;
Feedback
What do you think about us?
Your name
Your email
Message
The quatrain, a four-line stanza or complete poem, is a versatile element of poetry with diverse rhyme schemes like AAAA, AABB, ABAB, and ABBA. It's used across cultures and forms, from Persian ruba’is to English ballad stanzas. Poets like Omar Khayyam and William Wordsworth have employed quatrains to convey themes ranging from love to loss, demonstrating the form's adaptability and enduring appeal in both traditional and free verse.
Show More
Quatrains are stanzas consisting of four lines
Common rhyme patterns
Quatrains can have various rhyme schemes, including monorhyme, coupled rhyme, alternating rhyme, enclosed rhyme, and ballad rhyme
Use of half rhymes
Poets can also use half rhymes, where the final consonant sounds are similar but not identical
Heroic quatrain
The heroic quatrain is a form with an ABAB or AABB rhyme scheme in iambic pentameter
Ruba'i
The ruba'i is a Persian quatrain with an AABA rhyme scheme
Ballad stanza
The ballad stanza typically has an ABCB rhyme scheme and is known for its musicality
Envelope quatrain
The envelope quatrain has an ABBA rhyme scheme and is often used in the In Memoriam stanza
Quatrains are often found in formal verse, which adheres to strict metrical and rhyme patterns
Quatrains can also be used in free verse, which does not follow consistent rhyme and meter
In blank verse, quatrains are less common but can be found in the works of William Shakespeare
This poem is composed of ballad stanzas, a quatrain form with an ABCB rhyme scheme and iambic tetrameter
This poem is structured with envelope quatrains that follow an ABBA rhyme scheme
This poem showcases the ruba'i form with its AABA rhyme scheme
Quatrains are used in this play to structure dialogue and enhance narrative flow
00
Origin of 'quatrain' term
Derived from French 'quatre' meaning 'four'.
01
Quatrain rhyme schemes
Can vary; includes AABB, ABAB, ABBA, etc.
02
Omar Khayyam's contribution
Famous for quatrains in 'Rubáiyát', popularized in English by Fitzgerald.
