stanza

/ˈstænzə/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈstænzə/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈstan-zə/ (ame, mw)

stanza — noun

  • stanzasingular
  • stanzasplural

1. one of the named blocks of lines that a poem is built from, where each block is

1.名詞B2
釋義

one of the named blocks of lines that a poem is built from, where each block is set off from the next by a blank line and usually shares the same rhythm or rhyme pattern as the others.

例句

Joaquín read out the opening stanza of the poem at his grandmother's funeral.

collocation: opening stanza

Each stanza of the hymn ends with the same two-line refrain about mercy.

pattern: each stanza of [poem/song]

同義詞
  • verse

    everyday word for the same unit; also used for one line of poetry or for poetry in general, so it is less precise than 'stanza'.

  • strophe

    technical term from classical Greek poetry; rare in modern English outside literary criticism.

文法句型

stanza + of + [number] + lines

ordinal + stanza (the first / second / final stanza)

用法筆記

Restricted to poems and hymns; the matching unit in popular songs is called a 'verse'. Length is typically described in lines (a four-line stanza, a stanza of six lines), not in words.

常見錯誤

❌The song has two stanzas and a chorus.
✅The song has two verses and a chorus.
💡in popular music, the sung sections are called verses, not stanzas.
❌Each stanza of the essay has five sentences.
✅Each paragraph of the essay has five sentences.
💡stanzas only belong to poems; prose uses paragraphs.