1. Study previously written villanelles.
2. Think about the structure.
3. Look at the repetitive rhyme pattern carefully.
4. Choose two lines that you want to repeat throughout the poem.
5. Establish your two rhyming lines in stanza one.
6. Alternate the lines you chose as the last line of each successive stanza.
7. Proofread and workshop.
8. Read for an audience.

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• by Jenny Hudock

• The villanelle was borrowed from French poets, but did not begin to appear in English poetry until the 1800s. University of Northern Iowa: Villanelle Deriving from the Italian word, "villano," it was originally a type of Italian country song that followed no set form at all. Poets.org: Poetic Form: Villanelle Today's villanelle follows a unique, yet repetitive, rhyme pattern which lends a haunted quality to the narrative voice.

• Before you begin writing, you will want to take some time studying various villanelles to see how they are written. Sylvia Plath, Dylan Thomas, Edmund Gosse, Oscar Wilde, Theodore Roethke and Elizabeth Bishop are just a few of the more famous poets who dabbled in the villanelle.

• There are a few basic structural elements that you'll want to pay close attention to:

1. Villanelles consist of nineteen lines. Poets.org: Poetic Form: Villanelle
2. They have six stanzas: University of Houston-Victoria: Celebrate Poetry Month: Write a Villanelle (April 1, 2008)
   1. The first five stanzas contain three lines.
   2. Stanza six has four lines and ends in a rhymed couplet made up of lines one and three from the first stanza. University of Northern Iowa: Villanelle
3. There are two rhymes throughout the entire villanelle. Poets.org: Poetic Form: Villanelle
4. They are usually written in tetrameter or pentameter.
   1. Tetrameter: a line containing four metrical feet (eight beats) like the iambic tetrameter: daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM, that places the stress on every second beat. Tetrameter: A Page Devoted To Four Footed-Verse
   2. Pentameter: a line containing five metrical feet (ten beats) like the popular iambic pentameter: daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM, which places stress on every second beat. Rutgers University: Pentameter

• The unique thing about the villanelle is that it contains two rhyming lines that repeat cyclically throughout the poem as a refrain. The first and third line introduced in stanza one alternately repeat at the end of each successive stanza. University of Northern Iowa: Villanelle The rhyme pattern is ABA all throughout the poem, except for the final stanza, which is ABAA and ends in a couplet.

1. To get started, you might want to choose your pair of rhyming lines. Writing-World.com: Poetic Forms: Villanelle For example, I will be referring to a villanelle entitled "The House on the Hill", by poet Edwin Arlington Robinson. Rice University: "The House on the Hill" The pair of repetitive rhyming lines are:
   • They are all gone away
   • There is nothing left to say.
2. Both lines are established in stanza one and the B rhyme is sandwiched in between them. University of Northern Iowa: Villanelle I have indicated the repeating lines with -1 and -2. All other lines A or B simply follow the rhyme without repetition elsewhere:
   • They are all gone away, (A-1)
   • The house is shut and still, (B)
   • There is nothing more to say. (A-2) Rice University: "The House on the Hill"
3. In stanza two, the pattern is ABA-1, with line one repeating at the end: University of Houston-Victoria: Celebrate Poetry Month: Write a Villanelle (April 1, 2008)
   • Through broken walls and gray (A)
   • The winds blow bleak and shrill: (B)
   • They are all gone away. (A-1) Rice University: "The House on the Hill"
4. Stanza three rhymes line one with the A pattern, line two in the B pattern and repeats A-2 in line three. Writing-World.com: Poetic Forms: Villanelle
   • Nor is there one today (A)
   • To speak them good or ill: (B)
   • There is nothing more to say. (A-2) Rice University: "The House on the Hill"
5. Like stanza two, stanza four follows the ABA-1 pattern. University of Houston-Victoria: Celebrate Poetry Month: Write a Villanelle (April 1, 2008)
   • Why is it then we stray (A)
   • Around the sunken sill? (B)
   • They are all gone away. (A-1) Rice University: "The House on the Hill"
6. Stanza five follows the pattern of stanza three, A-2 as the third line. Arizona State University: Villanelle
   • And our poor fancy-play (A)
   • For them is wasted skill: (B)
   • There is nothing more to say. (A-2) Rice University: "The House on the Hill"
7. The sixth and final stanza is a quatrain that follows the rhyme pattern ABAA. The final two finish off the poem by repeating A-1 and A-2. Arizona State University: Villanelle
   • There is ruin and decay (A)
   • In the House on the Hill. (B)
   • They are all gone away, (A-1)
   • There is nothing more to say. (A-2) Rice University: "The House on the Hill"

• As with all poetry, you will want to carefully edit your poem. You may even want to consider getting feedback from a poetry workshop. Once you feel your villanelle is ready for the world, share it. There are a number of online poetry sharing communities, journals seeking new poetry to publish, or, if you're feeling really brave, stand up at an open-mic night and read your poem for an audience.