What Is a Stanza? | Definition & Examples
A stanza is a group of lines forming the basic unit of a poem. Like paragraphs in prose, stanzas separate ideas in a poem, and they are typically set apart by line breaks or indentation. A stanza can vary in length; it can be two lines or more. Below you can see the first two stanzas of “The Tyger” by William Blake.
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
Stanza definition
Stanza means “room” or “place for stopping or standing” in Italian. Each stanza in a poem is like a well-designed room in a house. Every room makes sense on its own, but at the same time, it gives you an idea of what the whole house is like. For example, is it a dilapidated Victorian mansion or a sunny Mediterranean cottage? Stanzas, in other words, are subordinate units within the larger structure of a poem, contributing to its overall aesthetic and meaning.
Poets use stanzas to organize their thoughts, create rhythm, and control the flow of their poems. By breaking a poem into stanzas, they can emphasize specific ideas, create a sense of movement, or guide the reader through shifts in tone or theme. In combination with techniques like enjambment, where a sentence flows beyond a stanza break, poets can build tension or continuity between these units
Some key details about stanzas:
- Stanzas can follow a specific meter or rhyme scheme, but they are not required to. For instance, William Blake’s “The Tyger” uses four-line stanzas with a consistent AABB rhyme scheme. In contrast, modern poetry often uses free verse, where stanzas may lack any fixed rhyme or meter.
- Stanzas can have consistent or varying numbers of lines. A poem can consist entirely of stanzas with the same line count, or it can contain stanzas of varying lengths to reflect thematic shifts.
- Certain poetic forms require specific stanza patterns. For example, haikus are well-known for their three-line structure, while sonnets consist of 14 lines. There are more details about stanza patterns in the following section.
- Stanzas are typically associated with poetry, but not all poems have them. Many free-verse poems are not divided into stanzas at all. Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” for instance, is written in long, flowing lines that continue uninterrupted for extensive sections.
Here is a breakdown of key characteristics of stanzas for quick reference:
| Characteristic | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | How stanzas visually organize a poem | Line groupings, white space, consistent or varying patterns |
| Length | Number of lines in each stanza | Varies from two to eight lines |
| Rhyme scheme | Pattern of end rhymes | AABB, ABAB, ABBA, etc., or none at all |
| Function | Purpose within a poem | Dividing themes, creating emotional shifts, building progression |
| Form relationship | How stanzas relate to specific poetic forms | Sonnet: An 8-line stanza (octave) followed by a 6-line stanza (sestet) |
| Impact | How stanza breaks affect reading | Creating pauses, emphasizing ideas, controlling pacing |
Types of stanza
Most types of stanzas are named according to the number of lines they contain:
- Couplet: Two lines, often rhyming. William Shakespeare’s sonnets often end with a rhyming couplet, which acts as a resolution or conclusion to the poem’s argument.
- Tercet or terza rima: Three lines. “Ode to the West Wind” by Shelley is a famous example with an interlocking rhyme scheme (ABA, BCB, CDC). Tercets are also the primary building blocks of villanelles like Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.”
- Quatrain: Four lines.The four-line stanza is among the most popular and is often used in ballads, like The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
- Quintain or cinquain: Refers to a stanza of five lines. Limericks are always written in this form, with a distinctive AABBA rhyme scheme
- Sestet: Six lines. The term usually refers to the final six lines of a 14-line Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, otherwise, in American English, the six-line stanza is known as a sextain. In British English, sestet applies to both types of six-line stanza.
- Septet: Seven lines, usually in iambic pentameter. Also known as “rhyme royal” was first introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer in his epic poem Troilus and Criseyde
- Octave: Eight lines. The first part of a Petrarchan sonnet is an octave, typically presenting a problem or question with the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA. “Ottava rima” is a specific type of eight-line stanza written in iambic pentameter.
Some other types of stanzas are named after individual poets or after a famous work:
- Spenserian Stanza: Nine lines with a specific rhyme scheme (ABABBCBCC), named after Edmund Spenser who developed it for The Faerie Queene.
- Sapphic Stanza: Named after the ancient Greek poet Sappho, consists of three longer lines followed by a shorter fourth line.
- In Memoriam stanza: A quatrain in iambic tetrameter with a rhyme scheme of ABBA. The form was named for the pattern used by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his poem “In Memoriam.”
Stanza examples
The stanzas in Lord Byron’s poem below work together to build a complete portrait, each adding a new dimension to the description. The poem consists of three sestets or six-line stanzas, with a consistent ABABAB rhyme scheme. This regular stanza pattern creates a sense of harmony and balance that reflects the poem’s content.
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Shakespeare’s sonnets comprised three quatrains, or four-line stanzas, and a concluding couplet, or two-line stanzas, rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. As you will notice, there are no visual separations for the quatrains; their division is based on meaning. Each quatrain functions like a separate “room” in the poem, developing one aspect of the speaker’s argument. The indentation of the final couplet visually and thematically separates it from the preceding quatrains, emphasizing its role as the poem’s conclusion.
When not to be receives reproach of being,
And the just pleasure lost, which is so deemed
Not by our feeling but by others’ seeing.
For why should others’ false adulterate eyes
Give salutation to my sportive blood?
Or on my frailties why are frailer spies,
Which in their wills count bad that I think good?
No, I am that I am; and they that level
At my abuses reckon up their own:
I may be straight though they themselves be bevel;
By their rank thoughts my deeds must not be shown,
Unless this general evil they maintain:
All men are bad and in their badness reign.
“Fog” by Carl Sandburg is a more contemporary example of a free-verse poem, meaning it does not adhere to a particular rhyme scheme, meter, or established poetic form. It is divided into two stanzas: a couplet and a quatrain. The couplet describes the arrival of the fog and introduces the extended metaphor of the fog moving about like a cat. The quatrain depicts how the fog hangs over the city before it ultimately disappears.
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on
Frequently asked questions about stanza
- What is a synonym for stanza?
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The word “strophe” is often used as a synonym for stanza to describe a collection of lines that function as a unit in a poem.
In poems with consistent line lengths and regular metrical patterns, “stanza” and “strophe” can be used interchangeably. However, “strophe” is the preferable term for poems that are written in free verse and do not have a regular meter, rhyme scheme, or a consistent set of lines.
- How long is a stanza?
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The length of a stanza can vary as there is no set rule for it in poetry. It depends on the poem’s form and style, and the poet’s intention. A short stanza might consist of just two lines (called a couplet), while a longer stanza, such as those found in epic poetry, can span ten or even twenty lines.
- What is an example of a stanza?
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The lines below are an example of a stanza. In Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare, the final two lines form a couplet, which is a two-line stanza:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
A stanza is a group of lines that forms the basic unit of a poem. In a sonnet, there are typically four stanzas: three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a concluding couplet, like the one shown here.
