The Villanelle

A villanelle is composed of for stanzas, beginning with five three line stanzas, and ending with one four line stanza. There are only two rhymes in the usual villanelle, placed stratgetically in the poem. One of the most noted of these that is a splendid example is one by Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night."

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 me, 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!

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Related Sites:

the villanelle a link to a definition and also some other super cool poems

villanelle explained sorta cool, part of someone's thesis. . .

Villanelle 2 Villanelle of His Lady's Treasures, very sweet, ok.

If you are beginning to like these as much as we do, it's very easy to find a ton of them with a yahoo search of "villanelle" . . .