Which poetic form has 19 lines divided into five tercets and a final quatrain?

Which poetic form has 19 lines divided into five tercets and a final quatrain?

• A. Petrarchan sonnet
• B. Limerick
• C. Villanelle
• D. Haiku

Answer: (C)

Fixed verse form with 19 lines, five tercets, and a final quatrain, plus two refrains that repeat throughout. This combination is the defining feature of the villanelle. The first and third lines of the opening tercet are the two refrains; they recur at the end of each of the following tercets and again appear in the final four-line stanza, giving the poem a looping, insistently circular feel. The typical pattern in the tercets is a consistent rhyme scheme (often ABA), with the closing quatrain incorporating both refrains. Because of this exact structure—nineteen lines in five three-line stanzas plus a four-line ending that reuses two lines—the form described is the villanelle. For contrast: a Petrarchan sonnet has fourteen lines in an octave and a sestet; a limerick has five lines with an AABBA rhyme; and a haiku has three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable count.

Fixed verse form with 19 lines, five tercets, and a final quatrain, plus two refrains that repeat throughout. This combination is the defining feature of the villanelle. The first and third lines of the opening tercet are the two refrains; they recur at the end of each of the following tercets and again appear in the final four-line stanza, giving the poem a looping, insistently circular feel. The typical pattern in the tercets is a consistent rhyme scheme (often ABA), with the closing quatrain incorporating both refrains. Because of this exact structure—nineteen lines in five three-line stanzas plus a four-line ending that reuses two lines—the form described is the villanelle. For contrast: a Petrarchan sonnet has fourteen lines in an octave and a sestet; a limerick has five lines with an AABBA rhyme; and a haiku has three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable count.