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How is the Spenserian stanza structured?
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Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser, oil painting by an unknown artist; in the collection of Pembroke College, Cambridge, England.
The Spenserian stanza is a verse form invented by the English poet Edmund Spenser for his epic work, The Faerie Queene.1
Its structure is defined by the following characteristics:
- Line Count and Meter: It consists of nine lines total. The first eight lines are written in iambic pentameter, while the ninth line is an alexandrine, which consists of six iambic feet.12
- Rhyme Scheme: The lines follow the pattern ababbcbcc.12
In this arrangement, the first eight lines provide a sense of formal unity, while the final hexameter line serves to complete the thought of the stanza.1