Understanding the Line and the Stanza

Objectives:

1. To know what stanzas and lines are.
2. To explore the effect of a line break.
3. To be able to use line breaks to create stanzas and separate ideas.

The Line

In poetry a line is not the same as a sentence. One line can hold multiple sentences and one sentence can span many lines. In poetry we use lines to determine rhythm and flow. Sometimes pausing mid line, with a full stop can create a powerful effect. Read the following poem to see if you can figure out one of the ways this can be effective.

The Stanza

A stanza in poetry is like a verse in music. It’s a group of lines in a poem that are usually separated by a blank line.

Read the following poem:

Frogs  by Norman McCaig

Frogs sit more solid

than anything sits.

In mid-leap they are parachutists falling

in a free fall. They die on roads

with arms across their chests and heads high.

I love frogs that sit

like Buddha, that fall without parachutes, that die

like Italian tenors.

Above all, I love them because,

pursued in water, they never

panic so much that they fail to make stylish triangles

with their ballet dancer’s

legs.

Now have a go at the quiz.