PoetiClub... Let the pen bleed

WHAT IS A STANZA IN POETRY? A stanza is a series of lines grouped together in order to divide a poem; the structure of a stanza is often (though not always) repeated throughout the poem. Stanzas are separated from other stanzas by line breaks.  What Purpose Do Stanzas Serve in Poetry? In Italian, the word “stanza” means “room.” Stanzas, then function in a poem like rooms function in a house. Acclaimed poet and former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins says: “You’re taking the reader on a tour of the poem, room by room, like taking someone through your house and describing it.” In this way, stanzas can be particularly revealing: the structure of a poem’s stanzas says a lot about the poem, just as the rooms in a house say a lot about the house. A stanza can reveal the following about a poem: Structure.  A poem always has a structural framework in place. Stanzas are part of a poem’s architecture.  Pattern.  In formal verse poetry, in which the poem follows a rhyme scheme an...

METER IN POETRY A poem can contain many elements to give it structure. Rhyme is perhaps the most common of these elements: countless poetic works, from limericks to epic poems to pop lyrics, contain rhymes. But equally important is meter, which imposes specific length and emphasis on a given line of poetry. Meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a line within a work of poetry. Meter consists of two components: The number of syllables  A pattern of emphasis on those syllables  A line of poetry can be broken into “feet,” which are individual units within a line of poetry. A foot of poetry has a specific number of syllables and a specific pattern of emphasis. Common Types of Feet in Poetry In English poetry, the most common types of metrical feet are two syllables and three syllables long. They’re characterized by their particular combination of stressed syllables and unstressed syllables. They include: Trochee . Pronounced  DUH-duh , as in “ladder.”  Iamb . Pronounce...

WHAT IS POETRY? Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a scene or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of words. Poems can be structured, with  rhyming lines  and  meter , the rhythm and emphasis of a line based on syllabic beats. Poems can also be  freeform , which follows no formal structure.  The basic building block of a poem is a verse known as a  stanza . A stanza is a grouping of lines related to the same thought or topic, similar to a paragraph in prose. A stanza can be subdivided based on the number of lines it contains. For example, a  couplet  is a stanza with two lines. Poetry is visibly unique: a narrow column of words with recurring breaks between stanzas. Lines of a poem may be indented or lengthened with extra spacing between words. The white space that frames a poem is an aesthetic guide for how a poem is read.  Poetry is a type of literature based on the interplay of words and rhythm...