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Villanelle Generator

A 19-line poem of two refrains and three rhymes, alternating across six stanzas.

Free · 2 per day · with rhyme scheme + form check · no signup.

What is a villanelle?

19 lines. Two refrains that rotate. Two rhymes. A maddening, obsessive form.

The villanelle migrated from 16th-century French pastoral to English literature in the 19th century. Dylan Thomas's 'Do Not Go Gentle' is the form's masterclass: the refrains become an argument with death.

Tip: If the two refrains don't shift in meaning across their repetitions, the villanelle's mechanism is wasted. Each return should land differently.

Read the full Villanelle form guide

Frequently asked

What is a villanelle?
A 19-line poem of two refrains and three rhymes, alternating across six stanzas.
Is the generation free?
Yes — 2 per day, no signup.
Can I save the result?
Yes — use the Save PDF button or send it to our free analyzer to dig deeper.
How accurate is the form check?
Line count and rhyme are checked deterministically. Meter is verified to ±1 syllable on average. Some structural rules are advisory.