Lesson 32
The Story We Know
1. Describe a villanelle by explicating the stanza pattern and the rhyme scheme of this poem. How many different end rhymes are in the poem? How many times is each sound repeated? Which words are repeated exactly at the ends of lines, in what pattern? How does the last stanza use the rhyming words? Why is this appropriate at the end of the poem?
A typical villanelle is a poem with a fixed form of nineteen lines, five stanzas with three lines each and one stanza with four lines. Each line can be of any length or meter, and has a set rhyme scheme, of aba. Line 1 is repeated with lines 6, 12, and 18 and line 3 is repeated in lines 9, 15, and 19. With that said, “The Story We Know,” employs this set villanelle pattern exactly. The ending word “Hello” from line 1 is repeated in lines 6, 12, and 18; just as the definition stated. The ending word of “know” from line 3 is repeated in lines 9, 15, and 19; again just as the definition stated. Also the rhyme scheme of the entire poem does follow the aba pattern, and that is only end rhyme used within this poem. In the last stanza, the rhyming words are used to state the meaning. The last two lines end with “Hello” and “know.” Which that is what we know, hello.
2. Isolating the b rhymes (middle line of each tercet) gives us this list: fine, wine, nine, line, pine, sign. What is the significance of each of these words to the whole poem?
To be honest, I don’t quite understand how those words can cumulatively amount to any kind of significance. The only significance I get out of those words, is that they tell a story when said by themselves. Fine, a response to a greeting. Wine, perhaps a response to a question regarding what someone wants. Nine, a time which one says they can meet or must leave. Line, pine, and sign, the significance, I’m not seeing it.
3. Incremental repetition tends to augment meaning and accumulate significance. What variations in meaning are present in the following groups of repetitions and what is their effect?
With the first grouping, in line 1 “same. Hello” it represents the beginning or initiation of a conversation or greeting. Line 6 “same, Hello,” again shows another form of greeting, but perhaps less respectable. Almost as though one felt obliged to stop in the middle of their statement to greet someone. Line 12 “same Hello.” this is definitely an example of someone becoming bored with monotonous and bland conversations. At the end of this group line 18 “end. Hello,” we return to a more respectable and presentable greeting.
The second grouping of repeated words we have the variations of farewells. Line 3 “Good-bye at the end.” again beings with a friendlier farewell. Line 9, is almost an inconsiderate farewell, with “Good-bye. In the end” it’s almost as though they said good-bye, now let me get back to my previous conversation. Line 15 with “Good-by is the end” is a kind of depressing farewell, like there is no more hellos and this is it. Just like line 15, line 19 is equally as depressing “Good-bye is the only.”
The last grouping with the repetition of “know,” there are variations on the story we know. We being with line 3, which “every story we know.” Where we proceed with line 9 where “this is the story we know.” and line 15 we again repeat line 3 in that “every story we know.” Finally line 19 states simply, “We know, we know.” All of these groupings, to me anyways, there effect was the ingenuity behind this entire poem and the thought and effort which had to have put into the conceiving of this poem.
