Poet's Glossary
Every craft has its vocabulary, and poetry's is one of the most beautiful. This glossary explains the forms, meters, rhymes and devices poets reach for, in plain and warm language. Whether you are decoding a sonnet or naming a technique you already use by instinct, start with a letter below.
Terms starting with Q
Quatrain
A stanza of four lines, the most common stanza in poetry across languages, flexible enough for ballads, hymns and epigrams alike.
Quintain
A stanza of five lines in any meter or rhyme scheme. The limerick and the cinquain are both quintains with extra rules.
All letters
Enter the October poetry contest