In
poetry, a
stanza (; from
Italian stanza , "room") is a grouped set of lines within a poem, usually set off from other stanzas by a blank line or
indentation. Stanzas can have regular
rhyme and
metrical schemes, though stanzas are not strictly required to have either. There are many unique . 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 set of lines, as opposed to regular, rhymed stanzas.