Structure & form

Stanza

A grouped set of lines in a poem, set off from others by a space.

A stanza is to a poem what a paragraph is to prose: a unit that organizes lines into a coherent block. Writers use stanzas to structure thought, control pacing, and shape how ideas build and turn across a poem. Stanzas are often named by length, such as couplet, quatrain, or tercet.

Example

Dickinson moves the carriage ride through neat four-line stanzas, each one a stage in the calm journey toward eternity.

Because I could not stop for Death · Emily Dickinson

Related terms

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