"The final stanza of the poem" is the direct object.
Explanation:
Direct object is the term in a sentence that serves as a complement to a direct transitive verb.
Direct transitive verbs are verbs that need a complement to make sense. In the case of the question above, the direct transitive verb is the verb "to read". This is because if the sentence ended after this verb, it would be meaningless, since who reads, reads something. What complements the verb is the term "The final stanza of the poem," which is the direct object of the sentence.
