Poetry Types of stanzas

LEARNING

INTENTIONSUCCESS

CRITERIA

• To identify the type of

stanza used by the

number of l ines used.

I wil l be able to count

the l ines in a number of

stanzas and categorise

them into types of

stanza.

Couplet

the 2 line stanza

“Humpty dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty dumpty had a great fall”

“This precious book of love, this unbound lover,

To beautify him only lacks a cover”

Tercet

the 3 line stanza

An old silent pond…A frog jumps into the pond,splash! Silence again.

Quatrain

the 4 line stanza

Basketball is not boring

Dribbling, shooting, scoring

The only way to play

Is winning all the way.

Once I made a snowman

Handsome as can be

In the snow he melted

A sad sight to see.

Quintrain

the 5 line stanza

Listen...

With faint dry sound,

Like steps of passing ghosts,

The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees

And fall.

Sestet

the 6 line stanza

Darkness snaked into the hall

Shadows danced and hid from the eye

A glowing dot grew into a monstrous ball

Screams reached up to the sky

Breathing slowed to a crawl

Light exploded from on high

Review

Define a stanza in your own words.

List the types of stanzas and the line

numbers.