Saturday, November 11, 2006

The Villanous Villanelle

I am feeling slightly bereft without a poetry task this week. I know that I could set myself one but it just isn't the same - although that is probably just laziness on my part! I liked the challenge of having a set task - although I did struggle a little with the sestina. Maybe I should try and write a villanelle - that seems even tougher to me than the sestina. In theory it should be easier as you are repeating whole lines instead of just words. The sestina is a bit like a mathematical formula which is tricky but with the villanelle I think the important (and difficult) thing is to find lines thatb are powerful enough to be repeated without sounding silly or losing their power...no one does this as well as Dylan Thomas...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

go ahead and try it. If it doesn't turn out well, it's not as if you have to commit harakiri (or whatever they call it)

:)

Chaotic Mom said...

I say GO FOR IT! I didn't understand much of what you were talking about, but challenging yourself is always good.

Hey, I have a "Thanks for Mom" contest on my blog right now. Maybe write a poem of thanks for mothers? Doesn't need to be anything like greeting card mushy prose. I have a feeling you could be REALLY CREATIVE with this one. ;)

theprovocativecynic said...

Aha - another Dylan Thomas fan! Good choice - tried RS Thomas?

We weren't asked to write set forms last year on the course, although we did work through them in class. I therefore stuck to my own ad-hoc forms (i.e. instinct) but now wish I had had to find the self-discipline needed to write a sestina etc.

I most fancy the Terza rima or whatever it's called - the form that GSz specialises in.