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Webster 1913 Edition

Villanelle

‖

Vilˊla-nelle′

,
Noun.
[F.]
A poem written in tercets with but two rhymes, the first and third verse of the first stanza alternating as the third verse in each successive stanza and forming a couplet at the close.
E. W. Gosse.

Definition 2024

villanelle

villanelle

English

Noun

villanelle ‎(plural villanelles)

  1. (poetry) A type of poem, consisting of five tercets and one quatrain, with only two rhymes.

Derived terms

Etymology

From the French villanelle, from Italian villanella, from villano ‎(“peasant”), from Latin villanus ‎(“farmhand”), from villa ‎(“estate”). The origin references the pastoral themes originally associated with this form.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛl

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