VILLANELLE ETYMOLOGY

Writing a villanelle is quite a pain.
19 lines, six stanzas, and two rhymes must be planned
And now we have to repeat the refrain!

Thankfully, no strict meter- that would drive me insane.
But without iambic pentameter like this, it can often be bland.
Writing a villanelle is quite a pain.

In Italian, it meant "rural song", or something of that vein.
Then as Latin villanus, the word meant "farmhand".
And now we have to repeat the refrain!

It's related to our word villain, and that we attain
Through a connection of back-country land.
Writing a villanelle is quite a pain.

The root is Latin villa, meaning "farm" or a "family's domain"
From PIE weik, or "clan", of the familial brand.
And now we have to repeat the refrain!

Done with tercets; welcome to the quatrain!
Although the etymology was grand,
Writing a villanelle is quite a pain.
And now we have to repeat the refrain!