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Bishop wrote “One Art” using a highly structured poetic form known as a villanelle, which follows three basic rules. First, the poem must have two full lines that repeat at designated points in the poem. These lines are called the refrains (R1 and R2). Second, the poem can only use two rhyme sounds. One rhyme sound (i.e., the A rhyme) comes from the two refrains, which must rhyme with each other. The other rhyme sound (i.e., the B rhyme) can be anything, but it must be maintained consistently throughout the poem. The third and final rule for the villanelle is that it must consist of five tercets and a concluding quatrain. Taken together, these rules yield a poem structured as follows:

   Tercet 1: R1–B–R2
   Tercet 2: A–B–R1
   Tercet 3: A–B–R2
   Tercet 4: A–B–R1
   Tercet 5: A–B–R2
   Quatrain: A–B–R1–R2

One noteworthy aspect of this structure is the way the two refrains (R1 and R2) repeat in an alternating pattern. In “One Art,” the two refrains express opposing ideas of mastery and disaster, so the oscillation between them creates a sense of instability throughout the poem. It’s also worth noting that Bishop constantly alters R2, which is the refrain that always ends with the word “disaster.” The instability of this refrain contributes to the poem’s overall sense of fragility.

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