Chapter V: Tripartite Stanzas

I. _Isometrical stanzas._

§ =267.= In the anisometrical stanzas (which might, as being the older species, have been treated of first) the distinction between the first and the last part of the stanza (_frons_ and _cauda_) is marked as a rule by a difference of metre in them; in isometrical stanzas, on the other hand, the distinction between the two parts depends solely on the arrangement of the rhyme. For this reason certain =six-lined stanzas= consisting of two equal parts and a third of the same structure (the formula being _a a b b c c₄_ or the like), which now and then occur in the _Surtees Psalter_ (e.g. Ps. xliv, st. 5), cannot strictly be called tripartite.

Stanzas like these are, however, not unfrequent in Modern English poetry, as e.g. in a song of Carew's (_Poets_, iii. 292):

_Cease, thou afflicted soul, to mourn,
Whose love and faith are paid with scorn;
For I am starv'd that feel the blisses
Of dear embraces, smiles and kisses,
From my soul's idol, yet complain
Of equal love more than disdain._

For an account of many other stanzas of the same or similar structure (consisting of trochaic four-foot lines, iambic-anapaestic lines of four stresses, or lines of five, six, and seven measures), see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 355, 356.

It is only rarely that we find stanzas formed on the scheme _a a a a b b_ (e.g. in the _Surtees Psalter_, xlix. 21; in Ben Jonson, _Poets_, iv. 574); or on the formula _a a b b a b₄_, as in Swinburne, _Poems_, i. 248.

One form, analogous to the stanza first mentioned in this section and used pretty often in Modern English, has crossed rhymes _a b a b a b_. It occurs with four-foot verses in Byron, _She walks in Beauty_:

_She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies:
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies._

The same stanza of trochaic or iambic-anapaestic metres of three or five measures is also frequently met with (cf. _Metrik_, ii, § 358).

The tripartite character of a strophe appears somewhat more distinctly in stanzas formed on the scheme _a b a b b b_, or _a b a b b x_ (cf. _Metrik_, ii, §359).

The only stanzas, however, that are in the strictest sense to be regarded as tripartite are those in which the first and the last part are clearly distinguished by the arrangement of rhymes, as e.g. in the type _a b a b c c_. This stanza is very popular in Modern English poetry; in the Middle English period, however, we find it very rarely used, as e.g. in the _Coventry Mysteries_, p. 315.

In Modern English it occurs e.g. in Surrey, _A Prayse of his Love_ (p. 31):

_Give place, ye lovers, here before
That spend your boasts and brags in vain;
My Lady's beauty passeth more
The best of yours, I dare well sayen,
Than doth the sun the candle light,
Or brightest day the darkest night._

This form of stanza is used with lines of the same metres by many other poets, e.g. by M. Arnold, pp. 195, 197, 256, 318. Similar stanzas of four-foot trochaic (cf. p. 285), or of four-stressed verses, and especially of five-foot verses, are very popular. They are found e.g. in Shakespeare's _Venus and Adonis_, M. Arnold's _Mycerinus_ (first part, p. 8), &c. (cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 360, 361).

Similar stanzas, however, in which the _frons_ precedes the _versus_, according to the formula _a a b c b c_ (cf. p. 285), do not occur frequently; a rare form, also, is that in which the _cauda_ is placed between the two _pedes_ (cf. p. 285 and _Metrik_, ii, §362).

§ =268.= Still more popular than the six-lined stanzas, both in the Middle and in the Modern English periods, are those =of seven lines=, which are modelled on Old French lyric poetry, the prevailing type being that of an Old French ballade-stanza, viz. _a b a b b c c_. But it is not before the middle of the fifteenth century that we meet with an example of this stanza consisting of four-foot verses, viz. in Lydgate's Minor Poems (_Percy Society_, 1840), p. 129; a specimen of four-stressed verses occurs in the _Chester Plays_, pp. 1-7 and pp. 156-8. We may, however, take it for granted that this form of stanza was known long before that time, since four-foot verses were used much earlier than those of five feet, and a six-lined stanza of five-foot verses occurs (for the first time, so far as we know) as early as in Chaucer's _Compleynte of the Dethe of Pite_, and subsequently in many other of his poems (e.g. _Troylus and Cryseyde_, _The Assembly of Fowles_, _The Clerkes Tale_) and in numerous other poems of his successors, e.g. in _The Kingis Quair_ by King James I of Scotland. It has been sometimes maintained that this stanza was called _rhyme royal_ stanza because that royal poet wrote his well-known poem in it; this, however, is not so. Guest long ago pointed out (ii. 359) that this name is to be derived from the French term _chant-royal_, applied to certain poems of similar stanzas which were composed in praise of God or the Virgin, and used to be recited in the poetical contests at Rouen on the occasion of the election of a 'king'. Chaucer's verses to Adam Scrivener are of this form and may be quoted as a specimen here (after Skeat's text, p. 118):

_Adam scriveyn, if euer it thee bifalle
Boece or Troylus to writen newe,
Under thy lokkes thou most haue the scalle,
But after my making thou write trewe.
So oft a day I mot thy werk renewe
Hit to corrects and eek to rubbe and scrape,
And al is through thy negligence and rape._

In Modern English this beautiful stanza was very popular up to the end of the sixteenth century; Shakespeare, e.g., wrote his _Lucrece_ in it; afterwards, however, it unfortunately fell almost entirely out of use (cf. _Metrik_, ii, § 364).

The same form of stanza, composed of two-, three-, or four-foot verses also occurs almost exclusively in the Early Modern English period (cf. ib., § 363).

Some varieties of this stanza, mostly formed of three-, four-, and five-foot verses, correspond to the schemes _a b a b c c b₄_ (e.g. in Akenside, Book I, Ode iii), _a b a b c b c₅_ (Spenser, _Daphnaïda_, p. 542), _a b a b c b c₂_ (R. Browning, vi. 41). Other stanzas of seven lines are _a b a b c c a₄_, _a a b b c c a₄_, _a a b b a c c₄_, _a b a b C d C₃_, _a a b b c c c₄_, _a b a b c c c₄_, _a b a b c c c₅_, _a b a c c d d₅_ (for specimens see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 365, 366).

§ =269. Eight-lined isometrical stanzas= are also frequently used in the Middle and Modern English period, though not so often as those of six and seven lines.

The scheme _a b a b b a b a_, formed from the simple equal-membered stanza of eight lines _a b a b a b a b_, it would seem, by inversion of the last two couplets, is rare in Middle English. We find it in the _Digby Plays_, consisting of four-foot verses. In Modern English, too, it is not very common; we have an example in Wyatt, e.g. pp. 118, 135, and another in the same poet, formed of five-foot verses (_a b a b b a b a₅_), p. 135.

