American Literature / Unit 17 AML 1613 short lesson, about 20 seconds
"One Art" and the Villanelle
Captions available
The idea
A villanelle runs nineteen lines in five tercets and a quatrain, with two refrain lines repeating through it and pairing at the end. The witness says the form's rigid structure helps a poet restrain emotion that might otherwise run to excess, which is exactly what "One Art" does.
In practice
Nineteen lines, two refrains, one restrained grief.
Where people slip
The refrains may shift wording slightly.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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