Stanza: Difference between revisions
(The term means "stopping place" in Italian.) ... it doesn't .. it means "room" but that meaning has no attinence with this one. |
Reverted 1 edit by 194.233.155.238 (talk): Revert error |
||
| (595 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Group of lines within a poem}} |
|||
{{otheruses4|''stanza'' as a poetry term|the electronic-book reading software|Lexcycle Stanza|the Scottish poetry festival|Stanza Poetry Festival}} |
|||
{{About|the term in poetry}} |
|||
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} |
|||
In [[poetry]], a '''stanza''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|æ|n|z|ə}}; from [[Italian language|Italian]] ''stanza'', {{IPA|it|ˈstantsa|lang}}; {{literally|room}}) is a group of [[Line (poetry)|lines]] within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or [[Indentation (typesetting)|indentation]].<ref>Murfin & Ray, ''The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms'', p. 455.</ref> Stanzas can have regular [[rhyme scheme|rhyme]] and [[Metre (poetry)|metrical schemes]], but they are not required to have either. There are many different [[:Category: Stanzaic form|forms of stanzas]]. Some stanzaic forms are simple, such as four-line [[quatrain]]s. Other forms are more complex, such as the [[Spenserian stanza]]. [[Fixed verse|Fixed verse poems]], such as [[sestina]]s, can be defined by the number and form of their stanzas. |
|||
In [[poetry]], a '''stanza''' is a unit within a larger [[poem]]. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with [[strophe]]; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "[[Verse (popular music)|verse]]" (as distinct from the [[refrain]], or "chorus"). <!--The following from previous edits needs authoritative verification: [The stanza] was invented by English poet laureate, [[Alfred Lord Tennyson]] (1809-1892).--> |
|||
The stanza has also been known by terms such as ''batch'', ''fit'', and ''stave''.<ref>Cuddon, J.A.: ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory''. {{ISBN|9781444333275}}.</ref> |
|||
A stanza consists of a grouping of lines, set off by a space, that usually has a set pattern of [[Meter (poetry)|meter]] and rhyme. |
|||
The term ''stanza'' has a similar meaning to ''[[strophe]]'', though ''strophe'' sometimes refers to an irregular set of lines, as opposed to regular, rhymed stanzas.<ref>Murfin & Ray, ''The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms'', p. 457.</ref> |
|||
<!--[font c=red]-->In traditional [[English language|English-language]] poems, stanzas can be identified and grouped together because they share a [[rhyme scheme]] or a fixed number of lines (as in [[distich]]/[[couplet]], [[tercet]], [[quatrain]], [[cinquain|cinquain/quintain]], [[sestet]]). In much modern poetry, stanzas may be arbitrarily presented on the printed page because of publishing conventions that employ such features as white space or punctuation. |
|||
Even though the term "stanza" is taken from Italian, in the Italian language the word "strofa" is more commonly used. |
|||
One of the most common manifestations of stanzaic form in poetry in English (and in other Western-European languages) is represented in texts for church [[hymns]], such as the first three stanzas (of nine) from a poem by [[Isaac Watts]] (from 1719) cited immediately below (in this case, each stanza is to be sung to the same [[hymn tune]], composed earlier by William Croft in 1708): |
|||
In music, groups of lines are typically referred to as ''[[Verse (popular music)|verses]]''. The stanza in poetry is analogous with the [[paragraph]] in [[prose]]: related thoughts are grouped into units.<ref>Kirszner & Mandell, ''Literature Reading, Writing, Reacting'', Ch. 18, p. 716.</ref> |
|||
:Our God, our help in ages past, |
|||
:Our hope for years to come, |
|||
:Our shelter from the stormy blast, |
|||
:And our eternal home. |
|||
==Example 1== |
|||
:Under the shadow of Thy throne |
|||
This short poem by [[Emily Dickinson]] has two stanzas of four lines each: |
|||
:Thy saints have dwelt secure; |
|||
:Sufficient is Thine arm alone, |
|||
:And our defense is sure. |
|||
<blockquote><poem>I had no time to hate, because |
|||
:Before the hills in order stood, |
|||
The grave would hinder me, |
|||
:Or earth received her frame, |
|||
And life was not so ample I |
|||
:From everlasting Thou art God, |
|||
Could finish enmity. |
|||
:To endless years the same. ''[etc.]'' |
|||
Nor had I time to love; but since |
|||
Less obvious manifestations of stanzaic form can be found as well, as in [[Shakespeare]]'s [[sonnets]], which, while printed as whole units in themselves, can be broken into stanzas with the same rhyme scheme followed by a final couplet, as in the example of Sonnet 116: |
|||
Some industry must be, |
|||
The little toil of love, I thought, |
|||
was large enough for me.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12242/12242-h/12242-h.htm |title=Poems: Three Series, Complete |last=Dickinson |first=Emily |website=Project Gutenberg |access-date=27 October 2013}}</ref></poem></blockquote> |
|||
==Example 2== |
|||
Let me not to the marriage of true minds |\ |
|||
