Page 3 Stanzas

A poem usually has a visual pattern arranged in lines of various length. A grouping or separation of these lines is called a stanza, which forms a rhythmical pattern (verse).

Consider the first stanza of Casey at the Bat. The baseball team is losing 4:2 with one inning remaining.


The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.



 Read "The Sounds of Poetry" on pages 59-61 of ResourceLines 7/8.



 Please contact your teacher if you have questions.