These are verse forms which specify the structure of a single stanza. The complete poem consists of as many such stanzas as the poet wishes. (No poet worthy of the name would be content with a single stanza, obviously!) Each stanza uses its own set of rhymes, and does not have to have any rhymes in common with any other stanza.
Most of these forms (but not all of them) can be regarded as particular kinds of ode.
Where stanzas are linked together by rhyme, we have instead a chained form.
Ballad * Lai * Ode * Rhyme Royal * Romantic stanza * Rubai (Rubaiyat) * Shairi (Rustavelian Quatrain)
See also stanza forms.
© Bob Newman 2004, 2005. All rights reserved.
This page last updated 10/07/2005