Spenserian stanza

American  

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.

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Spenserian stanza British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of Spenserian stanza

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