Spenserian stanza

noun

1. the stanza used by Spenser in his Faerie Queene and employed since by other poets, consisting of eight iambic pentameter lines and a final Alexandrine, with a rhyme scheme of ababbcbcc.

Spenserian stanza

noun

1. prosody the stanza form used by the poet Spenser in his poem The Faerie Queene, consisting of eight lines in iambic pentameter and a concluding Alexandrine, rhyming a b a b b c b c c

Word History and Origins

Origin of Spenserian stanza¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

He gave the world in 1861 a translation of the Odyssey in the Gregorian stanza—one of the most pleasing hitherto produced—and in 1865 published a translation of the Iliad in the Spenserian stanza.

From Project Gutenberg

Subject of Moore's poem "I saw thy form in youthful prime," and author of Psyche, a highly imaginative poem in Spenserian stanza.

From Project Gutenberg

But not even Keats’s power over the Spenserian stanza could make it a fit vehicle for his purpose.

From Project Gutenberg

But the soul of melody lies hidden in the musician’s instrument; and the Spenserian stanza, to be felt, must find its echo in the ear of the reader.

From Project Gutenberg

In 1809 he published a narrative poem in the Spenserian stanza, “Gertrude of Wyoming,” with which were printed some of his best lyrics.

From Project Gutenberg