noun
quatrain
KWAH-trayn/ˈkwɑːtreɪn/
A stanza or poem of four lines.
The poet ends each quatrain with a line about home.
Etymology
French quatrain means “four-line stanza” and derives from quatre, “four.” The name identifies the verse unit by its line count, whether it is a stanza or a complete poem.
In context
stanza form from John Donne, which sutures an A, B, A, B quatrain scheme to a C, C, C, tercet.
More examples
- Her entire poem is a single quatrain.
- The sonnet contains three quatrains and a final couplet.
- Write a quatrain whose second and fourth lines rhyme.
Forms
quatrain · quatrains