Quatrain
noun
A stanza or verse of four lines, especially one having alternate rhymes.
This poem has five quatrains.
Often appears as...
- rhyming quatrain
- alternating quatrain
Usage tips
Poetic
noun
A stanza or verse of four lines, especially one having alternate rhymes.
This poem has five quatrains.
Often appears as...
- rhyming quatrain
- alternating quatrain
Usage tips
Poetic
Definition 1 of 1
Pro Tip 1/3Rhyme Scheme
Quatrains often follow a rhyme scheme such as ABAB where the first and third lines rhyme, and so do the second and fourth.
In the quatrain, 'When I do count the clock that tells the time, / And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; / When I behold the violet past prime, / And sable curls all silvered o'er with white.'
Pro Tip 2/3Rhythmic Patterns
Quatrains can have varied rhythms, typically following stressed and unstressed syllables.
The quatrain 'To dance upon the soft green grass' has a rhythm that you can tap to.
Pro Tip 3/3Literary Context
Quatrains are used in many famous poetic forms, including sonnets and ballads.
Shakespeare's sonnets are made of three quatrains followed by a couplet.
Pro Tip 1/3Rhyme Scheme
Quatrains often follow a rhyme scheme such as ABAB where the first and third lines rhyme, and so do the second and fourth.
In the quatrain, 'When I do count the clock that tells the time, / And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; / When I behold the violet past prime, / And sable curls all silvered o'er with white.'
Pro Tip 2/3Rhythmic Patterns
Quatrains can have varied rhythms, typically following stressed and unstressed syllables.
The quatrain 'To dance upon the soft green grass' has a rhythm that you can tap to.
Pro Tip 3/3Literary Context
Quatrains are used in many famous poetic forms, including sonnets and ballads.
Shakespeare's sonnets are made of three quatrains followed by a couplet.
Pro Tip 1/3Rhyme Scheme
Quatrains often follow a rhyme scheme such as ABAB where the first and third lines rhyme, and so do the second and fourth.
In the quatrain, 'When I do count the clock that tells the time, / And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; / When I behold the violet past prime, / And sable curls all silvered o'er with white.'
Pro Tip 2/3Rhythmic Patterns
Quatrains can have varied rhythms, typically following stressed and unstressed syllables.
The quatrain 'To dance upon the soft green grass' has a rhythm that you can tap to.
Pro Tip 3/3Literary Context
Quatrains are used in many famous poetic forms, including sonnets and ballads.
Shakespeare's sonnets are made of three quatrains followed by a couplet.
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Quote examples
James Fenton
British Poet
This is what rhyme does. In a couplet, the first rhyme is like a question to which the second rhyme is an answer. The first rhyme leaves something in the air, some unanswered business. In most quatrains, space is created between the rhyme that poses the question and the rhyme that gives the answer - it is like a pleasure deferred.
Quote examples
James Fenton
British Poet
At four lines, with the quatrain, we reach the basic stanza form familiar from a whole range of English poetic practice. This is the length of the ballad stanza, the verse of a hymn, and innumerable other kinds of verse.
Quote examples
Julien Baker
American Musician
Many of my songs just come together in quatrains because that's how a hymn goes.
Quote examples
James Fenton
British Poet
This is what rhyme does. In a couplet, the first rhyme is like a question to which the second rhyme is an answer. The first rhyme leaves something in the air, some unanswered business. In most quatrains, space is created between the rhyme that poses the question and the rhyme that gives the answer - it is like a pleasure deferred.
Quote examples
James Fenton
British Poet
At four lines, with the quatrain, we reach the basic stanza form familiar from a whole range of English poetic practice. This is the length of the ballad stanza, the verse of a hymn, and innumerable other kinds of verse.
Quote examples
Julien Baker
American Musician
Many of my songs just come together in quatrains because that's how a hymn goes.
Example 1 of 3
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