English 343 Creative Writing: Poetry
Department of Continuing Studies
Dr. Steve Klepetar

EXERCISE 18 -- Villanelle.

A.  Reading

• Read the entry about the villanelle on page 281 in Writing Poems.
• The villanelle is a really cool form, one I have enjoyed experimenting with.  The poem contains six stanzas -- the first five have three lines (triplets) and the sixth has four lines (quatrain).  The rhyme scheme is simple enough: aba aba aba aba aba abaa.  What makes the villanelle so haunting is the repetition of lines: line one is repeated as line 6, 12 and 18; line 3 returns as lines 9, 15, and 19.  Here is Dylan Thomas' famous example, Do Not Go Gentle":

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.

• Here are two of my villanelle's:

Step In

"The winds that will be howling at all hours..."

Wordsworth

 Outside the winds howl and rant and scream,
Their teeth would like to chew the houses down.
Ignore them now and step into the dream.

Sleep's no longer possible. You seem
Distracted lately, frozen into frown
Because the winds just howl and rant and scream.

Drink your coffee hot and thick with cream,
Look out your window at the swirling town.
Ignore it all and step into the dream.

Warm your face in aromatic steam --
Your eyes look past reflection, deeper down;
Your ears hear winds that howl and rant and scream.

Slip your tired body in between
The place where night has torn her sable gown.
Ignore the world and step into the dream.

You see the strength of wind and rushing stream,
Great power of verb to drive the helpless noun.
Outside the winds still howl and rant and scream.
Ignore them now and slip into the dream.

Theory Is The Mind and Soul of Skill

Theory is the mind and soul of skill
As nerves bind brain to fingers, tongue and hand.
A webby world winds round air, sea and hill.

Sometimes in vivid dreams of flight and thrill
You jerk awake, bewildered on bare land.
Theory is the mind and soul of skill.

Imagination, like the arrow's quill,
Guides winged thoughts and words, habit be damned.
A webby world winds round air, sea and hill.

Brilliant light, white heat, fierce wind and chill:
Sun gleams off diamond snow or bone white sand.
Theory is the mind of soul and skill.

Clouds drape mountains where tiny alpine rill
Swells into a mighty river, and
A webby world winds round air, sea and hill.

Blessed mind and sacred body, won't you fill
All life with wonder, every strand?
Theory is the mind and soul of skill--
A webby world winds round air, sea and hill.

B.  Writing

• Try writing your own villanelle.
• You need to work on getting a striking first and third line, ones that will bear repetition.
• You can block out the poem, writing line 1 again for 6,12, and 18 and line 3 for 9, 15 and 19.
• Write out as many rhyme words for a and b as you can think of.  You can select from these for your rhymes as you work on the villanelle.
• This takes some effort, but once you get the hang of the form, it is a lot of fun, almost like a puzzle.  What is the effect of the repetitions on your poem?