Villanelle Poem Definition

At our February 22, 2011 meeting, there was discussion of some different poetry forms. One was the villanelle.

The villanelle has 19 lines, 5 stanzas of three lines and 1 stanza of four lines with two rhymes and two refrains. The 1st, then the 3rd lines alternate as the last lines of stanzas 2,3,and 4, and then stanza 5 (the end) as a couplet. The second lines of each stanza rhyme. The structure is:

line 1 - a – 1st refrain
line 2 - b
line 3 - a - 2nd refrain
line 4 - a
line 5 - b
line 6 - a – 1st refrain (same as line 1)
line 7 - a
line 8 - b
line 9 - a - 2nd refrain (same as line 2)
line 10 - a
line 11 - b
line 12 - a - 1st refrain (same as line 1)
line 13 - a
line 14 - b
line 15 - a - 2nd refrain (same as line 2)
line 16 - a
line 17 - b
line 18 - a - 1st refrain (same as line 1)
line 19 - a - 2nd refrain (same as line 2)

Here is an example of the form.

Stay With Me

Hold me close and hold me tight
Run your fingers through my hair
Stay with me all through the night
It feels so good, it feels so right
Say you love me if you dare
Hold me close and hold me tight
Tell me it will be alright
If only we could be a pair
Stay with me all through the night
We can share in great delight
Let me love you, let me care
Hold me close and hold me tight
I pray you will, I pray you might
Be the answer to my prayer
Stay with me all through the night
Be there in the morning light
Please do not go anywhere
Hold me close and hold me tight
Stay with me all through the night