Villanelle
Poetry Contest
This is part of my series of contests for those who would like something more challenging than a 2-4-2 or a 5-7-5 Once again, the entry fee is set quite high ($10) but you have time to save up your FS pennies. If all the spots are taken the winner will earn $90
Thanks to Wikipedia for this description of the form...
The villanelle consists of five stanzas of three lines (tercets) followed by a single stanza of four lines (a quatrain) for a total of nineteen lines. It is structured by two repeating rhymes and two refrains: the first line of the first stanza serves as the last line of the second and fourth stanzas, and the third line of the first stanza serves as the last line of the third and fifth stanzas. The rhyme-and-refrain pattern of the villanelle is:
A1
b
A2
a
b
A1
a
b
A2
a
b
A1
a
b
A2
a
b
A1
A2
The pattern is below set against "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas, the most famous example of the Villanelle in English
Do not go gentle into that good night, Refrain 1 (A1)
Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Line 2 (b)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Refrain 2 (A2)
Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Line 4 (a)
Because their words had forked no lightning they Line 5 (b)
Do not go gentle into that good night. Refrain 1 (A1)
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Line 7 (a)
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Line 8 (b)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Refrain 2 (A2)
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, Line 10 (a)
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Line 11 (b)
Do not go gentle into that good night. Refrain 1 (A1)
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Line 13 (a)
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Line 14 (b)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Refrain 2 (A2)
And you, my father, there on the sad height, Line 16 (a)
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Line 17 (b)
Do not go gentle into that good night. Refrain 1 (A1)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Refrain 2 (A2)
The villanelle has no established meter, although most 19th-century villanelles have used trimeter or tetrameter and most 20th-century villanelles have used pentameter. Slight alteration of the refrain line is permissible.
Again, you are encouraged to do your own reading about the form. There are several sites that offer to show you how to write one of these beasts. Refer back to Dylan Thomas's poem, as an example, and I will also be posting a villanelle myself in the next few days, but not as an entry in this contest. I will only enter at the end if there are unused slots.
Have fun, ask questions, choose your two rhymes wisely!
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool of 180.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 5 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Wednesday, September 28, 2016.
Full Contest Listing
Thanks to Wikipedia for this description of the form...
The villanelle consists of five stanzas of three lines (tercets) followed by a single stanza of four lines (a quatrain) for a total of nineteen lines. It is structured by two repeating rhymes and two refrains: the first line of the first stanza serves as the last line of the second and fourth stanzas, and the third line of the first stanza serves as the last line of the third and fifth stanzas. The rhyme-and-refrain pattern of the villanelle is:
A1
b
A2
a
b
A1
a
b
A2
a
b
A1
a
b
A2
a
b
A1
A2
The pattern is below set against "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas, the most famous example of the Villanelle in English
Do not go gentle into that good night, Refrain 1 (A1)
Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Line 2 (b)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Refrain 2 (A2)
Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Line 4 (a)
Because their words had forked no lightning they Line 5 (b)
Do not go gentle into that good night. Refrain 1 (A1)
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Line 7 (a)
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Line 8 (b)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Refrain 2 (A2)
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, Line 10 (a)
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Line 11 (b)
Do not go gentle into that good night. Refrain 1 (A1)
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Line 13 (a)
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Line 14 (b)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Refrain 2 (A2)
And you, my father, there on the sad height, Line 16 (a)
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Line 17 (b)
Do not go gentle into that good night. Refrain 1 (A1)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Refrain 2 (A2)
The villanelle has no established meter, although most 19th-century villanelles have used trimeter or tetrameter and most 20th-century villanelles have used pentameter. Slight alteration of the refrain line is permissible.
Again, you are encouraged to do your own reading about the form. There are several sites that offer to show you how to write one of these beasts. Refer back to Dylan Thomas's poem, as an example, and I will also be posting a villanelle myself in the next few days, but not as an entry in this contest. I will only enter at the end if there are unused slots.
Have fun, ask questions, choose your two rhymes wisely!
The contest winner will win half of the prize pool of 180.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 5 submissions must be made for the vote to begin.
Deadline: Contest is closed. Deadline was Wednesday, September 28, 2016.
