The Villainous Villanelle

The Villanelle is a more tricky form to master, but it produces remarkable results with a little bit of effort.
To summarise, it is a 19 line poem, consisting of five 3-line stanzas and a final 4 - line stanza. Two lines repeat throughout the poem, which means you have to write 11 unique lines, plus the two which repeat. In addition to this, there is a rhyme scheme, using two rhymes (a and b).
a b a   a b a   a b a   a b a   a b a   a b a a
You do not have to count the syllables of your lines, unless you want to, but lines should be consistent in length (between 8 - 10 syllables).

The first step is to write a rhyming couplet which contains the main theme of your poem. It must have a 'stand alone' sense but should also be possible to be used individually as the concluding lines of your stanzas.
Dylan Thomas wrote one of the most famous villanelles in English literary history. You can read the full text HERE. His repeating lines are:

Do not go gentle into that good night     (lines 1, 6, 12, 18)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light  (lines 3, 9, 15, 19)

Schematic:

Line 1 (a) Repeat
Line 2 (b)
Line 3 (a) Repeat

Line 4 (a)
Line 5 (b)
Line 1 (a) R

Line 7 (a)
Line 8 (b)
Line 3 (a) R

Line 10 (a)
Line 11 (b)
Line 1   (a) R

Line 13 (a)
Line 14 (b)
Line 3   (a) R

Line 16 (a)
Line 17 (b)
Line 1   (a) R
Line 2   (a) R

This may seem like an impossible task, but examples of amazing villanelles are to be found on this blog.

Click the links below:

 Cheron ~ Burnt Out

Meleza ~ A Letter to my Grandfather

Yuktha ~ Winter has been Blown Away

Pryaska ~ Far Above the Milky Way

Nsiki ~ Death of Nature

Be Inspired by Music! (A Poetry Prompt)

For those who prefer a less formal approach to writing poetry, it is best to allow ideas to flow in Free Verse. Remember that correct phrasing and some punctuation is still necessary for your writing to make sense to your reader. When you do not have a fixed idea of what to write about, a favourite song can provide a starting point.

This is my favourite song of April.





 If you like it too, why not write a poem beginning with the words:

Once I was _________ years old...

Supply your own landmark years; think of where you have come from and where you are going in life, as well as those important people who have helped you on you way.

National Poetry Writing Month ~ April 2016

April is upon us once again, and the invitation is advanced to all Ladysmith High students to join in the personal challenge of writing a poem a day, or a poem every two days, or four poems in total, or whatever you can manage. However, I must emphasize that this blog has a strict NON-PLAGIARISM POLICY. I will be checking the originality of your material and will have nothing further to do with anyone who tries to pass off another poet's work as their own.

This year, I will share a few ideas for your writing process. When it is difficult to find daily inspiration, it is often useful to choose a simple form and a single idea and see where it will take you. In order to reference these prompts at a later date, click on the "Format" or "Prompt" label in the right side bar.

THE CAMEO

The Cameo is a purely syllabic form consisting of six lines with the following syllable count:

2, 5, 8, 3, 8, 7, 2. 

It is English in origin and is well-suited to a brief portrait in words, or character-based  piece. No rhyme is needed but an ability to count syllables will help!


Schematic (where x is one syllable, not one word):

xx
xxxxx
xxxxxxxx
xxx
xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx
xx

RUBAI

This poetical stanza is Persian in origin, made famous by a collection attributed to a poet named Omar Khayyam. It also requires a syllable count, but each line has a standard 10 syllables. In addition it has a simple rhyme scheme: a a b a

Schematic (where x is on syllable and a / b indicate rhymes):

xxxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxxb
xxxxxxxxxa


Have fun with these! Remember to email your finished poems to me.