Villanelles
A villanelle is a structured poetic form consisting of nineteen lines, organized into five tercets (three-line stanzas) followed by a quatrain (four-line stanza). This form features a specific rhyme scheme and incorporates two refrains, with the first and third lines of the initial stanza being alternately repeated throughout the poem and culminating in the final four lines. The origins of the villanelle trace back to the Renaissance, with the earliest known example being "J'ay perdu ma Tourterelle" by French poet Jean Passerat. Although it initially lacked a defined structure, the form was later refined by French poets in the 19th century, leading to its popularity among English poets like Edmund Gosse and Austin Dobson. Notably, the villanelle gained prominence with Dylan Thomas's famous poem "Do not go gentle into that good night," which explores themes of death and resistance. While the villanelle fell out of favor during the modernist movement due to its strict structure, it remains a noteworthy poetic form studied and utilized by contemporary poets. The intricate nature of villanelles presents both a challenge and an opportunity for poets to convey complex emotions and themes.
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Villanelles
A villanelle is a complex poetic structure consisting of nineteen lines arranged in five three-line stanzas and ending with one four-line stanza. The first and third lines in the opening stanza alternate as the last line of each of the remaining three-line stanzas. They are both used again as the last two lines of the final four-line refrain. Experts believe villanelles were first composed during the Renaissance, although they did not adhere to the same structural rules as they do now. The earliest-known example is the 1574 poem “J’ay perdu ma Tourterelle” by French poet Jean Passerat. The style was rediscovered more than two centuries later by French poets, who established more formal structural rules and began to replicate the form in their own work. Since then, numerous highly acclaimed poets have written popular villanelles. Arguably the most famous is the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.
Background
Poetry is an artistic use of language that utilizes structure, rhythm, and rhyme to evoke emotions within a reader. Poetry may contain other artistic elements, such as symbolism and tone, that differentiate it from traditional prose. The oldest known poetry was written in the first civilization in Mesopotamia, but the form likely began as oral tradition from prehistoric times.
Many poems utilize a form, sometimes called a poetic structure, that gives the poem shape. Poetic structure may force the author to follow a specific syllable count, rhyme scheme, or line grouping throughout the poem. Certain poetic structures are associated with specific genres of poetry. For example, a haiku utilizes a poetic structure that restricts the poem to just three lines, with the first and third lines containing five syllables and the second line containing seven syllables.
Poems that utilize a poetic structure are structured in stanzas. A stanza is a group of lines within a poem. They may contain a uniform number of lines or syllables throughout the poem, or they may vary in length and syllable count. Because stanzas are separated by a line break on the page, they provide natural places for the poem to shift between types of subject matter.
Some poems avoid the use of poetic form entirely. Often called free verse or open form poems, these works rely entirely on word choice, word placement, and their unique structure to convey feelings to the reader.
Overview
The word villanelle originated in the Renaissance period from Italian and Spanish dance songs called the villanella and villancico respectively. Those names came from the Italian word villano, or “peasant,” and were songs often associated with the countryside. Some experts believe that villanelle poetry grew out of these types of songs, but they did not have any set structural rules. Other scholars attribute the first, and only, true villanelle from the period to be “J’ay perdu ma Tourterelle” (I Lost My Turtle Dove”), written by French poet Jean Passerat in 1574 and published in 1606. In this simplistic villanelle, the poet is mourning the loss of his lover, who has left him.
“J’ay perdu ma Tourterelle” is the only surviving example of a Renaissance villanelle that follows the complex poetic structure associated with later villanelles. For this reason, some scholars argue that the true origin of the villanelle cannot be placed within the Renaissance. Instead, they argue that the genre originated during the mid-1800s, when French poets mistook Passerat’s poem for an example of a traditional form. They began to mimic “J’ay perdu ma Tourterelle” in their own writings, quickly popularizing the poetic structure. During the 1870s, the villanelle form was adopted by English poets Edmund Gosse and Austin Dobson, who began writing villanelles in English. Since then, most villanelles have been published in English.
Due to their complex structure, villanelles are considered an especially difficult style of poem to write. They are restricted to five three-line stanzas known as tercets, followed by one four-line stanza, or quatrain. Additionally, villanelles must utilize a specific rhyme scheme with two refrains. The first and third lines of each tercet must rhyme, and the first, third, and fourth lines of the quatrain must rhyme. The first and third lines of the first tercet are repeated as the final lines in all other tercets, forming the first refrain. The first and third lines in the first stanza are alternately repeated as the last line of each tercet and both are used as the final two lines of the poem, creating the second refrain. For example, in the translated version of “J’ay perdu ma Tourterelle,” the first stanza is:
I have lost my turtledove:
Isn’t that her gentle coo?
I will go and find my love.
The second stanza ends with “I have lost my turtledove,” while the third stanza ends with “I will go and find my love.” The pattern repeats in stanzas four and five, while the ending quatrain consists of:
Death, again entreated of,
Take one who is offered you:
I have lost my turtledove;
I will go and find my love.
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As the modernist movement grew in popularity during the twentieth century, the villanelle declined in popularity. Many modernist poets opposed the use of strict structure in their poetic works. They believed that heavily restricted forms of poetry stifled their creativity and slowed the evolution of artistic writing. Because villanelles are highly structured poems, few modernists adopted the formerly popular poetic form. Despite this, villanelles did not disappear entirely, and many non-modernists continued to utilize the villanelle structure in their writings throughout the twentieth century. In the modern era, villanelles are sometimes included as examples of poetic structures in creative writing programs. Some famed twentieth-century poets, such as Sylvia Plath and Elizabeth Bishop, also utilized the villanelle format in their personal works.
One of the most famous examples of a twentieth-century villanelle is Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do not go gentle into that good night.” Thomas’s work is a reflection on death, likely written in anticipation of his father’s passing. It has been the focus of significant literary analysis and is considered the poet’s most enduring work.
Bibliography
Finch, Annie. “What Is Poetry?” AnnieFinch.com, 2023, anniefinch.com/what-is-poetry/. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.
Ringo, Heather, and Kashyap, Athena. “What Is Poetry?” LibreTexts, human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Literature‗and‗Literacy/Writing‗and‗Critical‗Thinking‗Through‗Literature‗(Ringo‗and‗Kashyap)/06%3A‗About‗Poetry/6.01%3A‗What‗is‗Poetry. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.
“Villanelle.” Poets.org, poets.org/glossary/villanelle. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.
“Villanelle Definition.” LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/villanelle. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.
Yamasaki, Parker. “Stanzas in Poetry: Definition and Examples.” Grammarly, 26 Apr. 2023, www.grammarly.com/blog/stanzas-in-poetry/. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.