Stanza

A stanza is a related group of lines or verses in a poem. A stanza also can be a verse in paragraph form. They can keep on going without punctuation. It may also be a line poem.

Two most important features of a stanza is the number of lines and the rhyme scheme. There are many kinds of stanza.

• Two-line stanza ($\mathrm {AA}$).
• Three-line stanza ($\mathrm {AAA}$).
• Four-line stanza ($\mathrm {AAAA}$, $\mathrm {AABB}$, $\mathrm {ABAB}$, $\mathrm {ABBA}$)
• Five-line stanza (for example $\mathrm {ABABB}$)
• Six-line stanza (for example $\mathrm {ABABCC}$)
• Seven-line stanza (for example $\mathrm {ABABBCC}$, it is called rhyme royal)
• Eight-line stanza (for example $\mathrm {ABABABCC}$, it is Italian ottava rima)
• Nine-line stanza (for example $\mathrm {ABABBCBCC}$, it is Spenserian stanza)
• Ten-line stanza (for example $\mathrm {ABABCCDEED}$)

An Italian sonnet consists of two four-line stanzas and two three-line stanzas:

• $\mathrm {ABBA\,\,ABBA\,\,CDC\,\,DCDA}$

A French ballad is composed of three eight-line stanzas and a four-line one:

• $\mathrm {ABABBCBC\,\,ABABBCBC\,\,ABABBCBC\,\,BCBCA}$

Some stanzas are named after poets, who invented or often used them. An example is Sapphic stanza that was named after famous Greek woman poet Sappho.

Bibliography

Joseph Berg Esenwein, Mary Eleanor Roberts, Art of Versification. Revised edition. Springfield: 1920.