stanza

stanza
stanzaed, adj.stanzaic /stan zay"ik/, stanzaical, adj.stanzaically, adv.
/stan"zeuh/, n. Pros.
an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem.
[1580-90; < It: room, station, stopping-place (pl. stanze) < VL *stantia, equiv. to L stant- (s. of stans), prp. of stare to STAND + -ia -Y3]
Syn. See verse.

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      a division of a poem consisting of two or more lines arranged together as a unit. More specifically, a stanza usually is a group of lines arranged together in a recurring pattern of metrical lengths and a sequence of rhymes (rhyme).

      The structure of a stanza (also called a strophe or stave) is determined by the number of lines, the dominant metre, and the rhyme scheme. Thus, a stanza of four lines of iambic pentameter, rhyming abab, could be described as a quatrain.

      Some of the most common stanzaic forms are designated by the number of lines in each unit—e.g., tercet or terza rima (three lines) and ottava rima (eight lines). Other forms are named for their inventors or best-known practitioners or for the work in which they first were heavily used—e.g., the Spenserian stanza, named for Edmund Spenser, or the In Memoriam stanza, popularized by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the poem by that title. The term strophe is often used interchangeably with stanza, although strophe is sometimes used specifically to refer to a unit of a poem that does not have a regular metre and rhyme pattern or to a unit of a Pindaric ode.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Stanza — Stan za (st[a^]n z[.a]), n.; pl. {Stanzas} ( z[.a]z). [It. stanza a room, habitation, a stanza, i. e., a stop, fr. L. stans, p. pr. of stare to stand. See {Stand}, and cf. {Estancia}, {Stance}, {Stanchion}.] 1. A number of lines or verses forming …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stanza — • An Italian word signifying room, chamber, apartment. In English the term is chiefly used for Raphael s celebrated Stanze in the Vatican Palace, four in number, the walls of which were frescoed by Raphael and his pupils Catholic Encyclopedia.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • stanza — / stantsa/ (ant. stanzia / stantsja/) s.f. [lat. tardo stantia luogo di dimora ]. 1. (archit.) [ognuno degli spazi interni, limitati e divisi l uno dall altro da pareti, che compongono gli edifici, soprattutto quelli d abitazione e d ufficio: s.… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • stanza — group of rhymed verse lines, 1580s, from It. stanza verse of a poem, originally standing, stopping place, from V.L. *stantia a stanza of verse, so called from the stop at the end of it, from L. stans (gen. stantis), prp. of stare to stand (see… …   Etymology dictionary

  • stanza — ► NOUN ▪ a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse. ORIGIN Italian, standing place, stanza …   English terms dictionary

  • stanza — *verse …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • stanza — [stan′zə] n. [It, lit., stopping place, room < VL * stantia: see STANCE] a group of lines of verse forming one of the divisions of a poem or song: it is usually made up of four or more lines and often has a regular pattern in the number of… …   English World dictionary

  • Stanza — Эта статья или раздел нуждается в переработке. Пожалуйста, улучшите статью в соответствии с правилами написания статей. Stanza …   Википедия

  • stanza — 1stàn·za s.f. FO 1a. ciascuno degli ambienti interni di un edificio, spec. per uso di abitazione o di ufficio: una stanza buia, luminosa, ampia; la stanza da letto, da pranzo; affittasi alloggio di cinque stanze, bagno e cucina Sinonimi: 1camera …   Dizionario italiano

  • Stanza — 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 (as distinct from the refrain, or chorus ). A stanza consists of …   Wikipedia

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