Hello, this is Frank Hubeny. Today’s form is the villanelle. Colin Lee used this form in a poem last month which gave me the idea to focus on villanelles today: https://pescetarianpoet.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/in-love-with-fantasies/
We’ve done villanelle’s before, but the last one was over two years ago and that was based on a repost of Samuel Peralta’s original post: https://dversepoets.com/2015/04/02/the-art-of-villanelle/ In that post you can find Dylan Thomas’ famous villanelle begging his dying father to rage against the night.
I see the villanelle as having two perspectives. There is a “theme” and there are the “details”. This is how I would go about writing a villanelle. If you have other methods let us know in the comments below.
First, I summarize the theme in a couplet. This is the punch line or the reason why I am writing the poem. I will use the idea that “the menu is not the meal” to come up with a couplet as my theme. You have probably heard that idea before. I will want to rephrase it so it doesn’t sound like a cliche. This is what I initially came up with.
The menu isn’t tasty like a meal.
Beware the dreamer’s trust in what is real.
I made each line a single sentence because these lines will be repeating throughout the villanelle. It makes it easier to connect them to something else if they can stand on their own as a sentence.
Second, I need to fill in the details. There are six mini-poems in a villanelle, one for each stanza, and I need to fill in the details so the resulting poem resonates with the reader and develops the theme. Here is the structure so far:
Detail 1: The menu isn’t tasty like a meal.
X-rhyme line
Beware the dreamer’s trust in what is real.
Detail 2: Line rhyming with meal
X-rhyme line
The menu isn’t tasty like a meal.
Detail 3: Line rhyming with meal
X-rhyme line
Beware the dreamer’s trust in what is real.
Detail 4: Line rhyming with meal
X-rhyme line
The menu isn’t tasty like a meal.
Detail 5: Line rhyming with meal
X-rhyme line
Beware the dreamer’s trust in what is real.
Detail 6: Line rhyming with meal
X-rhyme line
The menu isn’t tasty like a meal.
Beware the dreamer’s trust in what is real.
For Detail 1, I think I will use something like this:
The menu isn’t tasty like a meal.
It helps the heart decide on what to do.
Beware the dreamer’s trust in what is real.
If I like that first detail, I have a new constraint: the “X-rhyme line” should rhyme with “do”. The villanelle flips around on only two rhyme sounds. In this poem, it will be two sets of words rhyming with “do” and “meal”. Are there enough easy rhyme words so I don’t have to think too hard about the rhyme? If I have any doubts, I would go to http://www.rhymezone.com and look at the lists of rhyming words. For these two rhyme words, I see there should be plenty of them.
I haven’t finished this poem yet. It might look quite a bit different from this first draft, but I hope by the time this post appears I will have a poem I can link to it and serve as an example.
If you are like me you probably find villanelles difficult to write. If you have written one in the past, you are welcome to link that older poem for this challenge. It will be nice to see how people approach this form. Also, if you want to change the meter from iambic pentameter to something else, that is fine as well. It is also fine if you take the villanelle form and make something new out of it. If you do, let us know how your new form relates to the old villanelle.
Here are the general procedures:
- Write a villanelle (or a modified villanelle) on your blog or find one you have already written.
- Link that particular blog post in the Mister Linky below. It will be open for two days.
- Comment below if you would like to chat about your poem or are unclear about something or just to tell me you have linked something.
- Read what other poets have linked and comment on their poems. We get to know each other better that way.
dVerse 
Welcome everyone! Happy villanelle writing and thanks to Frank for hosting~
You’re welcome, Grace. I will have my villanelle up shortly.
Villanelle, it was a long time since my last one…. I like mine to dance a bit.
Dance, you say? Did we do a similar theme, my friend? Perhaps we should should tear of the dancefloor tonight!
Yours had a nice dance theme.
This form is a challenge for me. It may well a song that people dance to.
