marshall, unless otherwise stated.
Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:37 pm
Mairi bheag
Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 5094
Location: Scotland
The villanelle does not have to be in pentameter, like Dylan Thomas' poem above (or like my "Destiny"). Here's one a (male) fan of my poetry wrote for me:
Poetess
(for M.M.)
A world of ghosts to see,
She writes with mantic grace,
This then is lithe Marie.
A sorceress is she,
Will all your cares erase.
A world of ghosts to see
Across the Celtic Sea,
Beyond all Time and Space,
This then is lithe Marie.
And now quite silently,
She will the world displace,
A world of ghosts to see,
Then so enchantingly
She’ll turn her Siren face.
This then is lithe Marie
Known for her sorcery
Who can renew, retrace
A world of ghosts to see.
This then is lithe Marie.
--Michael Fantina--
Mb
xx
_________________ all posted material (c) Marie Marshall, unless otherwise stated.
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