Much more in favour in the Middle as well as in the Modern English period is the typical form of the eight-lined stanza, corresponding to the scheme _a b a b b c b c_. It is formed from the preceding stanza by the introduction of a new rhyme in the sixth and eighth verses, and it had its model likewise in a popular ballade-stanza of Old French lyrical poetry.

In Middle English poetry this stanza is very common, consisting either of four-stressed verses (e.g. in _The Lyfe of Joseph of Arimathia_, E. E. T. S., vol. 44, and _On the death of the Duke of Suffolk_, Wright's _Polit. Poems_, ii. 232) or of four-foot or five-foot verses. As an example of the form consisting of four-foot verses we may quote a stanza from Wright's _Polit. Songs_, p. 246:

_Alle þat beoþ of huerte trewe,
A stounde herkneþ to my song
Of duel, þat deþ haþ diht us newe
Þat makeþ me syke ant sorewe among!
Of a knyht, þat wes so strong
Of wham god haþ don ys wille;
Me þuncheþ þat deþ haþ don vs wrong,
Þat he so sone shal ligge stille._

Many other examples occur in later poetry, e.g. in Minot, Lydgate, Dunbar, Lyndesay, in Wyatt, p. 119, Burns, p. 59, Walter Scott, p. 160, &c.

Similar stanzas of two-stressed and three-foot verses are only of rare occurrence; we find them e.g. in Percy's _Rel._ II. ii. 3; Wyatt, p. 41.

The same stanza, consisting of five-foot verses, was used by Chaucer in his _A B C_, the first stanza of which may be quoted here:

_Almyghty and al merciable Quene,
To whom that al this world fleeth for socour
To have relees of sinne, sorwe, and teene!
Glorious Virgyne, of alle floures flour,
To thee I flee, confounded in errour!
Help, and releve, thou mighty debonaire,
Have mercy of my perilous langour!
Venquysshed m' hath my cruel adversaire._

Chaucer uses the same stanza in some other minor poems, and also in _The Monkes Tale_; besides this we find it often in Lydgate, Dunbar, Kennedy; more rarely in Modern English poetry; e.g. in Spenser's _Shepheard's Cal., Ecl. XI_, S. Daniel's _Cleopatra_, &c.

Now and then some other eight-lined stanzas occur, e.g. one with the formula _a b a b b c c b_ in Chaucer's _Complaynt of Venus_, and in the _Flyting_ by Dunbar and Kennedy. The scheme _a a b b c d c d_ is used in a love-song (_Rel. Ant._ i. 70-4). In the Modern English period we have stanzas on the schemes _a ~ b a ~ b c c d ~ d ~₄_ (in Sidney, _Psalm XLIII_), _a b a b c c c b₄_ (Scott, _Helvellyn_, p. 472), _a ~ b a ~ b c ~ c ~ d ~ d ~₂_ (Moore); cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 369-71.

There are also eight-lined stanzas formed by combination with tail-rhyme stanzas, as _a a b a a b c c₄_, _a a b c c d d b₄_, but they are not frequent; a stanza corresponding to the formula _a a b a a b c c₄_ we have in Spenser, _Epigram III_ (p. 586); and the variety _a a b c c d d b₄_ (the _cauda_ being enclosed by the _pedes_) occurs in Moore.

The same peculiarity we find in stanzas formed on the scheme _A A b c b c A A₄_ (Moore), or _a a b c b c d d₄_ (Wordsworth, ii. 267); cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 372, 373.

§ =270.= Stanzas of a still larger compass are of rare occurrence in Middle English poetry. =A nine-lined stanza= corresponding to the formula _a a b a a b b c c₅_ we have in Chaucer's _Complaynt of Mars_; it seems to be formed from the _rhyme royal_ stanza, by adding one verse to each _pes_; but it might also be looked upon as a combination with the tail-rhyme stanza. Another stanza of this kind, with the formula _a a b a a b b a b₅_, is used in Chaucer's _Complaynt of Faire Anelyda_ and in Dunbar's _Goldin Targe_.

A similar stanza, corresponding to the formula _a a b c c b d b d₄_, occurs in Modern English poetry in John Scott, _Ode XII_. Other stanzas used in the Modern English period are formed with parallel rhymes, as e. g. on the scheme _a a a b b b c c c₄_ (Walter Scott, _Lady of the Lake_, p. 187); forms with crossed rhymes throughout or partly are also used, as e.g. by Wyatt, p. 121, according to the formula _a b a b c c c d d₅_:

_My love is like unto th' eternal fire,
And I as those which therein do remain;
Whose grievous pains is but their great desire
To see the sight which they may not attain:
So in hell's heat myself I feel to be,
That am restrain'd by great extremity,
The sight of her which is so dear to me.
O! puissant Love! and power of great avail!
By whom hell may be felt ere death assail!_

As to other schemes (_a b a b b c d c d₅_, _a b a b b c b c c₅_, _a b a b c d c d R₄_, _a b a b c d c d d₄_, &c.) cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 374-6.

§ =271.= A Middle English =stanza of ten lines=, similar to those of nine lines, is used by Chaucer in the _Envoy_ to his _Complaynt of Mars and Venus_ (_a a b a a b b a a b₅_); another on the model _a b a b b c c b b b₄_is found in a poem _Long Life_ (E. E. T. S., 49, p. 156, quoted in _Metrik_, i. p. 421).

Some of the Modern English stanzas again are formed by combination with different varieties of the tail-rhyme stanza, as e.g. one according to the formula _a a b ~ c c b ~ d d e e₄_ in Prior, _The Parallel_ (Poets, vii. 507):

_Prometheus, forming Mr. Day,
Carv'd something like a man in clay.
The mortal's work might well miscarry;
He, that does heaven and earth control,
Alone has power to form a soul,
His hand is evident in Harry.
Since one is but a moving clod,
T'other the lively form of God;
'Squire Wallis, you will scarce be able
To prove all poetry but fable._

A stanza of trochaic verses corresponding to a similar scheme, viz. _a a b c c b d d d b₄_, is used by Tennyson in _The Window_ (p. 284).

Sometimes the scheme is _a b a b c c d e e d₄_ (where there are two _pedes_ forming a _frons_, and a tail-rhyme stanza equivalent to two _versus_), as in Akenside, Book I, Ode II (_Poets_, ix. 773).

Some stanzas, on the other hand, have a parallel arrangement of rhymes, _a a b b c c d d e E_ (_e E_ being the _cauda_) as in Walter Scott, _Soldier, Wake_ (p. 465); or more frequently crossed rhymes, _a b a b c d c d e e₅_, _a b a b c d c d e e₄_, the first eight verses forming the upsong (_pedes_); or with a four-lined upsong _a a b b c d c d e e₄_, _a a b b c d d e d e₃_, _a b a b b c c d c D₅_. The last-mentioned form has been used several times by Swinburne, e.g. _Poems_, ii, pp. 126, 215, 219, &c., in his ballads. For specimens see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 379-81.

