Spenserian stanza
- noun
- /ˈspɛnsəriən ˈstænzə/
- Literature
:
estrofa spenseriana
- The poem features a Spenserian stanza, with its distinctive rhyme scheme and rhythm.
Examples
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The most prominent formal feature of The Faerie Queene is the Spenserian stanza, so one might naturally search the Calendar's varied forms for a stanza that looks similar, thinking that in such a place we might catch the epic poet in the act of becoming.
Academic text (2005) -
This example of Byron's Spenserian stanza is typical in his suppression of the middle couplet and in his climactic use of the final hexameter.
Academic text (2003) -
So the stanza, technically close to the Spenserian stanza, is used at the upper end of the pastoral hierarchy.
Academic text (2005) -
They are only one line away from the scheme of the Spenserian stanza itself (they lack the final alexandrine).
Academic text (2005) -
But if we concatenate lines one and two, we get something very near the rhyming, pentameter-alexandrine sequence a reader might recognize as the ending of the Spenserian stanza, and for which there are conventions for notation.
Academic text (2016) -
In his latest work, the poet experimented with a Spenserian stanza to create a rich lyrical flow.
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The structure of the Spenserian stanza allows for a unique blend of narrative and lyrical elements.
Synonyms
A nine-line stanza with eight regular lines and one longer final line used by Edmund Spenser
Surface Forms
Morphology
A learner who knows 'Spenserian' (pertaining to Spenser) and 'stanza' (a verse unit) will likely infer this refers to a stanza form associated with the poet Spenser, so the basic idea is recoverable from the constituents. However, the detailed metrical and rhyme specifications (eight lines of iambic pentameter plus a hexameter Alexandrine and the specific rhyme scheme) are technical and not predictable from the words alone, so the expression is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Spenserian stanza is named after the poet Edmund Spenser, who used it in his long poem The Faerie Queene. It has eight short lines followed by one longer line that gives a strong ending and a rhyme pattern that links the lines, so the name now means this particular stanza shape used to make a poem sound 'formal' and 'elegant'.
