heroic stanza

Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

heroic quatrain

or heroic stanza
n.
See elegiac stanza.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

heroic stanza

n
(Poetry) a quatrain having the rhyme scheme a b a b
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.heroic stanza - a quatrain consisting of two heroic couplets written in an elevated style; the rhyme scheme is abab
quatrain - a stanza of four lines
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Mentioned in
References in periodicals archive
The older and more general term for this is heroic stanza, but the form became associated specifically with elegiac poetry when Thomas Gray used it to perfection in An Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard (1751).
elegiac stanza
The texts, introductions, and notes in this elegant edition stand in convenient proximity to each other (unlike the California Dryden or the Delaware Cowley); there is also helpful prefatory material (chronological table, bibliography), and appendices (authorial manuscript of 'Heroic Stanzas'; contents of Ovid's Epistles, Miscellany Poems, and Sylvae; commendatory poems on Absalom and Achitophel, The Medal, and Religio Laici).
The Poems of John Dryden, Vols. 1-2
Copyright © 2003-2025 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.