§ =272. Stanzas of eleven lines= are very scarce in Middle English poetry, if used there at all, and even in Modern English very few examples occur. A stanza of Swinburne's may be mentioned here, imitated from an Old French ballade- (or rather _chant-royal_) stanza, corresponding to the formula _a b a b c c d d e d E₅_ and used in a _Ballad against the Enemies of France_ (Poems, ii. 212). Cf. _Metrik_, ii, §382.

=Twelve-lined stanzas= are much more frequently used, even in Middle English poetry; one of four-foot verses according to the scheme _a b a b a b a b b c b C_ (the stanzas being connected into groups by _concatenatio_) occurs in the fine fourteenth-century poem, _The Pearl_. Another of four-stressed verses corresponding to the formula _a b a b a b a b c d c d_ we have in Wright's _Polit. Songs_, p. 149; one of four-foot verses together with other forms of stanzas (_a b a b a b a b a b a b_, _a b a b c d c d e f e f_) we have in the poem on the _Childhood of Christ_ (ed. Horstmann, Heilbronn, 1878).

But it is chiefly in Modern English poetry that stanzas of twelve lines are very common, especially stanzas consisting of three equal parts, with crossed rhymes. In some of these there is no difference at all in the structure of the three parts, as e.g. in a stanza by Prior (_Poets_, vii. 402) on the model _a b a b c d c d e f e f₄_; while in others the refrain (consisting of the four last verses) forms the _cauda_, as e.g. in Moore's _Song on the Birthday of Mrs. ----_:

_Of all my happiest hours of joy,
And even I have had my measure,
When hearts were full, and ev'ry eye
Hath kindled with the light of pleasure,
An hour like this I ne'er was given,
So full of friendship's purest blisses;
Young Love himself looks down from heaven,
To smile on such a day as this is.
Then come, my friends, this hour improve,
Let's feel as if we ne'er could sever;
And may the birth of her we love
Be thus with joy remember'd ever!_

Now and then certain modifications of this form of stanza are met with, especially stanzas the four-lined refrain of which forms not only the end, but also the beginning, of the stanza (but as a rule only in the first stanza, the others having the refrain only at the end); e.g. _A B A B c d c d A B A B₃_ (st. 1), _d e d e f g f g A B A B₃_. (st. 2), _h i h i k l k l A B A B₃_ (st. 3), in Moore, _Drink to her_.

In other poems Moore uses this type of stanza with lines of four stresses, as in _Drink of this cup_, and with lines of two stresses, as in _When the Balaika_. For some rarely occurring stanzas of this kind see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 385, 386.

A =stanza of thirteen lines= corresponding to the formula _a b a b b c b c d e e e d₄_ occurs in the Middle English poem _The Eleven Pains of Hell_ (E. E. T. S., 49, p. 210). Another one on the scheme _a ~ a ~ B c ~ c ~ B d ~ d ~ d ~ b e ~ e ~ B₃_ we have in Moore, _Go where glory waits thee_.

As to stanzas of fifteen and eighteen lines see _Metrik_, ii, § 387.

II. _Anisometrical stanzas._

§ =273.= As mentioned before (§ 267) the anisometrical stanzas of the tripartite class, being older, might have been dealt with before the isometrical stanzas. This chronological order of treatment, however, would have been somewhat inconvenient in practice, as it would have involved the necessity of discussing many of the more complicated stanzas before the shorter and simpler ones, most of which do not occur in Middle English, but in Modern poetry only. Moreover, the absence of certain simple and short forms of stanza constructed in accordance with the principles which were generally adopted in the Middle English period is a purely accidental circumstance, which is liable at any moment to be altered by the discovery of new texts.

In the following paragraphs, therefore, the stanzas belonging to this chapter are discussed according to their arrangement of rhymes and to the length of the lines of which they are composed.

We begin with certain =stanzas of six lines=, the first part (the _frons_ or 'upsong') of which is isometrical, the arrangement of rhymes being parallel.

A pretty stanza with the scheme _a a b b₃ c c₄_ presents itself in the song _The Fairy Queen_ (Percy's _Rel_. III. ii. 26):

_Come, follow, follow me,
You, fairy elves that be:
Which circle on the greene,
Come, follow Mab, your queene,
Hand in hand let's dance around,
For this place is fairye ground._

For similar stanzas conforming to the schemes _a a b b₄ c c₅_, _a a b b c₄ c₅_, _a a b b c ~ c ~₅_, _a a b b₆ c ~ c ~₅_, _a a b b c₄ c₃_ (in Moore, _The Wandering Bard_), &c., see _Metrik_, ii, § 389.

Another group is represented by stanzas of six rhyming couplets of unequal length, as _a₅ a₄ b₅ b₄ c₅ c₄_ (Sidney, _Psalm XXXIX_), _a₆ a₃ b₆ b₃ c₆ c₃_ (id. _Psalm II_); or _a₅ a₂ b₅ b₂ c c₅_, _a₄ a₅ b₄ b₅ c c₄_, frequently used by Herbert and Cowley, or _a₅ a₄ b b₃ c₅ c₄_, _a a b₄ b₃ c c₄_ (in Moore, _St. Senanus and the Lady_), the two _pedes_ enclosing the _cauda_ (cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 390-2).

Similar stanzas with crossed rhymes occur pretty often, especially stanzas of three Septenary verses broken up by inserted rhyme, according to the formula _a₄ b ~₃ a₄ b ~₃ a₄ b ~₃_, as in Moore, _The Gazelle_:

_Dost thou not hear the silver bell,
Thro' yonder lime-trees ringing?
'Tis my lady's light gazelle,
To me her love-thoughts bringing,--
All the while that silver bell
Around his dark neck ringing_.

For other specimens see _Metrik_, ii, § 393.

§ =274.= More popular are stanzas of a more distinctly tripartite character, formed on the scheme _a b a b c c_ (which occurs also in the isometrical group). These stanzas are used in many various forms, as e. g. one in Cowper, _Olney Hymns_ (p. 25), like _a b a b₃ c c₄_:

_By whom was David taught
To aim the deadly blow,
When he Goliath fought,
And laid the Gittite low?
Nor sword nor spear the stripling took,
But chose a pebble from the brook._

Numerous other examples are quoted in _Metrik_, ii, § 394, together with similar stanzas formed according to the schemes _a b ~ a b ~₃ c c₄_, _a b a b₃ C C₄_, _a ~ b a ~ b₃ c c₅_, _a b a b₄ c c₅_, _a ~ b a ~ b₄ c c₆_, &c.

The reverse order with regard to the length of the verses in the _pedes_ and the _cauda_ is also not uncommon, as e.g. in stanzas on the schemes _a b a b c₅ c₄_, _a b a b c₅ c₃_, _a b a b₅ c₄ c₅_, &c.

