A
villanelle (or occasionally villonelle) is a poem of nineteen lines, named for the French poet [Francois Villon]
? (
1431-1474
?). It consists of five stanzas of three lines each (rhyme scheme A B A) with a quatrain (A B A A) at the end. In addition to the rhyme scheme, the first and third lines alternately recur throughout (see
/Example). Originally a French poetic form, it is not easily adaptable to English (a notable exception being
Dylan Thomas'
"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night".)