How to write a villanelle poem in 7 steps
Learn to write a villanelle poem that repeats lines. Follow seven easy steps, from choosing a theme you care about to finishing your poem with polish.
Poetry has many forms, and one of the most interesting is the villanelle. This type of poem has been around for centuries, with roots in French and Italian poetry.
Famous poets like Dylan Thomas and Elizabeth Bishop have written beautiful villanelles.
A study of 50 modern poetry anthologies revealed that over 20% of modern poetry books include at least one villanelle.
While it may seem tricky at first, anyone can learn to write a villanelle with practice.
In this article, we’ll go through what a villanelle poem is, its structure, and seven simple steps to create this poem with examples.
By following these steps, you'll learn how to create a villanelle poem that repeats lines in a special pattern.
So, let’s get started.
Writing a villanelle can be both exciting and challenging. Many poets start with high hopes:
"Expectation: Writing a perfect villanelle"
"Reality: Trying to remember which line repeats when"
What is a villanelle poem?
Villanelle poems are a special kind of poem with 19 lines. They are known for being musical and having a set pattern. These poems use repeating lines throughout.
Villanelles often talk about strong feelings or big ideas. They can be about happy or sad topics.
Poets like this type of poem because it's challenging to write but can sound beautiful when done well.
The repeating lines in a villanelle help to emphasize important thoughts or feelings.
While they have strict rules, villanelles can still be very creative. Many famous poets have written villanelles over the years.
According to a survey conducted by the Poetry Foundation, about 15% of poets have tried writing a villanelle.
Structure of villanelle poem
Following are the important Villanelle rules that can help you structure your Villanelle poem:
1. Nineteen lines
A villanelle has exactly nineteen lines. This fixed length gives the poem a structured feel. Every line is important, as there's no room for extra words.
Poets should try to carefully choose each word to fit their message into this set number of lines. This limitation often leads to very focused, powerful poems.
2. Five tercets
The poem begins with five groups of three lines each, called tercets. These tercets make up most of the poem. They allow the poet to develop ideas in small chunks.
Each tercet builds on the last, creating a rhythm and flow. The tercets also help to emphasize the repeated lines.
3. One quatrain
The poem ends with a single four-line stanza, called a quatrain. This final stanza stands out from the rest of the poem.
It often provides a conclusion or a twist to the poem's theme. The quatrain ties everything together and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
4. Two repeating rhymes
Throughout the poem, only two rhyme sounds are used. This limited villanelle rhyme scheme creates a musical quality and unity in the poem.
It challenges the poet to find creative ways to use these rhymes. The repeated sounds also help to emphasize important ideas and create a memorable rhythm.
5. Refrains
Certain lines in a villanelle repeat throughout the poem. These repeated lines are called refrains. They appear in a set pattern, adding structure and emphasis to the poem.
Refrains often carry the main idea or emotion of the poem, becoming more meaningful each time they repeat.
6. Iambic pentameter
Most villanelles use iambic pentameter, a rhythm where each line has five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables.
This creates a natural, speech-like flow to the poem. It gives the villanelle a formal, traditional sound while allowing for variations to keep the poem interesting.
7 steps to writing a villanelle poem
Here are the 7 basic steps that can help you create your own Villanelle poem:
1. Choose your theme or subject
Think about what you want your poem to be about. It could be a feeling, like love or sadness, or something you see, like a sunset or a busy street.
Pick a topic that's important to you. For example, you might choose "friendship" as your theme.
2. Write two refrains (repeating lines)
Refrains are lines that will repeat in your poem. They should be strong and meaningful. For your friendship theme, you might write:
"A friend's warm smile lights up my day"
"True friendship lasts through thick and thin"
These lines will appear multiple times in your poem, so try to make them good.
3. Create a rhyme scheme (A, B)
Pick two rhyming sounds. We'll call them A and B. In our example:
- There could be words that rhyme with "day" (like say, way, play)
- B could be words that rhyme with "thin" (like win, begin, and chin)
You'll use these rhymes throughout your poem.
4. Write the first tercet
A tercet is a group of three lines. Your first tercet can look like this:
- Line 1: First refrain (A)
- Line 2: New line that rhymes with B
- Line 3: Second refrain (B)
For example:
"A friend's warm smile lights up my day" (A)
"We laugh and share both joy and pain" (B)
"True friendship lasts through thick and thin" (B)
5. Compose the remaining tercets
You'll write four more tercets. Each follows this pattern:
- Line 1: New line that rhymes with A
- Line 2: New line that rhymes with B
- Line 3: First refrain or second refrain (alternating)
For example, your second tercet might be:
"In troubled times, friends find a way" (A)
"To lift our spirits once again" (B)
"A friend's warm smile lights up my day" (A)
Keep going until you have five tercets total.
6. Create the final quatrain
A quatrain is a group of four lines. It's the last part of your poem and follows this pattern:
- Line 1: New line that rhymes with A
- Line 2: New line that rhymes with B
- Line 3: First refrain (A)
- Line 4: Second refrain (B)
For example:
"Through ups and downs, come what may" (A)
"Our bond grows stronger, genuine" (B)
"A friend's warm smile lights up my day" (A)
"True friendship lasts through thick and thin" (B)
7. Revise and refine your poem
Read your poem out loud.
