In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle introduces one of the most distinctive, and contentious, verse forms
‘What is a villanelle?’ is a question that anyone who encounters the word is likely to be stumped by, since, unlike a sonnet or a limerick, its precise structure and form are not widely known about. A villanelle remains a more specialised and lesser-known verse form alongside its more famous cousins. Yet some of the most influential poets of the twentieth century, including W. H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, and Sylvia Plath, all wrote villanelles. What is a villanelle, and why would anyone want to write one?