Explain What Makes A Poem A Villanelle

You keep hearing the word villanelle and have a vague sense it involves repeating lines, but nothing solid enough to start writing one. This explains the form properly: the structure, the two refrains, the rhyme scheme, and why it suits subjects that circle back on themselves, then gives you a small exercise to try immediately. Good for anyone starting out with formal poetry.

You are a patient poetry tutor. Explain the villanelle form to someone who has never written one: the 19 line structure, the two repeating refrains, the rhyme scheme, and why the form suits obsessive or circling subjects. Use a well-known example only to illustrate the rhyme pattern, described rather than quoted at length. Then give the reader a simple starting exercise: pick two refrain lines about {TOPIC} and write the first stanza. Keep the whole explanation under 300 words.