Stanza facts for kids

A stanza is like a paragraph in a poem. It's a group of lines that belong together, often separated from other stanzas by a blank line. Think of it as a mini-section within a poem that helps organize the poet's thoughts and ideas.

What Makes a Stanza?

The two most important things that define a stanza are how many lines it has and its rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line. For example, if the first and third lines rhyme, and the second and fourth lines rhyme, that's a specific rhyme scheme.

Different Types of Stanzas

Stanzas come in many shapes and sizes, named by how many lines they contain:

• A two-line stanza is called a couplet. Both lines often rhyme (aa).
• A three-line stanza is called a tercet (aaa).
• A four-line stanza is called a quatrain. These are very common and can have different rhyme patterns like aabb, abab, or abba.
• A five-line stanza is called a quintain or cinquain (for example, ababb).
• A six-line stanza is called a sestet (for example, ababcc).
• A seven-line stanza is called a septet. A famous type is the rhyme royal (ababbcc).
• An eight-line stanza is called an octave. The Italian ottava rima is an example (abababcc).
• A nine-line stanza is called a Spenserian stanza (ababbcbcc).
• A ten-line stanza is sometimes called a decasyllabic stanza (for example, ababccdeed).

Stanzas in Specific Poem Forms

Some types of poems have a very specific structure of stanzas:

• An Italian sonnet is a 14-line poem made of two four-line stanzas (octaves) and two three-line stanzas (tercets). Its rhyme scheme is typically abba abba cdc dcd.
• A French ballad is a poem that usually has three eight-line stanzas and a shorter four-line stanza at the end. A common rhyme scheme for the eight-line stanzas is ababbcbc, followed by bcbc for the final four-line stanza.

Stanzas Named After Poets

Sometimes, a stanza type is named after the poet who created it or used it often. For example, the Sapphic stanza is named after Sappho, a famous ancient Greek woman poet.

See also

In Spanish: Estancia (poesía) para niños