The refrain in poetry is repetition of a line or stanza, often used to emphasize a point, create rhythm, or structure. It can serve as a prominent feature in some types of poems, such as the villanelle.
The function of the refrain in poetry can vary according to a poet’s purpose, but it is often used to create emphasis and rhythm. The refrain is the use of repetition within a poem, usually as a line or stanza that is repeated throughout the work, often at the beginning or end of each stanza. A poet may use the refrain to emphasize a certain point or idea, as repetition makes a concept easier for a reader to identify. The refrain can also be used to create or enhance rhythm within a poem or as part of a rigid structure in some types of poems.
Writers may use the refrain in poetry for a variety of reasons, although emphasis through repetition is one of the most common functions it can serve. When a particular line or word is repeated in a poem, especially in a prominent place such as the beginning or end of a sentence, it becomes more apparent to a reader. A poet may only use a line like “and then he went away” once in a poem and the reader might recognize a sense of loss or abandonment. If every stanza of a poem ends with “and then he went away,” then the idea of being left behind or someone walking away becomes much more important and central to the poem.
The refrain in poetry can also be used to create rhythm within a poem through repetition. The use of a single line in a poem often creates a natural rhythm as a reader tends to pause whenever faced with this repetition. A poet may also use the repeated line to control meter throughout the work, by virtue of the more structured style that the refrain in poetry naturally creates. Even in a blank poem or free verse, the repetition of a line creates a sense of meter between those repeated lines.
There are certain kinds of poems in which this repetition is essential to the very structure of the poem. Villanelles, for example, uses the refrain in the poem to create continuous repetition throughout the poem. Stanzas of three lines, called triplets, are used in a villanelle with the first and third lines of the opening triplet being repeated as the last line of the following four stanzas. The final stanza of a villanelle is a quatrain, or four-line stanza, repeating those two lines again. One of the most famous and eloquent examples of the modern villanelle is the poem Don’t Go Gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