Good evening Grace. Thank you Frank for the opportunity to have another go at a villanelle. I’m afraid my typing may be wonky and I might not be able to read too many poems as my eyes are playing up after reading so many exam papers on-screen. I still haven’t finished and am waiting to hear from my team leader this evening. In fact, i have another couple of weeks left. I think I’m ready to go to bed very soon. But I will try to read as many posts as possible before I do.
Good luck with all that grading. It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. I’ll be reading it shortly.
I’ve just spotted a flaw – the final stanza is missing a line!
Hey, fellow poets! I’m bartering my villanelle for a glass of Tawny Port (LBV, if you please!). The painting is not meant to have a direct relationship to the poem… read much into the poem, less into the painting. But it is a painting with an interesting recent history (click the link that reads “Rembrandt,” and you’ll understand what I mean).
Whatever Tawny Port LBV is I’m sure it’s around here somewhere. I see your link!
Late Bottled Vintage, my good sir! Costs more; worth more.
As long as it tastes better.
Hooray! I love the Villanelle form and have written many over the years. I am posting a fresh one written this afternoon for the Summer Solstice. In keeping with my theme, Barkeep, may I have a Dances with Wenches (it’s a pirate drink), if you please? Rum & Cranberry juice 😉
I’m sure we have Dances with Wenches somewhere. Nice dancing villanelle to go with that drink.
Bed bugs kept me up all night … showing up at 3 pm EST for the first time! (Should I thank them?) Am I dreaming or did I just read my name? lol Thanks for hosting, Frank, and for using my humble scribble.
Have fun villanelling, everyone … while I’m gonna link a new one up now which is not so “fun”. Hm.
I’m glad you wrote that one last month. I wouldn’t know what form to use today.
It’s a very challenging form. And frankly I can’t follow the rhyme scheme religiously, especially with my limited ESL vocabulary. I tend to break up the rhymes between the refrains and the lyrical lines, to make myself more elbow room. Well, when Dylan Thomas didn’t follow a strict iambic scheme … I suppose some rules can be bent?
I don’t mind breaking the rules of these forms. They are only guides. What sounds good is what counts. The basic pattern is there in your poem. It is easy to tell it is like a villanelle.
Thank you for the licence, Frank. 😉
I can already see that I have slipped up with my villanelle – my final stanza has only three lines!
Modified villanelles are acceptable. I altered the form a bit in mine.
Ha! I’ve added a line and updated it! I hope it reads OK.
It read OK to me. The missing fourth line may have been one of those two repeating lines.
Hello everyone! Wel…I’ll admit it. I am very challenged by forms like these–I find them daunting! Poetic sudoku! But I gave it a whirl. Will read some know and then errands to run.
Friends we haven’t seen in 15 years here tomorrow. Should be fun — except 90 degrees is predicted!
I find them very difficult as well. Have fun with your friends. As far as the heat goes, you could pretend it’s a free sauna when you go outside.
Free sauna😊. I will remember that!
One of my favorite forms. I’ll try to get something posted later this evening.
Looking forward to it, Lynn! If you have an older poem that would work as well and give it more visibility.
Just shared a Villanelle which was originally posted some time ago, but it does I think deserve a second reading, as there are now many new poets here.
Previously posted villanelles are fine. I’ll take a look.
Hi y’all. Curious about new villanells, so like James I’m linking an old one but one many of you haven’t read. I’d like new comments as I’m reviewing my poems for submission. Thanks.
Old ones are fine. It is not easy on short notice to write one of these, at least, I don’t find it easy. I’ll take a look soon.
Thanks!
How nice (and challenging). I saw Collin’s Villanelle, too, when I visited his page and I was impressed and inspired to write one. I hope you do not mind, I will link the poem I wrote just a week ago. I will try to write a new one, too, time (and idea) permitting.
It doesn’t have to be a poem written now. A poem written a while ago is fine. It took me a long time to write mine and I would probably still be revising it except I figured I better have it linked by the time this post appeared.
I’m not gonna lie, this was ROUGH. Took forever!
So did mine. I was working on it for about four days (off and on, that is).
Glad it wasn’t just me!
It’s been so long since I was in the pub, I miss the poetry and love. I hope I could write villanelle, sounds tough and exciting. As always, I’ll come later, so save me some drink someone!