Stanzas of this kind are met with chiefly in the earlier Modern English poets, e.g. in Cowley and Herbert. Shorter lines also are used, e.g. in stanzas corresponding to the formulas _a b a b₄ c c₃_, _a b a b₄ c c₂_; stanzas like these also occur later, e.g. in Moore. In Cowley, now and then, a stanza is found with a preceding _frons_ (on the scheme _a a₅ b c b c₄_). In Moore we find yet another variety (in _Poor broken flower_), the _cauda_ of which is enclosed by the _pedes_ (according to the formula _a ~ b₅ c c₃ a ~ b₅_).

Another group of stanzas is to be mentioned here, the verses of which are of different length in the first part, admitting of many various combinations. Especially stanzas of Septenary rhythm in the first part are very popular, as e.g. in Cowper's fine poem _The Castaway_ (p. 400), on the scheme _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c₄_:

_Obscurest night involved the sky,
The Atlantic billows roared,
When such a destined wretch as I,
Washed headlong from on board,
Of friends, of hope, of all bereft,
His floating home for ever left._

There are many varieties of this form of stanza, as e.g. _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c₅_, _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c₄ c₅_, _a₃ b₂ a₃ b₂ c₄ c₅_, _a₄ b₂ a₄ b₂ c c₄_, _a₅ b₄ a₅ b₄ c c₅_; _a₃ b₄ a₃ b₄ c c₄_, _a₂ b₄ a₂ b₄ c c₅_. All these different schemes were chiefly used by the earlier Modern English poets, as Browne, Carew, Cowley, Waller, and Herbert. (See _Metrik_, ii, § 397).

There are some other stanzas of allied structure which may be regarded as extensions of the Poulter's Measure by the addition of a second Alexandrine or Septenary verse, their formulas being _a b c b₃ d₄ d₃_ or _a b₃ c₄ b₃ d₄ d₃_. For examples see _Metrik_, ii, § 398.

§ =275. Stanzas of seven lines= are very common, and have many diverse forms. In the first place may be mentioned those which have parallel arrangement of rhymes, and in which the _frons_ is isometrical. Some of these forms, used chiefly by the earlier poets, as Cowley, Sheffield, and others, have the scheme _a a b b c₄ c₂ c₅_ or _a a b b c₄ c a₅_. Another variety, with alternate four-and two-foot iambic-anapaestic lines according to the formula _a a b b₄ r r₂ R₄_, occurs in Moore, _The Legend of Puck the Fairy_:

_Would'st know what tricks, by the pale moonlight,
Are play'd by me, the merry little Sprite,
Who wing through air from the camp to the court,
From king to clown, and of all make sport;
Singing, I am the Sprite
Of the merry midnight,
Who laugh at weak mortals, and love the moonlight._

Stanzas with an anisometrical first part, e.g. on the model _a₄ a₅ b₄ b₅ c c₄ c₅_in Donne, _Love's Exchange_ (Poets, iv. 30), are of rare occurrence.

Numerous stanzas of this kind have in part crossed rhymes; we find, e. g., stanzas with the same order of rhymes as in the _rhyme royal, _on the model _a b a b b c₃ c₅_ as in S. Daniel, _A Description of Beauty_:

_O Beauty (beams, nay, flame
Of that great lamp of light),
That shines a while with fame,
But presently makes night!
Like winter's shortliv'd bright,
Or summer's sudden gleams;
How much more dear, so much less lasting beams._

Similar stanzas have the schemes _a b a b b₃ c c₅_, _a b a b c b₄ c₂_, _a b a b c c₄ R₂_, _a b a b c c₄ C₅_, _a b a b c c₄ b₃_, _a b a b₄ c c₂ a₄_, &c. For examples see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 401-3.

In many stanzas the first and the last part (_frons_ and _cauda_) are anisometrical. Thus Donne, Cowley, and Congreve furnish many examples of the formulas _a₅ b₄ a₅ b₄ c c₄ b₅_, _a ~₄ b₆ a ~₄ b₅ c c₃ c₄_, _a₄ b₅ a₄ b₅ c c₂ b₄_, and later poets make frequent use of similar stanzas composed of shorter lines after the model of the following by Congreve, _Poets_, vii. 546 (_a₄ b ~₃ a₄ b ~3 c c₄ b ~₃_):

_Tell me no more I am deceived,
That Cloe's false and common;
I always knew (at least believ'd)
She was a very woman;
As such I lik'd, as such caress'd,
She still was constant when possess'd,
She could do more for no man._

For examples of other similar stanzas (_a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c b₃_, _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ C C₃ C₅_, _a₃ b₄ a₃ b₄ c c c₄_, _a₄ b ~₂ a₄ b ~₂ c c a₄_, &c.) see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 404-6.

§ =276. Eight-lined stanzas= of various kinds are also very popular. They rarely occur, however, with an isometrical _frons_, composed of rhyming couplets (_a a b b c c d₅ d₃_, _a ~ a ~ b ~ b ~₄ C ~ C ~₂ d ~ d ~₄_, _a a b b c c d₄ d₅_; cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 408, 410); or with enclosing rhymes in the _cauda_ (_a a b b c d d₄ c₅_, _a a b b₄ c d₄ d₂ c₄_, ib. § 409); or of an anisometrical structure with parallel rhymes in both parts (ib. § 411).

The usual forms show crossed rhymes; either throughout the whole stanza (in which case the first part is isometrical), or in the first part only. The first form is represented by the following elegant stanza (_a b a b₅ c₄ d ~₃ c₄ d ~₃_) in the second of Drayton's _Eclogues_ (Poets, iii. 590):

_Upon a bank with roses set about,
Where turtles oft sit joining bill to bill,
And gentle springs steal softly murm'ring out,
Washing the foot of pleasure's sacred hill;
There little Love sore wounded lies,
His bow and arrows broken,
Bedew'd with tears from Venus' eyes;
Oh! grievous to be spoken._

Other schemes that occur are: _a b a b c₅ d₃ c₅ d₃_, _a b a b c d c₄ d₃_, _a b a b c c d₄ d₃_, _a b a b₄ c c₂ d d₄_, _a b a₄ b₃ c c d d₄_, _a ~ b a ~ b₃ c₄ d₃ d₄ d₃_, _a b ~ a b ~₃ c₄ d ~₃ c₄ d ~₃_, _a ~ b c ~ b d ~ e₃ f₄ e₃_, _a ~ b a ~ b₃ c d c₄ d₃_, _a ~ b a ~ b c ~ d c ~4 d₅_ (M. Arnold, p. 2), &c.; for numerous examples see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 412, 414, 415.

