In poetry, a stanza is a group of lines within a poem that are usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation
. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. There are many different forms of stanzas, ranging from simple four-line quatrains to more complex forms like the Spenserian stanza
. The stanza has a similar meaning to strophe, though strophe sometimes refers to an irregular set of lines, as opposed to regular, rhymed stanzas
. The stanza in poetry is analogous to the paragraph in prose, as related thoughts are grouped into units