There’s plenty of drink. If you have an old villanelle that you wrote you could post that. It doesn’t have to be new.
Unfortunately, I don’t have. I just heard this form through your post. I’ll try my best to make up one?
A new one is good as well. Although it takes me a while to write these because I have a problem with the flow using the repetitive lines, you may be able to write a villanelle much faster, perhaps even in a few minutes. It is worth a try if only to get practice doing something new.
I just submitted it! It took me almost an hour, because I forsake the meter constraint, and used some repetitive rhymes. It was very delightful to write, thank you so much for bringing us this.
I just read it. A nice poem of love, marriage and beyond. I am glad you linked it up with us.
Always glad to be among great poets!
Wowza. This one is really hard, but I love me a challenge. 🙂
It is, but you don’t have to be strict about the form. You can bend the rules if you want as long as the final result looks sort of like a villanelle.
I will try to write a new villanelle but may have to post an old one.
This would be an opportunity to write a new one or even the first draft of a new one. One sometimes needs a challenge to get something done, even a draft. But an old one is fine as well.
Well, i gave it a shot.
I just read it and it looks to me well done. Thanks for linking it!
Thank you!
Thank you for this. I haven’t done this prompt – I’m in a state of constant rushing around for the next few days. I have written villanelles before, and I love your advice on writing them. The nuts and bolts and practicalities are very useful. I always like the way you write within tight constraints of metre and rhyme, and manage to make it sound unforced. Your description of how to do it made me reflect on my own practice when I’m writing something structured.
There will be other opportunities. I don’t respond to all prompts here either. What I find hard about the villanelle is to make it sound unforced with those repetitive lines breaking in. Some people are able to do this well. I struggle with it. When I think of this form as six separate poems held together by one theme it was to try to find a way to think about this form to write something that flowed better.
Thank you Frank, this is an interesting way to write a Villanelle. My process is similar. I choose a storyline or idea, strong rhymes, and then write what I hope are powerful repeating lines. Then, I fill in the remaining lines. Great prompt, I enjoy the Villanelle.
I just read your villanelle. It is very nice. The repeating lines need to be powerful and yours were. And you used strong rhymes. Thanks for linking it.
I’m coming to this rather late, so I’m taking up the offer to link an old one, which seems to be the only one I’ve ever written (or the only one I’ve been happy with anyway). I’ll try to find time to write another before the deadline.
As long as the Mister Linky is active it is early enough. I am glad you linked this. It shows how one could use a short line in a villanelle.
Thanks! I managed a new one, slightly altering my refrain lines at each repetition. I think I deserve a Tullamore Dew – neat, please. 🙂
Very nice villanelle. I like the idea of altering the phrasing of the refrain lines. The similarity in meaning is preserved and repeated. Whatever a Tullamore Dew is, you deserve it.
Thanks! Top-notch Irish whisky. (There’ll be a special bottle stashed under the bar somewhere, for discerning customers.)
I am later than Rosemary not least because I almost fell at the first fence but have battled on though that may not be the most poetic approach. Thank you Frank for stretching my abilities with this challenge. After I’d finished found a very nice Villanelle from Roethke
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/43333
Nice by villanelle by Roethke with the theme of learning by going where one has to go. I liked the irregular length in the lines of your villanelle, Laura. It stretched my imagination of what one can do with this form. I am glad you battled on and linked your poem.
Oh no! I thought these didn’t run out so fast. I just finished mine, I wanted to try it since I never wrote one before. I’ll wait to post it another time when we can catch up. If anyone wants to peek at it it’s at https://capriciouspoet.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/time-to-fly/
I’ve been so busy and hope everyone had a good weekend. I am very late it’s my fault. Group hug!
No problem, Bekkie! You linked it in a way by noting it here and I’m glad you did.
Thanks for coming by and giving me some guidence, Frank, I appreciate your time as always!
Feel free to share the poem this Thursday, for our OpenLinkNight !
Thank you, Grace, I will do so in the future!