Villanelle Variations The standard structure of a Villanelle is as follows: 1B2 AB1 AB2 AB1 AB2 AB12 Letters stand in for rhyming scheme and numbers stand in for repeated lines. EG: (Villanelle in nonametre) Insomnia Villanelle A red LED kept still alight The room filled red, or squared incursions Up at three AM, low contrast moves Low shunting hums shuffle at windows Flicked switch never off; on in tension A red LED kept still alight Clattering click on plastic glass blows Double-paned argon stuck in motion Up at three AM, low contrast moves The tiny point could cast such shadows Miniscule traces of erosion A red LED kept still alight Slight drips of HVAC betray such air flows Twisting left once, to sped-up torsion Up at three AM, low contrast moves Beyond nylon drapes, permanent glows Standing wave summer's subtle fusion A red LED kept still alight Up at three AM, low contrast moves V1 -- Homophonic, Homonymic & Heteronymic Villanelles The repeated lines in the Villanelle are identical to each other, but only phonically. Words sound the same, but they mean different things. Or, the repeated lines in the Villanelle are identical in spelling, but their meaning and pronunciation are different. Words look the same, but they mean different things; words sound the same but mean different things. A) Homophonic variant - the repeated lines are completely homophonic; syllabic structure is as follows: 876/678/876/678/876/8786 Holy Bight Bite Wholly Cited bytes' sensor reigns wholly as they pass through such a place so seize two by vain ways Overlaid passages kept partly parted in case sighted bites censor rains, holy Overlook from disparate ledges in towards an empty face sow seas too, buy vein wheys Closest to the edges but only once in this case sited bights, censer reins (holey) Remains of those privileges Cannot but only erase sew sees to (bye) vane weighs Lacking in all those overages needed to make the displace cited bytes' sensor reigns wholly so seize two by vain ways B) Heteronymic variant -- the repeated lines are heteronymic with changing meaning based on pronunciation with the spelling remaining identical; syllabic structure is as follows: 545/445/445/445/445/4455 Presents Project Wound subjects present Presently, yes Complex project lead Air pressure weighs As a compress Wound subjects present Bridge gateway As a redress Complex project lead Corps de ballet (Nevertheless) Wound subjects present At a buffet Not quite endless Complex project lead Stuck in Chimay It's all a mess Wound subjects present Complex project lead V2 -- Bilingual Villanelle A Villenelle in which the repeated lines are in L'egal Franglais and each stanza is either in French or English. The following pattern can be utilised: 1B2 (eng) AB1 (fr) AB2 (fr) AB1 (eng) AB2 (eng) AB12 (eng) EG: (A Villanelle of the above structure in L'egal Franglais w/ 5 words per line) Dent Defile (Tooth Parade) Tape a chat, rayon Roman Did you ask for sense? Labour laid on reel, entrain! L'effet de texte residual {The effect of text residual} Dans roman, les lignes d'elegence {In the novel lines of elegance} Tape a chat rayon roman {Cat tape radius novel} "Can't scan, must do manual" Rolling scrape of constant presence Labour laid on reel, entrain! Gathered crowd disperses, all gradual Through a viewfinder framed dense Tape a chat, rayon Roman Tu affiches en dés, dual {You display on cubes, dual} Simuler, c'est tout, en reference {Simulate, that's all, as reference} Labour laid, on reel entrain! {Ugly tillage, we're going crazy!} If it was the usual They didn't give it deference Tape a chat, rayon Roman Labour laid on reel, entrain! **NOTE: this villanelle variant can be used in any two languages with overlapping vocabulary (whether the words mean the same thing in both languages or not); however, both languages must share a writing system for this constraint to work** V3 -- Decomposition Villanelle A decomposition Villanelle in which the text is increasingly lipogramatic in each stanza. The repeated lines must be converted to conform to the lipogram constraint; however, it must mean the same thing. The letters in the two rhyming endings must not be included in the lipogram. EG: (In this case, the poem doesn't disintegrate, but each stanza is a lipogram in all the letters which are not contained in the line repeated. Also, it uses nonametre.) To play a Game of Backgammon And to play a round of Backgammon (AKA Shesh Besh or Narde, nearly) Mind configuration, lastly, morph To lay back, to land far too normal And to fork back food usually And to play a round of Backgammon To Philo's opus confirm, formal Flip through it fast or casually Mind configuration, lastly, morph And on ground a mark of plans, Dormal? No, a mark of round, dark plays (no dally) And to play a round of Backgammon Don't romp through locations of past partial (Fish cold arrays on, figurally) Mind configuration, lastly, morph To sip from glass or crystal (formal?) And to yap at nothing finally And to play a round of Backgammon Mind configuration lastly morph V4 -- Villanelle with Syllabic Constraint Combine the larger scale Villanelle structure with a smaller scale syllabic structure, constraint or poetic metre. An example of this would be a Villanelle with a Haiku as each stanza. EG: (A Haiku Villanelle except the last stanza which is a clinamen) Along the Ceiling A drip through the crack Start-stop configuration Slight flinch on dropped path Slip in front of it Lean left for animation A drip through the crack Too strong Akvavit A musty emanation Slight flinch on dropped path Grinding with the grit There is no reservation A drip through the crack There is a digit Of no other relation Slight flinch on dropped path Standing for a bit Got off at the last station A drip through the crack Slight flinch on dropped path V5 -- Single Rhyme Villanelle Switch a rhyming line out for a repeated line so that the Villanelle is now of the following format: 123 A21 A23 A21 A23 A213 [In this example, the ends of the lines A do not rhyme; however, the same first word is repeated] The Cat Returning Since last week The cat has returned At the same time everyday; And at maybe six o'clock The cat has returned At the same time everyday; And during the workweek The cat has returned at the same time everyday; And for luncheon The cat has returned Since last week; And even for midnight snacks The cat has returned At the same time everyday; And in the morning the cat has returned at the same time everyday. V6 -- All-Repetition Villanelle A Villanelle in which all lines are repeated. There is no rhyming anywhere. Meaning is modulated in every stanza and line through moving or adding punctuation and brackets. The form of this Villanelle is as follows: 123 421 423 421 423 4213 Eg: A variation based on Marcel Benabou's combinatorial aphorisms Aphorisms are split into two parts at the clause seams then combined in repetition. The Villanelle structure coordinates the poem. AB CD EF GH CB AD GF CH ED GD CB AH GD CF EH GH CD AB EF So: Added Ages Every dog has its day Every cloud has silver lining Don't count your chickens before they hatch A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush Every cloud has its day Every dog has silver lining A bird in the hand is better until they hatch Every cloud is better than two in the bush Don't count your chickens' silver lining A bird in the hand is better than silver lining Every cloud has its day Every dog is better than two in the bush A bird in the hand is better than silver lining Every cloud, until they hatch Don't count your chickens better than two in the bush A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush Every cloud has silver lining Every dog has its day Don't count your chickens before they hatch V7 -- Villanelle Royale Integrating the Chant Royale form into a Villanelle. At the point of integration, the Villanelle wraps around the Chant Royale's rhyme scheme while the Chant Royale expands and reproduces the Villanelle. It is possible, as it is with all rhyme schemes, to utilise the rhyme scheme format as repeated words in sentences, ouliporhymes (rolling endings which together spell out a complete word), tautogrammic repetitions, and others. The form is as follows: 132 AB1 AB2 CC1 DD2 3D12 (the above X5 times as 5 sections) + DD3D3