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In poetry, a stanza is a grouped set of lines within a poem, usually set off from other stanzas by a blank line or different indentation.[1] Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, though stanzas are not strictly required to have either. There are many unique 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 term stanza is similar to strophe, though strophe is sometimes used to refer to irregular sets of lines, as opposed to regular, rhymed stanzas.[2]




I had no time to hate, because
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample It
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.[4]


  1. ^ The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. Murfin & Ray pg. 455
  3. ^ Literature Reading, Writing, Reacting. Kirszner & Mandell Ch. 18, pg. 716.