Sometimes stanzas occur, the isometrical part of which forms the _cauda_, as on the scheme _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c d d₄_ in Moore, _Sovereign Woman_:

_The dance was o'er, yet still in dreams,
That fairy scene went on;
Like clouds still flushed with daylight gleams,
Though day itself is gone.
And gracefully to music's sound,
The same bright nymphs went gliding round;
While thou, the Queen of all, wert there--
The fairest still, where all were fair._

For examples of other forms (_a b a₄ b₂ c d C D₄, a ~₃ b₄ a ~₃ b₄ c b c b₄, a₄ b₃ c₄ b₃ d e d e₃_, &c.) see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 413, 416.

§ =277.= Very frequently stanzas occur which are of an entirely anisometrical structure in both parts. To this group belong the first tripartite anisometrical stanzas of the Middle English period, contained in Wright's _Spec. of Lyr. Poetry_, p. 111 (two songs). Their stanzaic form (_a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ b b₅ c₇ c₅_) is also of great importance, on account of the fact that the first five-foot verses as yet known in English poetry occur in the _cauda_ of these stanzas. The first strophe may serve as an example:

_Lutel wot hit anymon,
Hou loue hym haueþ ybounde,
Þat for us oþe rode ron,
Ant bohte vs wiþ is wounde,
Þe loue of hym vs haueþ ymaked sounde,
Ant yeast þe grimly gost to grounde.
Euer ant oo, nyht ant day, hi haueþ vs in is þohte,
He nul nout leose þat he so deore bohte._

This stanza is also interesting on account of its regular use of masculine rhymes in the first and in the third line, and of feminine rhymes in the others. The structure of the five-measured verses employed in this stanza has been referred to before (§ 153).

Very often both main parts, the _upsong_ and the _downsong_, have crossed rhymes in Modern English, e.g. in a form of stanza with the scheme _a₅ b₃ a₅ b₃ c d₅ c₃ d₂_ in Southey, _To a Spider_ (ii. 180):

_Spider! thou need'st not run in fear about
To shun my curious eyes;
I wont humanely crush thy bowels out,
Lest thou should'st eat the flies;
Nor will I roast thee with a damn'd delight
Thy strange instinctive fortitude to see,
For there is One who might
One day roast me._

A structure analogous to that of the two last-quoted specimens is exhibited in many stanzas occurring in earlier Modern English poetry, as in Cowley, Herbert, Browne, Carew (_a₅ b₄ a₅ b₄ c₄ c₅ d₄ d₅_, _a₅ b₂ a₅ b₂ c₄ c₃ d₅ d₂_, _a₃ b₂ a₃ b₂ c c₄ d d₅_, _a₄ b₂ a₄ b₂ c₃ c₂ d d₃_); other forms, corresponding only in the upsong or downsong to the Middle English stanza quoted above, are _a ~₄ b₂ a ~₃ b₂ c ~₄ d₃ c ~₄ d₃_, _a₄ b ~₃ a₄ b ~₃ b ~₂ b ~₃ c₄ b ~₃_, _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c d₃ c₄ d₃_, &c., used by Burns, Moore, and Mrs. Hemans. For examples see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 417, 418.

§ =278.= The next group consists of stanzas, one main part of which consists of a half or of a whole tail-rhyme stanza. The first of these two forms is used e.g. by Burns in the song _She's Fair and Fause_ (p. 204), where the stanza consists of four- and three-foot verses on the model _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c c₄ d₃_:

_She's fair and fause that causes my smart,
I lo'ed her meikle and lang:
She's broken her vow, she's broken my heart,
And I may e'en gae hang.
A coof cam in wi' rowth o' gear,
And I hae tint my dearest dear,
But woman is but warld's gear,
Sae let the bonie lass gang._

Other stanzas of this class correspond to the formulas _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ a a a₄ b₃_, _a ~₄ b₂ a ~₄ b₃ c ~ c ~ c ~₄ b₂_, _a₃ b₂ a₃ b₂ c c c₃ b₂_. For examples see _Metrik_, ii, § 419.

There is another form of stanza the first part of which according to the Middle English usage consists of a complete tail-rhyme stanza (cf. the ten-lined stanzas of this group), while the _cauda_ is formed by a rhyming couplet, so that its structure corresponds to the scheme _a a₄ b₃ a a₄ b₃ c c₄_; it occurs in Spenser, _Epigrams_, ii (p. 586):

_As Diane hunted on a day,
She chaunst to come where Cupid lay,
His quiver by his head:
One of his shafts she stole away,
And one of hers did close convay
Into the other's stead:
With that Love wounded my Love's hart
But Diane beasts with Cupid's dart._

Similar stanzas of other metres are very frequently met with, as e.g. stanzas corresponding to the formulas _a a₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ d d₅_, _a a₃ b₂ c c₃ b₂ d d₆_, _a a₂ b₃ c c₂ b₃ b b₇_, and _a ~ a ~₄ b₅ c ~ c ~₄ b₅ d d₅_. The reverse order (i.e. _frons_ + two _versus_) we have in _a a₃ b b₂ c₃ b b₂ c₃_ and _a a₅ b b₃ c₅ d d₃ e₅_. For examples see _Metrik_, ii, § 420.

A stanza corresponding to the formula _a b₄ c₃ a b₄ c₃ a₄ D₃_ occurs in M. Arnold's _The Church of Brou_ (p. 17).

§ =279.= Among =stanzas of nine lines=, those with parallel rhymes must again be mentioned first; as e.g. a strophe on the scheme _a a b b c c d d₄ d₅_, in Akenside, Book I, Ode X, _To the Muse_ (Poets, ix. 780). Other stanzas occurring also in more recent poetry (Wordsworth, W. Scott) are on the schemes _a a b b₄ c c₂ c d d₄_, _a a b b c₄ d₃ c c₄ d₃_, _a₄ b₃ a a₄ b₃ c c d D₄_. For examples see _Metrik_, ii, § 421.

Similar stanzas, also with an isometrical first part, but with crossed rhymes, are not very often met with. The schemes are _a b a b₄ c c₂ c d d₄_, _a b a b c c d d₄ d₅_, _a b a b b c b b₄ c₃_, _a b a b c d c d₄ e₂_, _a₄ b₃ a a₄ b₃ c ~ d c ~ d₄_, &c. Specimens of them are also found in modern poets, as in Moore, Burns, Walter Scott, &c. For examples see _Metrik_, ii, § 422.

