Question

Match each excerpt to the correct stanza structure. Tiles It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me. (from "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe) O thou, new-year, delaying long, Delayest the sorrow in my blood, That longs to burst a frozen bud And flood a fresher throat with song. (from "In Memoriam" by Alfred Lord Tennyson) Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief,; So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. (from "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost) At Sestos Hero dwelt; Hero the fair, Whom young Apollo courted for her hair, And offered as a dower his burning throne, Where she should sit for men to gaze upon. The outside of her garments were of lawn, The lining purple silk, with gilt stars drawn; (from "Hero and Leander" by Christopher Marlowe)

Answer 1

Before we answer this question, let’s make sure we understand the definition of each pair.

Quatrain - A stanza with four lines. It usually has a rhyme that is the same in the last letter of every line. Here’s an example of a quatrain from "Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening" By Robert Frost.

"He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there’s some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake."

Couplet - A pair of two lines in a stanza with the same end rhyme. Here’s an example of a couplet from "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Suess.

"I do not like green eggs and ham

I do not like them Sam I am."

Octave - A stanza with eight lines in it. Here’s an example of an octave from 'What is life?" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

"Resembles Life what once was held of Light,

Too ample in itself for human sight?

An absolute Self, an element ungrounded

All, that we see, all colours of all shade

By encroach of darkness made?

Is very life by consciousness unbounded?

And all the thoughts, pains, joys of mortal breath,

A war-embrace of wrestling Life and Death?"

Sestet - Usually the last six lines of a sonnet. Here’s an example of a sestet from "When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be" by John Keats

"And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!

That I shall never look upon thee more,

Never have relish in the faery power

Of unreflecting love! — then on the shore

Of the wide world I stand alone, and think

Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink."

Now that we all understand the definitions and have read a few examples, let’s match each tile to its pair.

The tile from "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe  should be paired with sestet.

The tile from "In Memoriam" by Alfred Lord Tennyson  should be paired with quatrain.

The tile from "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost  should be paired with octave.

The tile from "Hero and Leander" by Christopher Marlowe  should be paired with couplet.

- Marlon Nunez

Answer 2

1. "Annabel Lee" is an example of a sestet. This means that a stanza consists of 6 lines.
2. "In Memoriam" is an example of a quatrain. This means that a stanza consists of 4 lines.
3. "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is an example of an octave. This means that a stanza consists of 8 lines.
4. "Hero and Leander" is an example of a couplet. This means that the successive lines in a stanza have the same number of syllables, and each two lines rhyme.