What's in a Name?

The title of Eugene O’Neill’s poem, Villanelle of Ye Young Poet’s First Villanelle to his Ladey and Ye Difficulties Thereof is an excellent indicator of the piece’s actual meaning. Some who read this title and the poem take each at face value. It is easy to conclude that it really is just a poem written nearly in villanelle form as an expression of the author’s love for his significant other. However, this is not entirely the case. If any truth dwells within the tired cliché “Do not judge book by its cover”, then O’Neill’s work serves as a contradiction. The guideline should read; “Carefully analyze this poem according to its title”. What makes this piece so ingenious is that while the author is saying one thing, he does another. On the surface he is humbly writing a poem for his love, Rosabelle. Beneath this facade O’Neill makes fun of the villanelle form and conveys his brilliance as a writer. The juxtaposition of romance to satire, along with humility to conceit makes the piece hilarious.

As previously stated, the title is a great introduction as it perfectly represents both the obvious idea in the poem and the inside joke. The writer uses old English, although the rest of the poem is in contemporary language. This choice, along with the ridiculous length, conveys a satirical tone. Also note that the word villanelle appears twice. This is indicative that one of the poem’s subjects is villanelle poetry, not just dear Rosabelle.

There are many more opportunities to understand this poem even if one accidentally takes the title seriously. For example, the two repetitive rhyming lines are “I try to write this villanelle” and “To sing the charms of Rosabelle”. Repeating the third and sixth lines is a critical characteristic of the villanelle form, and the author chooses for them to be about his affections for Rosabelle and that he is writing a villanelle. This makes it clear that Rosabelle is not the only subject, or even the most important subject.

If that isn’t enough to establish the relevance of villanelles in the poem then consider that they also appear in every stanza up to the last line. Even though O’Neill selects dramatic phrases to describe his love for Rosabelle, such as pouring his “soul out at her feet, (line 2)” he pairs theses thoughts with lamentations about the difficulty of composing a villanelle. For example, line 8 states “My love—Alas, my muse is weak!” This sentence contradicts itself, as it is clear that he is very inspired and the piece is anything but weak-it is obviously very well composed. It is especially ironic because he uses the word “muse,” a reference to ancient mythology which conveys a very sophisticated intellect. Another example can be found in line 14 “On paper I would fair repeat”. In the line before this the author describes his feelings for Rosabelle, so it appears as though he is saying that he would repeat his expression of love on paper. Yet the topic of villanelle poetry is so pervasive that this line is also a criticism of the form and the repetition that it requires. It is also funny because at this point the writer has already repeated “To sing the charms of Rosabelle”, which further proves that he is poking fun at the form.

Careful analysis of the last stanza yields even more evidence that this poem is really a spoof. Up to this point the writer has consistently spoken only of his love and how hard it is to write a villanelle. Finally he blatantly gives up in line 16 where he says: “My effort fruitless is. O H—l!” Then in line 17: “I’ll tell her all when next we meet.” Lines 16 and 17 contain the volta, or shift in the piece because within them the ideas about writing a villanelle for Rosabelle change to giving up and just using words to tell her. This is also the poem’s most humorous point because everything before has built up to it. Between the young poet’s passion and the lamentations on writing a villanelle the reader never expects him to quit and throw his pen down.

There is even a touch of comedy in the final lines, which read: “To sing the charms of Rosabelle, (18) I tried to write this villanelle (19).” O’Neill actually breaks the form by saying “tried” rather than “try”. It is funny because he has written a perfect villanelle until the time he gives up, despite his complaints of how challenging it is. A simple change in one word has morphed the perfect villanelle into a meta-villanelle, and creates a self-fulfilling prophesy.

This also reveals that his intentions were deliberate because it is so apparent that there was never anything wrong with this poem. Overall, the greatest joke in this piece is the speakers self deprecation. Through bemoaning writing villanelles he not only constructs an excellent example of one, but then proves his mastery by blemishing it for comedies sake. This also adds another layer to the work because as the speaker parades himself as a mediocre writer O’Neill elaborately displays his skill.

While Villanelle of Ye Young Poet’s First Villanelle is funny and lighthearted it also contains a serious message to consider. The simple trick illustrates that we must not only look at what something is saying, but more importantly what it is doing. In a time where many members of society use scams for material gain and advertisements permeate everything we must use careful analysis before placing trust in something. O’Neill makes it clear how easy it is to wear a mask and distract people on the surface level while doing more below, and this is just in a poem. Always remember to consider titles carefully and look beyond the surface.