Form
The villanelle has no established meter, although most 19th-century villanelles have used trimeter or tetrameter and most 20th-century villanelles have used pentameter. The essence of the fixed modern form is its distinctive pattern of rhyme and repetition. The rhyme-and-refrain pattern of the villanelle can be schematized as A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2 where letters ("a" and "b") indicate the two rhyme sounds, upper case indicates a refrain ("A"), and superscript numerals (1 and 2) indicate Refrain 1 and Refrain 2.
- Refrain 1 (A1)
- Line 2 (b)
- Refrain 2 (A2)
- Line 4 (a)
- Line 5 (b)
- Refrain 1 (A1)
- Line 7 (a)
- Line 8 (b)
- Refrain 2 (A2)
- Line 10 (a)
- Line 11 (b)
- Refrain 1 (A1)
- Line 13 (a)
- Line 14 (b)
- Refrain 2 (A2)
- Line 16 (a)
- Line 17 (b)
- Refrain 1 (A1)
- Refrain 2 (A2)
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