More frequently stanzas occur with an anisometrical first and last part and crossed rhymes in each of them; the schemes are _a₄ b₅ a₄ b₅ c₄ d₃ c₅ d d₄_, _a₅ b₂ a₅ b₂ c c₅ d d₂ c₄_, _a₄ b₂ a₄ b₂ c₄ d d₂ c c₄_. The most popular, however, are those stanzas in which one or other of the two main parts consists of Septenary verses; they are of frequent occurrence in Burns and other modern poets; a stanza on the scheme _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c₄ d ~₃ c₄ d ~₃ r₂_, e.g., is found in Burns, _The Holy Fair_ (p. 14):

_Upon a simmer Sunday morn,
When Nature's face is fair,
I walked forth to view the corn,
An' snuff' the caller air.
The risin' sun, owre Galston muirs,
Wi' glorious light was glintin;
The hares were hirplin down the furrs,
The lav'rocks they were chantin
Fu' sweet that day._

For similar examples see _Metrik_, ii, § 424.

Other stanzas are formed by combination with a complete or a shortened tail-rhyme stanza; so that we have schemes like _a a₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ d d d₄_, _a ~ a ~ b c ~ c ~ b₄ d ~ d ~₂ b₄_, _a a₂ b₄ c c₂ b₄ d d₂ b₄_. They occur in Carew (_Poets_, iii. 709), Dryden (p. 368), and Thackeray (p. 237). The formula _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c d c c₄ d₃_ we find in Campbell (p. 82), _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ d d₄_ in Byron's _Ode to Napoleon_ p. 273):

_'Tis done--but yesterday a King!
And arm'd with Kings to strive--
And now thou art a nameless thing;
So abject--yet alive!
Is this the man of thousand thrones,
Who strew'd our earth with hostile bones,
And can he thus survive?
Since he, miscall'd the Morning Star,
Nor man nor fiend hath fallen so far._

For other specimens see _Metrik_, ii, §§ 424, 425.

§ =280.= Among the =stanzas of ten lines=, those with an isometrical first part and parallel rhymes may first be mentioned; they correspond to the schemes _a a b b c d d e e₄ c₅_, _a a b b c d c d₄ f₃ f₄_, _a a b b c₄ d₃ c c c₄ d₃_, _a a b b₄ c d c d₂ e e₄_, and are found in Akenside, Wordsworth, and Moore. Next come stanzas with an anisometrical first part according to the formulas _a₅ a₄ b₅ b₄ c c₅ d d e₄ e₅_, _a₄ a₅ b₄ b₅ c d c₄ d₃ e e₅_, _a ~ a ~₃ b b₄ c ~ c ~₃ d d₄ e ~ e ~₃_, occurring in Cowley and Campbell (cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 427, 428).

In other stanzas, crossed rhymes are used in the isometrical first part; they correspond to the formulas _a b a b₅ c₄ d₃ c₄ d₃ e₆ e₇_, _a b a b c c d e d₅ E₂_, _a b a b c d e₅ c₃ d e₅_, _a b a b c₃ c₂ d₃ d₂ e₃ e₄_, and are found in Browne, G. Herbert, and Ben Jonson (ib. § 429).

In modern poetry simpler stanzas of this kind are used; one e.g. on the scheme _a ~ b ~ a ~ b ~₃ c c₄ d ~ e ~ d ~ e ~₃_ (the _cauda_ being thus enclosed by the two _pedes_) in Moore's song _Bring the bright Garlands hither_:

_Bring the bright garlands hither,
Ere yet a leaf is dying;
If so soon they must wither,
Ours be their last sweet sighing.
Hark, that low dismal chime!
'Tis the dreary voice of Time.
Oh, bring beauty, bring roses,
Bring all that yet is ours;
Let life's day, as it closes,
Shine to the last through flowers._

Similar stanzas corresponding to the formulas _a ~ b a ~ b₂ c c₄ d ~ e d ~ e₂_, _a ~ b ~ a ~ b c ~ d c ~ d₂ e e₄_, _a b a b c d c d₄ e₃ e₄_ and _a ~ b a ~ b₄ c ~₄ d₃ c ~₄ d₃ c ~₄ d₃_, are used by the same poet in _With Moonlight Beaming_, _The Young Indian Maid_, _Guess, guess_, and _from this Hour_.

Many stanzas of this group with an isometrical first part are formed by combination with a tail-rhyme stanza, which then generally forms the _cauda_, as in one of Cunningham's stanzas, viz. in _Newcastle Beer_ (Poets, x. 729), the stanza consisting of four- and two-stressed verses on the scheme _a b a b₄ c c₂ d₄ e e₂ d₄_:

_When fame brought the news of Great-Britain's success,
And told at Olympus each Gallic defeat;
Glad Mars sent by Mercury orders express,
To summon the deities all to a treat:
Blithe Comus was plac'd
To guide the gay feast,
And freely declar'd there was choice of good cheer;
Yet vow'd to his thinking,
For exquisite drinking,
Their nectar was nothing to Newcastle beer._

For examples of many similar forms, e.g. _a b a b c c d e e₄ d₃_, _a₅ b b₄ a₅ c c d e e d₃_, _a b a b₄ c c₂ d₄ e ~ e ~₂ d₄_, _a b a b₄ c c₂ d₃ e e₂ d₃_, _a b a b₃ c ~ c ~1 d₃ e ~ e ~1 d₂_, see _Metrik_, ii, § 431.

§ =281.= Stanzas of this kind with an anisometrical first part occur in the Middle English period: e.g. in Wright's _Spec. of Lyr. Poetry_, p. 83, on the scheme _a₄ b ~₃ a₄ b ~₃ c c₄ d ~₃ e e₄ d ~₃_:

_Jesu, for þi muchele miht
Þou ȝef vs of þi grace,
Þat we mowe dai and nyht
Þenken o þi face.
In myn herte hit doþ me god,
When y þenke on iesu blod,
Þat ran doun bi ys syde,
From is herte doun to is fot,
For ous he spradde is herte blod,
His woundes were so wyde._

The shorter, Septenary part of the stanza represents the _frons_, the tail-rhyme stanza, the _versus_. Of a similar form (_a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ a a₄ b₃ a b₃ a₂_) is the stanza of the poem _An Orison of our Lady_ (E. E. T. S., vol. xlix, p. 158). In Modern English also allied forms occur; one especially with the scheme _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c d e e₄ d₃_ in Gray, _Ode on the Spring_ (Poets, x. 215); other forms are _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c₂ d₃ e e₂ d₄_, _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c c d e e₄ d₅_, _a b₃ a₄ b₃ d d₄ e₃ f f₄ e₃_. (For examples see _Metrik_, ii, § 432.)

The reverse combination, viz. tail-rhyme stanza and Septenary (on the scheme _a a₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ d₄ b₃ d₄ b₃_), also occurs in Middle English times[195]), e.g. in Wright's _Spec. of Lyr. Poetry_, p. 87:

_Nou skrinkeþ rose and lylie flour,
þat whilen ber þat suete sauour,
in somer, þat suete tyde;
ne is no quene so stark ne stour,
ne no leuedy so bryht in bour,
þat ded ne shal by glyde.
Whose wol fleyshlust forgon,
and heuene blis abyde,
on iesu be is þoht anon,
þat þerled was ys syde._

Similar stanzas occur also in Modern English; e.g. one on the formula _a a₂ b₃ c c₂ b₃ d₄ e₃ d₄ e₃_ in Burns (p. 255), another on the scheme _a a₂ b₃ c c₂ b₃ d e₃ d₄ e₃_ (=_Poulter's Measure_ in the _cauda_), ib. p. 189.

