The Villanelle - A Step into Closed Form

The Villanelle is a closed poem form consisting of the following pattern:

5 Tercets (3-line stanzas) and a quatrain (4-line stanza).
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 4 = 19 lines. All Villanelles are 19 lines long.

There is a Rhyme Scheme: ABA. The ending word rhymes in the first and third line. This is consistent all the way through the poem until the ending quatrain.

1. The first line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the second and the fourth stanzas, and as the second-to-last line in the concluding quatrain.

2. The third line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the third and the fifth stanzas, and as the last line in the concluding quatrain.

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.

Click here for examples and advice on how to write one.

Now, write one. Use the time in lab to complete your villanelle draft. Complete and turn in (to your workshop folder) any other poem draft you have made. Make sure your file includes your name and names the exercise/assignment.