Villanelle Reactions

Personally, I fully enjoyed “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, “If I Could Tell You”,  and “Mad Girl’s Love Song”.  Each of these Villanelles have a catchy rhythm that is easy to follow based on the rhyme scheme and repetition of important lines. The three villanelles listed above felt more personal than the “Double Villanelle” and were easily relatable due to the consistent use of “I” and “we”. The repetition of a symbolic line at the end of each stanza helps to remind the reader of the larger picture and the deeper meaning. The rhyme scheme and repetition create a serious tone that suggests the romance of time, love, death, and life. My favorite of the four is “If I Could Tell You” because it suggests conflict between the known and the unknown through contrast of the present and the future. I find that the significance of the “Double Villanelle” is harder to decipher which made it a more frustrating read.