VILLANELLE

GROUP 7 & 8
villanelle (noun)
vil·​la·​nelle ˌvi-lə-ˈnel
Synonyms of villanelle
: a chiefly French verse form running on two rhymes and
consisting typically of five tercets and a quatrain in which
the first and third lines of the opening tercet recur
alternately at the end of the other tercets and together as the
last two lines of the quatrain (Merriam Webster)
 A villanelle, also known as villanesque, is a nineteen-
line poetic form consisting of five tercets followed by a
quatrain
 A French verse form consisting of five three-line
stanzas and a final quatrain, with the first and third
lines of the first stanza repeating alternately in the
following stanzas. These two refrain lines form the
final couplet in the quatrain.
What Is a Villanelle?
The villanelle is a specific poetic form that uses
repeated lines and a strict rhyming pattern throughout
its 19 lines, which are grouped into six separate
stanzas. Villanelles have a lyrical quality to them,
creating a song-like poem with their structured lines.
Villanelles originally centered around pastoral scenes
and many of their themes commemorating life in the
countryside. As the fixed villanelle gained popularity,
writers used it to tackle all sorts of meanings, from
celebration to sadness, and from love to loss.
 Villanelles use a specific rhyme scheme of ABA for
their tercets, and ABAA for the quatrain. The first and
third lines of the first tercet function as repeating
refrains, which alternate as the final line of each
subsequent tercet and appear again as the two final
lines of the concluding quatrain.
The formal aspects of the villanelle are highlighted: the
first line of the poem is repeated as a refrain at the end
of the second and fourth tercets; the third line is
repeated at the end of the third and fifth tercets. The
ABA rhyme scheme for the tercets, and ABAA rhyme
scheme for the quatrain, are color-coded as well.
Examples
I have lost my turtledove:
Isn't that her gentle coo?
I will go and find my love.

Here you mourn your mated love;

Oh, God—I am mourning too:
I have lost my turtledove.
If you trust your faithful dove,
Trust my faith is just as true;
I will go and find my love.

Plaintively you speak your love;

All my speech is turned into
"I have lost my turtledove."
Such a beauty was my dove,
Other beauties will not do;
I will go and find my love.

Death, again entreated of,

Take one who is offered you:
I have lost my turtledove;
I will go and find my love.
Thank you for
listening