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stanza

stanza

12 4.4
A group of lines in a poem that form one unit
  • noun
  • /ˈstæn.zə/
  • Literature
translation icon : estrofa
  • But the final stanza trumps all with the mention of losing you.
  • stanza of the poem
  • the last stanza
  • the first stanza

And there are sometimes some really great stanzas though too as well.

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Examples

  • In the second stanza of the poem, the tone becomes much darker.

  • In the next stanza, the bird follows the speaker as she "keeps walking. / Trying to think."

    Academic text (2013)
  • Read just one stanza for the proof.

  • And you and I will read it together a stanza each evening.

  • What did you think of that last stanza?

  • Then, in that third stanza, the poem shifts into the simple past.

  • His poem consists of four stanzas, each ending with a line longer than the previous seven others.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Well, here are the last two sublime stanzas of the poem.

  • The first two stanzas focus rather on describing Procris's corpse as if it were a still life.

    Academic text (2017)
  • In the final stanza of the poem, the Magdalen's way of grieving is contrasted to Mother Mary's.

    Academic text (2017)

Synonyms

verse
vsstanza
  • Literature
215 3.4

A set of lines in a poem or song

refers only to a grouped set of lines, not a single line
sloka
vsstanza
  • Literature
1 9.9

A short verse in classical Sanskrit poetry with a fixed rhythm

is the general poetic unit not tied to one language or metrical form

Compounds

elegiac stanza
  • Literature
9.9

A group of four lines in a poem with ABAB rhyme often used for poems about loss

heroic stanza
  • Literature
9.9

A four-line stanza with ten syllables per line and an abab rhyme used in epic poems

Spenserian stanza
  • Literature
9.9

A nine-line group in a poem with eight short lines, one longer final line, and rhyme abab bcbc c

How Long

canto
  • Literature
1 9.3
stanza
  • Literature
12 4.4
quatrain
  • Literature
2 7.4
tercet
  • Literature
8.6
couplet
  • Literature
4 5.9

Surface Forms

stanza singular
stanzas plural

Etymology

The word stanza comes from the Italian word stanza meaning 'room' and from the Latin root stare meaning 'to stand'. Think of a stanza as a 'room' in a poem where lines stand together, so each stanza is a separate space for one idea.