Stanzas
Stanzas
Stanza etymology (word origins)
From the Italian for:
‘stopping place’, or ‘room’.
The above terms are derived from the Latin verb
meaning:
‘to stand’.
Stanzas
Stanza: definitions
1) A group of lines that helps to:
break up and organise how the poem appears on the page.
2) A place where the reader stands and pauses.
Stanzas
Why pay attention to stanzas?
A poet’s choice of stanzaic form is usually appropriate to his or
her subject matter or theme.
Considering how stanzas develop can help you follow the
development of thoughts and ideas in a poem.
Once a stanzaic pattern is disrupted, this usually serves some
expressive purpose — it often creates an interesting effect that
is worthy of analysis.
Stanzas
Quatrains (1)
Quatrain: a four-line stanza.
The quatrain is one of the most common and versatile stanzaic
forms in English poetry. Quatrains can be useful for narrative
poems (poems that tell stories).
Stanzas
Quatrains (2)
Here is a quatrain from Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It
narrates the action after the Mariner has blessed the water snakes:
‘The self-same moment I could pray;
And from my neck so free
The Albatross fell off, and sank
Like lead into the sea.’
Stanzas
Quatrains (3)
Note the appropriateness of this stanzaic form: the single
rhyme per stanza (on lines 2 and 4) allows the poet flexibility.
Yet the expectation of this rhyme (and each stanza’s
predictable rhythm) sets a pattern that aids the poem’s
narrative drive and helps sustain the reader’s sense of
expectation.
Stanzas
Taking it further: varieties of quatrain
The quatrain quoted from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is typical of
the ballad form. Why not find out more about ballads and their
features, including meter (rhythm) and line length?
Think of other poems that you know which are comprised of quatrains.
To what extent do they have narrative features, or are the quatrains
being used to serve other poetic aims?
Stanzas
Taking it further: shifting stanzas
Consider any variations within the stanzaic form. If there is a
shift from quatrains to another stanzaic form, what are the
effects of such a shift?
For example, in a poem by Paul Muldoon entitled ‘The
Sightseers’ two quatrains allow the speaker to narrate a story
of him and his family going on an outing together — to see the
first roundabout in mid-Ulster. After this revelation of their
unusual destination, Muldoon shifts to using tercets (three-line
stanzas).
Stanzas
Example: shifting stanzaic form
The tercets allow the reader to register a shift in tone, subject matter
and narrative perspective as the speaker recounts a story told by his
uncle Pat. Despite the fluency of the narrative (which is enhanced by
enjambment) the shorter stanza provides a stopping point — and
more white space — to allow the reader to pause and consider these
new and more disturbing events:
‘Uncle Pat was telling us how the B-Specials
Had stopped him one night somewhere near Ballygawley
And smashed his bicycle’
Stanzas
Example: shifting stanzaic form
Muldoon’s final tercet allows the poem to climax with a potent and
lingering image of violence and oppression:
‘And made him sing the Sash and curse the Pope of Rome.
They held a pistol so had against his forehead
There was still the mark of an O when he got home.’
Note also the effects of the full rhyme (in an otherwise unrhymed
poem), which help to give the image further impact.
Stanzas
Examples: shorter stanzas (1)
As we have seen from the previous example, tercets can be used to
narrate, but often in such a way that allows images or events to stand
out. In some cases, however, the primary focus is on the image.
‘Fan piece, for her Imperial Lord’ by Ezra Pound is comprised of a
single tercet; first it lingers on an image, then it suggests the
significance of that image in a story:
O fan of white silk,
You also are laid aside.
clear as frost on the grass-blade,
Stanzas
Examples: shorter stanzas (2)
Here is another short poem by Pound, this time in a two-line
stanza. Note that this time no narrative is suggested; the
image is simply left to speak for itself:
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Stanzas
Conclusions
Considering the types of stanza used can help you to explore
meaning and effects in poetry.
Noticing when a stanzaic pattern changes can often lead to
interesting observations and analysis.
Explore other related features as you analyse stanzas. You
might, for example, consider rhyme, rhythm, end-stopping and
enjambment.