- Does it sound good?
- Do the words flow nicely?
Make changes if needed. Check that you've followed the pattern correctly.
Make sure each line has about ten syllables (for iambic pentameter). Keep working on it until you're happy with how it sounds and feels.
After following these steps, you might surprise yourself with your first villanelle. It's a great feeling when you finally complete one:
"You have finished your first villanelle"
"And it actually makes sense!"
Don't have time to write a villanelle by your own? Start writing it with our AI poem maker online.
5 examples of villanelle poem
These are some famous villanelle poems examples:
1. Do not go gentle into that good night
Poet: Dylan Thomas
Written in: 1947
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.
Summary
This poem is about fighting against death. The poet tells people not to accept death quietly, but to fight hard against it.
He talks about different types of people - wise men, good men, wild men, and serious men - all fighting death in their own ways.
The poem repeats the lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" to stress this idea.
At the end, the poet speaks to his dying father, asking him to fight against death too.
2. One art
Poet: Elizabeth Bishop
Written in: 1976
The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.
—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
Summary
This poem is about losing things and how we deal with it. The poet says that losing is an art we can learn.
She starts with small losses like keys, then moves to bigger ones like houses and cities.
The poem suggests that we should practice accepting losses to make them hurt less. Even when losing someone we love, the poet says we can handle it.
The message is that loss is a normal part of life, and we can learn to cope with it.
3. If I could tell you
Poet: W. H. Auden
Written in: 1940
Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
There are no fortunes to be told, although,
Because I love you more than I can say,
If I could tell you I would let you know.
The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,
There must be reasons why the leaves decay;
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
Perhaps the roses really want to grow,
The vision seriously intends to stay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
Suppose all the lions get up and go,
And all the brooks and soldiers run away;
Will Time say nothing but I told you so?
If I could tell you I would let you know.
Summary
This poem is about how time keeps moving and we can't always know what will happen in the future.
The poet wishes he could tell someone (maybe someone he loves) what's going to happen, but he can't.
He talks about different things that might happen, like clowns making us cry or music making us trip.
The poem says that time will always just say "I told you so" after things happen. It's about uncertainty in life and how we can't predict everything.
4. The house on the hill
Poet: Edwin Arlington Robinson
Written in: 1894
They are all gone away,
The House is shut and still,
There is nothing more to say.
Through broken walls and gray
The winds blow bleak and shrill:
They are all gone away.
Nor is there one to-day
To speak them good or ill:
There is nothing more to say.
Why is it then we stray
Around the sunken sill?
They are all gone away,
And our poor fancy-play
For them is wasted skill:
There is nothing more to say.
There is ruin and decay
In the House on the Hill:
They are all gone away,
There is nothing more to say.
Summary
This poem is about an old, empty house on a hill. Everyone who used to live there has left, and the house is falling apart.
The poet talks about how the wind blows through the broken walls, making sad sounds.
He wonders why people still visit the house when there's nothing left to see or say. The poem gives a feeling of sadness and loss.
It reminds us that things and people don't last forever. The message is that we should remember the past but also accept that things change and life moves on.
5. Mad girl's love song
Poet: Sylvia Plath
Written in: 1951
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan's men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I fancied you'd return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
Summary
This poem is about a girl who feels sad and alone. She thinks about someone she loved, but isn't sure if that person was real or just in her imagination.
The girl feels like she can control the world by opening and closing her eyes.
She remembers happy times with her love, but also feels hurt because they didn't come back.
The poem shows how powerful our thoughts can be, and how love can sometimes feel like a dream.
In the end, the girl wishes she had loved something more dependable, like a thunderbird.
Summing Up
Villanelle poems are special and beautiful. They have a set pattern with 19 lines and repeating parts.
Writing a villanelle can be fun and challenging. It helps you think creatively and express your feelings in a unique way.
Anyone can learn to write this poem. Writing villanelles can help you become a better poet and express your thoughts in new ways.
Famous poets have written great villanelles. Why not give it a try today? Pick a topic you love and start writing your own villanelle.
Additional Guides:
- 9 Steps for Writing Effective Free Verse Poems
- Rules of Writing an Elegy Poem
- How to write a limerick? (A complete guide)
- 5 Tips to Write an Ode Poem for Beginners
FAQ’s
1. How many lines does a villanelle have?
A villanelle always has 19 lines. It's made up of five three-line stanzas and one four-line stanza at the end.
2. Do villanelles have to rhyme?
Yes, villanelles have a specific rhyme pattern. They use two rhyme sounds throughout the poem, alternating in a set way.
3. What is a refrain in a villanelle?
A refrain is a line that repeats in the poem. Villanelles have two refrains that appear several times throughout the 19 lines.
4. What topics can villanelles be about?
Villanelles can be about any topic. They often explore strong emotions or big ideas, but can also be about simple, everyday things.
5. Who can write a villanelle?
Anyone can write a villanelle. With practice, both beginners and experienced poets can create these special poems. It just takes patience and creativity.
