What’s a stanza

A stanza is a group of lines within a poem that is separated from other groups of lines by a space. It is equivalent to a paragraph in prose writing. A stanza often has a consistent rhyme scheme or pattern and contributes to the overall structure and rhythm of a poem. The number of lines in a stanza can vary, but common examples include a quatrain (four lines), a tercet (three lines), and a couplet (two lines).