Other ten-line stanzas consisting chiefly of Septenary verses or of _Poulter's Measure_ correspond to the formulas _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c₄ d₃ c₄ d₃ e e₄_, _a b₃ a₄ b₃ c d₃ c₄ d₃ e e₄_, _a b a₄ b₃ c d c₄ d₃ e e₃_. For examples, partly taken from Moore, see _Metrik_, ii, § 435.

Stanzas of this kind consisting of five-foot verses are rarely met with, e.g. _a₅ b₃ a₅ b₃ c₅ d₃ c₅ d₃ e e₄_, _a b₄ a₅ b₄ c c d d e e₅_, _a₅ b₃ a₅ b₃ c c₄ d₂ d₅ e₂ e₅_; as in Spenser and Browne (cf. _Metrik_, ii, § 434).

§ =282.= Stanzas of eleven lines= are also rare. There is one with an isometrical first part (on the scheme _a b a b₅ c c₂ c₃ d₂ d₅ x₂ d₆_) in Ben Jonson, _Cynthia's Revels_ (Poets, iv. 610); another in Campbell's _Gertrude of Wyoming_ (st. xxxv-xxxix), corresponding to the scheme _a b a b₄ c₃ d d d₄ c₃ e e₄_.

Other stanzas of an almost entirely anisometrical structure consist of a combination with a tail-rhyme stanza, as e.g. a Middle English stanza on the scheme _a a₄ b₃ a a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ a a₄ b₃_, with a regular tail-rhyme stanza representing the _pedes_, and a shortened tail- rhyme stanza representing the _cauda_; it occurs in the _Towneley Mysteries_, pp. 221-3. A similar one we have in Phineas Fletcher (_Poets_, iv. 460) on the formula

_a ~₂ a ~₃ b₂ e ~₂ e ~₃ b₂ d ~₄ e ~ e ~₂ d d₅_,

and another one in Leigh Hunt, _Coronation Soliloquy_ (p. 225) which corresponds to the formula _a a₂ b ~₃ c c₂ b ~₃ d d₂ e ~₃ f₄ e ~₃_.

In other stanzas parts only of tail-rhyme stanzas occur, as in a strophe of the form _a₄ b ~₃ c₄ b ~₃ d e d d₄ e₃ r R₄_, used by Wordsworth in _The Seven Sisters_ (iii. 15):

_Seven Daughters had Lord Archibald,
All children of one mother:
You could not say in one short day
What love they bore each other.
A garland of seven lilies wrought!
Seven Sisters that together dwell;
But he, bold Knight as ever fought,
Their Father, took of them no thought,
He loved the wars so well.
Sing mournfully, oh! mournfully,
The solitude of Binnorie!_

Other stanzas of this kind are formed on the schemes _a₄ b₂ a₄ b₂ c c₂ d₃ e₄ d₂ e₄ d₂_ (Moore, _Love's Young Dream_), _a b b a c c d e e d₅ e₃_ (Swinburne, _Ave atque Vale_, Poems, ii. 71). Cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 436, 437.

§ =283. Stanzas of twelve lines= are very numerous. One of the Middle English period we have in Wright's _Spec. of Lyr. Poetry_, p. 27; it is formed on the scheme _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ b b b c₃ D D D₄ C₃_ and is similar to those ten-lined stanzas mentioned above, which consist of two Septenary verses and a tail-rhyme stanza; the second part of which, being the refrain, thus becomes the _cauda_ of the stanza. In the Modern English period some simple stanzas with an isometrical first part and parallel rhymes may be mentioned in the first place. These are constructed on the schemes _a a b b c c d d₄ e₄ f₂ e₄ f₂_, _a a b b c c d d e e f₄ f₃_ and occur in Mrs. Hemans (iv. 171; vii. 155); stanzas of this kind with crossed rhymes are likewise met with, e.g. _a ~ b a ~ b₄ c c₃ d₅ e e f f₃ d₅_ in Burns, p. 188.

Pretty often we find stanzas for singing, the _cauda_ of which is enclosed by the _pedes_; in the first stanza the two _pedes_ together form the refrain, in the others, however, only the last one, e.g. in stanzas on the schemes _A ~ B A ~ B₄ c₄ d₃ c₄ d₃ A ~ B A ~ B₄_, _e ~ f e ~ f₄ g₄ h₃ g₄ h₃ A ~ B A ~ B₄_ in _Hymns Ancient and Mod._, No. 138, consisting of trochaic verses:

_Christ is risen! Christ is risen!
He hath burst His bonds in twain;
Christ is risen! Christ is risen!
Alleluia! swell the strain!
For our gain He suffered loss
By Divine decree;
He hath died upon the Cross,
But our God is He._

_Christ is risen! Christ is risen!
He hath burst His bonds in twain;
Christ is risen! Christ is risen!
Alleluia! swell the strain._

_See the chains of death are broken;
Earth below and heaven above_, &c. &c.

Similar stanzas frequently occur in Moore, e.g. stanzas on the models _A ~ B A ~ B₄ c c d₃ d₂ E ~ B E ~ B₄_, and _f ~ g f ~ g₄ h h i₃ i₂ E ~ B E ~ B₄_ (in _Love's light summer-cloud_), _A B ~ A B ~₃ c d ~₃ c₄ d ~₃ A B ~ A B ~₃_, _e f ~ e f ~₃ g h ~₃ g₄ h ~₃ A B ~ A B ~₃_ (in _All that's bright must fade_). For other examples see _Metrik_, ii, § 441.

Similar stanzas of Septenary metres, also common in Moore, have the formulas _a₄ b₃ a₄ b₃ c₄ d₃ c₄ d₃ E₄ F₃ E₄ F₃_ (in _When Time_), _A₄ B₃ A₄ B₃ c₄ d₃ c₄ d₃ A₄ B₃ A₄ B₃_ (st. i), _d₄ e₃ d₄ e₃ f₄ g₃ f₄ g₃ A₄ B₃ A₄ B₃_ (st. ii); only in st. i the _cauda_ is in the middle; in the others it closes the stanza (_Nets and Cages_).

