Spenserian stanza

noun

A strophe of eight decasyllabic lines and an alexandrine, having three rhymes: the first and third; the second, fourth, fifth, and seventh; and the sixth, eighth, and ninth (ABABBCBCC).

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Meanings

nounSpenserian stanza (plural Spenserian stanzas)

plural Spenserian stanzas

  1. communicationsA strophe of eight decasyllabic lines and an alexandrine, having three rhymes: the first and third; the second, fourth, fifth, and seventh; and the sixth, eighth, and ninth (ABABBCBCC).

Origin

Invented by English poet Edmund Spenser (1552/53–1599) for his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590–96).

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Cite this entry
APA

Spenserian stanza. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Spenserian%20stanza

MLA

“Spenserian stanza.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Spenserian%20stanza. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Spenserian stanza,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Spenserian%20stanza.

Source: Spenserian stanza on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.