This poem by [[Andrew Young (poet, born 1885)|Andrew John Young]] has three stanzas of six lines each: |
|||
Admit impediments. Love is not love | \ |
|||
Which alters when it alteration finds, | / All one stanza |
|||
Or bends with the remover to remove: |/ |
|||
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark, |\ |
|||
That looks on tempests and is never shaken; | \ |
|||
It is the star to every wandering bark, | / All one stanza |
|||
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. |/ |
|||
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks |\ |
|||
Within his bending sickle's compass come; | \ |
|||
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, | / All one stanza |
|||
But bears it out even to the edge of doom. |/ |
|||
If this be error and upon me proved, |\ |
|||
I never writ, nor no man ever loved. |/ A couplet |
|||
<blockquote><poem>Frost called to the water Halt |
|||
[[Category:Poetic form]] |
|||
And crusted the moist snow with sparkling salt; |
|||
Brooks, their one bridges, stop, |
|||
And icicles in long stalactites drop. |
|||
And tench in water-holes |
|||
Lurk under gluey glass-like fish in bowls. |
|||
In the hard-rutted lane |
|||
[[bg:Строфа]] |
|||
At every footstep breaks a brittle pane, |
|||
[[ca:Estrofa]] |
|||
And tinkling trees ice-bound, |
|||
[[da:Strofe]] |
|||
Changed into weeping willows, sweep the ground; |
|||
[[de:Strophe]] |
|||
Dead boughs take root in ponds |
|||
[[et:Stroof]] |
|||
And ferns on windows shoot their ghostly fronds. |
|||
[[es:Estrofa]] |
|||
[[fr:Stance]] |
|||
But vainly the fierce frost |
|||
[[ia:Stanza]] |
|||
Interns poor fish, ranks trees in an armed host, |
|||
[[he:בית (שירה)]] |
|||
Hangs daggers from house-eaves |
|||
[[nl:Stanza]] |
|||
And on the windows ferny am bush weaves; |
|||
[[ja:スタンザ]] |
|||
In the long war grown warmer |
|||
[[no:Strofe]] |
|||
The sun will strike him dead and strip his armour.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://allpoetry.com/Hard-Frost |title=poem: Hard Frost |access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref></poem></blockquote> |
|||
[[nn:Strofe]] |
|||
[[pl:Strofa]] |
|||
==References== |
|||
[[ru:Строфа]] |
|||
{{Reflist}} |
|||
[[simple:Stanza]] |
|||
[[sl:Kitica]] |
|||
==External links== |
|||
[[fi:Säkeistö]] |
|||
{{Wiktionary|stanza}} |
|||
[[sv:Strof]] |
|||
* {{cite EB1911| |wstitle=Stanza |volume=25 |pages=784}} |
|||
{{Poetic forms}} |
|||
[[Category:Poetic forms]] |
|||
[[Category:Stanzaic form]] |
|||
Latest revision as of 12:15, 5 January 2025
In poetry, a stanza (/ˈstænzə/; from Italian stanza, Italian: [ˈstantsa]; lit. 'room') is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation.[1] Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. There are many different forms of stanzas. Some stanzaic forms are simple, such as four-line quatrains. Other forms are more complex, such as the Spenserian stanza. Fixed verse poems, such as sestinas, can be defined by the number and form of their stanzas.
The stanza has also been known by terms such as batch, fit, and stave.[2]
The term stanza has a similar meaning to strophe, though strophe sometimes refers to an irregular set of lines, as opposed to regular, rhymed stanzas.[3]
Even though the term "stanza" is taken from Italian, in the Italian language the word "strofa" is more commonly used.
In music, groups of lines are typically referred to as verses. The stanza in poetry is analogous with the paragraph in prose: related thoughts are grouped into units.[4]
Example 1
[edit]This short poem by Emily Dickinson has two stanzas of four lines each:
I had no time to hate, because
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish enmity.
Nor had I time to love; but since
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought,
was large enough for me.[5]
Example 2
[edit]This poem by Andrew John Young has three stanzas of six lines each:
Frost called to the water Halt
And crusted the moist snow with sparkling salt;
Brooks, their one bridges, stop,
And icicles in long stalactites drop.
And tench in water-holes
Lurk under gluey glass-like fish in bowls.
In the hard-rutted lane
At every footstep breaks a brittle pane,
And tinkling trees ice-bound,
Changed into weeping willows, sweep the ground;
Dead boughs take root in ponds
And ferns on windows shoot their ghostly fronds.
But vainly the fierce frost
Interns poor fish, ranks trees in an armed host,
Hangs daggers from house-eaves
And on the windows ferny am bush weaves;
In the long war grown warmer
The sun will strike him dead and strip his armour.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Murfin & Ray, The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms, p. 455.
- ^ Cuddon, J.A.: A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. ISBN 9781444333275.
- ^ Murfin & Ray, The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms, p. 457.
- ^ Kirszner & Mandell, Literature Reading, Writing, Reacting, Ch. 18, p. 716.
- ^ Dickinson, Emily. "Poems: Three Series, Complete". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ "poem: Hard Frost". Retrieved 8 April 2018.
External links
[edit]
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 784.