Poetry Blog #5

The basic structure of a villanelle is a nineteen-line poem with two repeating rhymes and two refrains, with the rhyme scheme of ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA. So, with just that said, of course all three of the villanelles are a correct use of the form. However, if I had to pick one that makes better use of the form, I would favor Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art" as the best. The main purpose of the villanelle is to develop as deep of levels of inner meaning as possible, while making everything the same, yet different. Bishop develops her villanelle from losing simple door keys to losing a person, continuously repeating the phrase "the art of losing's not too hard to master", giving the phrase a different meaning/context each time it comes back in the poem. Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and Theodore Roethke's "The Waking" also usethe similar evolving phrase style, but it doesn't build their poems into the dynamic comparison that Bishop's does with the art of losing something or someone.