Prompt #120 The Adeleanelle

I admit, with a slightly red face, that I’ve never written a villanelle, though I do admit that I have enjoyed reading a few, especially Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” and Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art.” I’ve excused myself with the thought that formula poems are almost mathematical (and math was never my strong suit) but, perhaps I’m just a coward …

Developed in France and  introduced into English literature during the late 1800s, a villanelle has 19 lines, with two repeating lines throughout the poem. Here’s the canonical format:

Refrain 1 (A¹)

Line 2 (b)

Refrain 2 (A²)

Line 4 (a)

Line 5 (b)

Refrain 1 (A¹)

Line 7 (a)

Line 8 (b)

Refrain 2 (A²)

Line 10 (a)

Line 11 (b)

Refrain 1 (A¹)

Line 13 (a)

Line 14 (b)

Refrain 2 (A²)

Line 16 (a)

Line 17 (b)

Refrain 1 (A¹)

Refrain 2 (A²)

(Are you confused yet?) The first five stanzas contain three lines (triplets), and the last stanza contains four lines (a quatrain). The 1st (A1) and 3rd (A2) lines of the first stanza are alternately repeated, with the 1st line becoming the last line of the second and the fourth stanzas, and the 3rd line becoming the last line of the third and fifth stanzas. Lines 1 and 3 are repeated again to  become the last two lines of the final stanza. (Feeling compulsive?) There is no prescribed meter or line length; however, iambic (ta-DUM) and four or five feet per line are good bets. (Do you have an idea now why I’ve never tried to write one?) Of course, modern attempts stray from the rules and allow for some flexibility, and enjambments can be used to help the course of the poem. Note: Poems have two basic types of line breaks: end-stopped and enjambed (in an enjambed line, the break occurs in the middle of a sentence or phrase; end-stopped lines end with punctuation).

In one of my workshop groups, I recently taught the villanelle and, although it was happily received, the group members thought the form was too strict and too rigid for their purposes.  They asked if I would come up with a slightly simpler format loosely based on the villanelle but “easier.” Dubbed by group members as the “Adeleanelle,” here’s what we worked with.

1. A twelve-line poem divided into three four-line stanzas.
2. No rhyme and no prescribed meter.
3.  Each stanza begins with the same word.
4.  Line 1 is repeated as line 5.
5.  Line 4 is repeated as line 12.
6. The poem takes its title from the fourth line of the first stanza.

Here’s an unedited example from the group (thanks, Jayne R. for your permission to print it here).

Another Time, Another Life (the title is line 4)

Line 1                                                 And now in the retelling, 

Line 2                                                 I wish and wish again that

Line 3                                                 the dream had been a dream—

Line 4                                                 another time, another life …

Line 5  (repeat line 1)                         And now in the retelling,

Line 6                                                 I wish you here, my love,

Line 7                                                 your still eyes wide (alive),

Line 8                                                 nothing in the shadows—

Line 9                                                 And only light and light—

Line10                                                where loss forgets its place

Line 11                                               and your hand is warm in mine,

Line 12 (repeat line 4)                        another time, another life …

           

If the Adeleanelle doesn’t strike your fancy and you want to go for a “real thing” challenge, click here for a great villanelle "how-to."

Note: Keep in mind that whatever you choose, meaning should never be subordinate to form!

Villanelle Examples:

"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

"One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop

"Villanelle" by W. H. Auden
"Villanelle for an Anniversary" by Seamus Heaney

"Mad Girl's Love Song" by Sylvia Plath

"The House on the Hill" by E. A. Robinson

Poetry Prompt #70 - The Villanelle

The French brought the villanelle into literary form during the late 1500s (a fragment by Jean Passerat (1534-1602) is one of the earliest known examples). Before Passerat's time, the villanelle existed in Italy as the villanella – an Italian folk song with accompanying dance. 

Although the “rules” may seem complicated at first, villanelle form is an interesting, and perhaps entertaining, challenge for the poet. It requires a special kind of concentration, as well as careful attention to the details of structure. Yes, you guessed it: this week's prompt is to write a villanelle.

A villanelle has 19 lines and uses repeated rhymes (which means that, despite a certain obsessive quality, villanelles have wonderful sonic impression when read aloud). The 19 lines are organized into six stanzas: the first five stanzas have three lines, and the last has four lines. The rhyme pattern is aba for the first five stanzas and abaa for the last. 

A villanelle only uses two rhymes, while also repeating two lines (refrains) throughout the poem.  The 1st, then the 3rd lines alternate as the last lines of stanzas 2, 3, and 4, and then stanza 5 (“dismount”) as a couplet. Admittedly, it sounds confusing, but it really isn't once you begin.

The form according to Turco:

A1  (refrain)
b
A2 (refrain)

a
b
A1 (refrain)

a
b
A2 (refrain)

a
b
A1 (refrain)

a
b
A2 (refrain)

a
b
A1
A2 (refrain)

The most famous villanelle is Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night." To begin, take a close look at the Dylan Thomas poem (note the boldface and italics to highlight rhyme and repetition). Then read the additional examples. Study format as a “template” for your own villanelle. Choose end-words that have several, strong rhymes. Don't be afraid to experiment. 

Do not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 

by Dylan Thomas

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.

Additional Examples:

"One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop

"Villanelle for an Anniversary" by Seamus Heaney

"The Nuns of Childhood: Two Views" by Maxine Kumin

"Villanelle" by W. H. Auden

"On A Line from Valery" by Carolyn Kizer