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What Is a Villanelle? The Form, the Repeats, the Rules
A villanelle is a nineteen-line poem of five three-line stanzas and one closing quatrain, with two lines from the first stanza returning as refrains. Its rhyme scheme is ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA. Two rhyme sounds carry the whole poem, and the refrains take turns closing each stanza until they meet in the last two lines.
The form looks mechanical and often reads the other way: the repeats gather weight as the poem goes on. Below are the shape, a worked example, five steps, and the mistakes that flatten most drafts.
The shape, line by line
Nineteen lines are fixed, and so is the order of the rhymes. In the table, A1 and A2 are the two refrains.
| Stanza | Lines | Rhyme | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tercet 1 | 1–3 | A1 B A2 | Both refrains are introduced |
| Tercet 2 | 4–6 | A B A1 | Refrain 1 closes |
| Tercet 3 | 7–9 | A B A2 | Refrain 2 closes |
| Tercet 4 | 10–12 | A B A1 | Refrain 1 closes |
| Tercet 5 | 13–15 | A B A2 | Refrain 2 closes |
| Quatrain | 16–19 | A B A1 A2 | Both refrains finish the poem |
Two things follow: every stanza ends on a refrain, and the refrains alternate after the first. The A rhyme is needed seven times and the B rhyme six — that many end-words for each sound, from a language with few.
How the refrains move
The first refrain is line 1 and the second is line 3; line 2, rhyming with neither, sets the subject between them. Refrain 1 closes stanzas 2 and 4 and opens the closing pair; refrain 2 closes stanzas 3 and 5 and ends the poem. The quatrain adds one new A rhyme and one new B rhyme, then repeats both refrains in order.
A villanelle written for this page
Each line below carries its rhyme sound in brackets. Refrain 1 is The porch light keeps its word until the dawn; refrain 2 is and someone leaves the kettle on for me.
The porch light keeps its word until the dawn [A1] and waits beside a gate that will not close [B] and someone leaves the kettle on for me [A2] The garden holds the shape of what was drawn [A] where every quiet hour comes and goes [B] The porch light keeps its word until the dawn [A1] A broom against the wall, a coat half worn [A] a radio that talks into the sea [B] and someone leaves the kettle on for me [A2] The shutters take the weather and are torn [A] and none of this was ever asked to be [B] The porch light keeps its word until the dawn [A1] The dark arrives the way it has been born [A] a shadow on the step, a turning key [B] and someone leaves the kettle on for me [A2] The clock is patient, and the floorboards worn [A] the way a room keeps hold of what should be [B] The porch light keeps its word until the dawn [A1] and someone leaves the kettle on for me [A2]
Count them: four appearances of each refrain, with the last two lines together. The lines between move by small steps, so each repeat lands in a slightly different room.
Five steps for writing one
- Write the refrains first. Say each aloud seven times before drafting line 4. If they tire you, they will tire the reader.
- Fix the subject between them. Line 2 sets the poem's business; the two refrains should hold its opposite sides.
- Push each stanza a step further. Treat every stanza as a turn in scene, tense or address, so the refrain closes an argument that has moved.
- Collect the rhymes early. List your A words and B words before you need them. A rhyme kept only for its sound usually shows.
- Write the quatrain last. Lines 16 and 17 must hand the poem over, so draft them backwards from the refrains.
Where the difficulties are
Rhyme is the first. Seven uses of one sound forces borrowing, and a slightly loosened vowel is often better than a line that means nothing.
The second is staleness. A repeated line goes flat unless the meaning underneath shifts; enjambment helps by running the sentence across the line end, so the refrain joins a new statement (see what is enjambment). The third is the middle, where stanzas three and four feel like waiting — give each one concrete detail.
Three exercises
- Refrain pair only. Write ten pairs of opening lines. Keep the two that survive being read aloud six times.
- Rhyme inventory. Pick an A sound and list every usable word. If you cannot reach seven, choose another.
- Shift one word. Change a word in each return so the refrain tells a small story, then restore the exact line at the end.
Villanelle and its neighbours
Several forms are defined by repetition or interlocking rhyme, and are easy to confuse.
| Form | Shape | What repeats |
|---|---|---|
| Sonnet | 14 lines | Nothing is required; the turn carries the poem |
| Sestina | 39 lines, six-line stanzas | Six end-words rotate |
| Terza rima | Chains of tercets | Rhyme sounds link stanza to stanza |
| Villanelle | 19 lines | Two whole lines, then both at the close |
The mechanisms differ: the sestina rotates its words, terza rima passes its rhyme forward, the villanelle repeats two lines. All three are species of the refrain, a line returning at fixed points; see the rhyme scheme and stanza guides.
Common errors
- Using the wrong pattern. ABA BCB is closer to terza rima; in a villanelle the A rhyme never changes.
- Losing a refrain. Each of the first five stanzas ends on one of the two lines, alternating after the first.
- Leaving the quatrain unshaped. Lines 16 and 17 must prepare the refrains, not restate the tercets.
- Rhyming at the cost of sense. A line dragged into place reads as filler, and repetition makes that louder.
Frequently asked questions
How many lines does a villanelle have?
Nineteen: five stanzas of three lines and a closing stanza of four. The first and third lines of the opening stanza return as refrains, so two lines are used twice.
What is the rhyme scheme of a villanelle?
ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA. Two rhyme sounds carry the poem: A for the first and third lines of each tercet, B for the middle line, and the closing four lines run A, B, A, A.
Do the refrains have to stay word for word?
The strict form repeats them exactly, and many writers keep them exact so the accumulation can be heard. A villanelle may shift a word, provided the position holds, because the reader must still expect the line where it lands.
Why is a villanelle so hard to write?
Because English offers few rhyme words for a sound used seven times, and a repeated line goes stale if every return means the same thing. The usual answer is to write the refrains first, then keep the lines around them moving.
Does a villanelle have to be in iambic pentameter?
No. English writers often use five beats a line because it suits the language, but nothing in the shape requires it. The fixed rules are the line count, the stanzas, the rhymes and the two refrains.
There is no single correct version of a villanelle in English — follow the form you have chosen.