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Author: * Senex Caecilius -
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Date: Dec 1, 2007 - 14:59
The villanelle is a French adaptation of the Italian "country song." It contains 19 lines arranged as five tercets and one quatrain. It is usually written in iambic tetrameter or pentameter, but iambs and trochees are sometimes combined. The rhyme scheme is A1bA2 abA1 abA2 abA1 abA2 abA1A2, where A1 and A2 are repeated refrains.
| A Saturnalian Villanelle
The cry of "Io!" resounds in Rome.
December's chill is in the air.
All toil has ceased; relax at home.
The time has passed for tilling loam,
And holidays should brook no care.
The cry of "Io!" resounds in Rome.
Adorn the hall with fir and holm.
Prepare a feast for all to share.
All toil has ceased; relax at home.
Beyond the door the slaves won't roam
For soon they'll sample finer fare.
The cry of "Io!" resounds in Rome.
Receive a gift of polished pome,
Or roll the dice if you so dare.
All toil has ceased; relax at home.
Catullus claimed in his great tome
The "best of days" was this affair.
The cry of "Io!" resounds in Rome;
All toil has ceased; relax at home.
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A Saturnalian Villanelle
Festivals
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Saturnalia
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Featured December 18 , 2010
Conspicio: Saturnalia II
