From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The virelai nouveauv is a poetic form that is both rare and difficult to use. Its chief characteristic is the use of a double refrain and the fact that is uses two rhymes only. The poem opens with a couplet and these two lines are used as the refrain in alternating stanzas. The poem ends with an envoi, the last two lines being a repeat of the opening couplet, often in reverse order. There is no set number of lines per stanza or of the patterning of the rhymes, but an example rhyme scheme could be A1-A2-b-a-b-a-A1, a-a-b-a-b-a-A2, a-b-A2-A1.
The form is more common in French poetry, but has been used by English poets including Austin Dobson.
