Stanzas

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Stanzas
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Stanza etymology (word origins)

• From the Italian for
• stopping place, or room.
• The above terms are derived from the Latin verb
  meaning
• to stand.

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Stanza definitions

• 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.

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Why pay attention to stanzas?

• A poets 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.

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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).

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Quatrains (2)

• Here is a quatrain from Coleridges 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.

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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 stanzas predictable
  rhythm) sets a pattern that aids the poems
  narrative drive and helps sustain the readers
  sense of expectation.

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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?

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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).

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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

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Example shifting stanzaic form

• Muldoons 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.