Other stanzas have the reverse order of verses, as e.g. stanzas on the schemes _a ~₃ b₄ a ~₃ b₄ c ~₃ d₄ c ~₃ d₄ E ~₃ F₄ E ~₃ F₄_ (_To Ladies' Eyes_), _A ~₃ B₄ A ~₃ B₄ c d c d₄ A ~₃ B₄ A ~₃ B₄_ (_Oh! Doubt me not_). This sort of stanza also occurs in Moore with other metres, e.g. according to the formulas _A₄ B₂ A₄ B₂ c₃ d₂ c₃ d₂ A₄ B₂ A₄ B₂_, _e₄ b₂ e₄ b₂ f₃ g₂ f₃ g₃ e₄ b₂ e₄ b₂_ (_Not from thee_) and there are still other varieties in Moore and in some of the more recent poets. Cf. _Metrik_, ii, §§ 443-5.

§ =284.= Among the =stanzas of thirteen lines=, one belonging to the Middle English period has been mentioned above (p. 342, note), which is formed by combination with a tail-rhyme stanza.

In the few Modern English stanzas of this length we generally find also a part of a tail-rhyme stanza, as e.g. in the _cauda_ of a stanza constructed on the formula _a b ~ a b ~ c d ~ c d ~₄ E F ~₄ g g₂ F ~₄_ (Moore, _Lesbia hath_, &c.); or in a stanza like _a ~ b a ~ b₄ c c₂ b₄ d d₂ e f e f₄_, deficient in one four-stressed tail-verse as in Moore, _The Prince's Day_:

_Tho' dark are our sorrows to-day we'll forget them,
And smile through our tears, like a sunbeam in showers;
There never were hearts, if our rulers would let them,
More form'd to be grateful and blest than ours.
But just when the chain
Has ceas'd to pain_,
_And hope has enwreath'd it round with flowers,
There comes a new link
Our spirits to sink--
Oh! the joy that we taste, like the light of the poles,
Is a flash amid darkness, too brilliant to stay;
But, though 'twere the last little spark in our souls,
We must light it up now, on our Prince's Day._

For other forms of stanzas belonging to this group see _Metrik_, ii, § 447.

§ =285.= More numerous are =stanzas of fourteen lines=. Judging by the examples which have come to our knowledge, they are also, as a rule, formed by combination with a tail-rhyme stanza; as e.g. in a stanza by Browne (_Poets_, iv. 276) on the scheme _a b a b c a c a₅ a a₂ b₃ c c₂ b₃_; another stanza, frequently used by Burns, corresponds to the formula

_a a₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ d₄ e₃ d₄ e₃ f ~₂ g₃ h ~₂ g₃_

and occurs, e.g., in his _Epistle to Davie_ (p. 57):

_While winds frae aff Ben-Lomond blaw,
And bar the doors wi' driving snaw,
And hing us owre the ingle,
I set me down, to pass the time,
And spin a verse or twa o' rhyme,
In hamely, westlin jingle.
While frosty winds blaw in the drift,
Ben to the chimla lug,
I grudge a wee the Great-folk's gift,
That live sae bien an' snug:
I tent less, and want less
Their roomy fire-side;
But hanker and canker,
To see their cursèd pride._

A similar stanza is found in Moore, _The Sale of Loves_, _a₄ b ~₃ a₄ b ~₃ c₄ d ~₃ c₄ d ~₃ E E₂ F ~₃ G G₂ F ~₃_. In other stanzas used by this poet, the tail-rhyme stanza forms the _cauda_ enclosed by two _pedes_ (see § 283); e.g. in _Nay, tell me not, dear_, on the scheme _a b a b₄ c c₂ d₄ e e₂ d₄ F G F G₄_. Another stanza of the form _A B ~ A B ~₃ c c₂ d₃ e e₂ d₃ A B ~ A B ~₃_, _f g ~ f g ~₃ h h₂ i₃ k k₂ i₃ A B ~ A B ~₃_, is used in _Oft, in the stilly night_.

As to other forms cf. _Metrik_, ii, § 448. Stanzas, the enclosing _pedes_ of which are formed by two tail-rhyme stanzas, are discussed ib. § 449 (schemes: _a a₂ b ~₃ C C₂ b ~₃ d ~ d ~₃ e e₂ f ~₃ C C₂ f ~₃_, _g g₂ h ~₃ i i₂ h ~₃ k ~ k ~₃ l l₂ m ~₃ C C₂ m ~₃_).

§ =286.= Some stanzas of still greater extent (not very common) are also formed by combination with tail-rhyme stanzas. There are a few =stanzas of fifteen lines=, e.g. one on the model _a a₂ b₃ c c₂ b₃ d d₂ e₃ f f₂ e₃ g G₃ G₄_ in Moore, _Song and Trio_; one on

_a ~ a ~ b ~ b ~₂ c₁ d ~ d ~ e ~ e ~₂ c₁ f ~ f ~ g ~ g ~₂ c₁_

in Shelley, _The Fugitives_ (iii. 55); and one on

_a ~ a ~ a ~ b c ~ c ~ c ~ b d ~ d ~ d ~ e f ~ f ~₂ e₄_

in Swinburne, _Four Songs in Four Seasons_ (Poems, ii. 163-76).

Two =stanzas of sixteen lines= occur in Moore on the schemes _a a₂ b ~₃ c c₂ b ~₃ d e d e₃ f f₂ g ~₃ h h₂ g ~₃_ (_The Indian Boat_), and _a a₂ b ~₃ c c₂ b ~₃ d d₂ e ~₃ f f₂ e ~₃ G ~₄ H H₂ G ~₃_ (_Oh, the Shamrock_).

A =stanza of seventeen lines=

(_a a₄ b₃ a a₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ d₄ e₃ d d₄ e₃_)

is found in a Middle English poem in Wright's _Spec. of Lyr. Poetry_, p. 47; it consists of two six-lined, common tail-rhyme stanzas (the _pedes_), and a shortened one (forming the _cauda_).

A =stanza of eighteen lines= on the formula

_a a₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ d d₄ b₃ e e₄ b₃ f f g g g f₂_

occurs in Wright's _Pol. Songs_, p. 155 (cf. _Metrik_, i, p. 411); the scheme might also be given as _a a₄ b₂_, &c., if the tail-rhyme verses be looked upon as two-stressed lines. A simpler stanza according to the scheme _a a₂ b₃ c c₂ b₃ d d₂ b₃ e e₂ b₃ f f₂ g₃ h h₂ g₃_ is used in _The Nut-Brown Mayd_ (Percy's _Rel._ II. i. 6). Cf. § 244, also _Metrik_, i, p. 367, and ii, p. 715.

Similar stanzas are used by Shelley (in _Arethusa_, i. 374) and by Moore (in _Wreath the Bowl_). Cf. _Metrik_, ii, § 453.

Lastly, a =stanza of twenty lines= with the scheme _a b ~ a c d b ~ d c e e₃ f₄ g g₃ f₄ h h₃ i₄ k ~ k ~₃ i₄_, occurs in _The King of France's Daughter_ (Percy's _Rel._ III. ii. 17); cf. _Metrik_, ii, § 454.