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, clear as frost on the grass-blade,

You also are laid aside.

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.