Quatrain
Literary term · say it KWOT-rayn
A quatrain is a stanza or group of four lines in a poem. It can stand alone or form part of a longer poem, and its lines may follow a rhyme pattern or have no rhyme.
Three common rhyme patterns in a quatrain
Alternating rhyme: ABAB
The first and third lines rhyme, while the second and fourth lines share a different rhyme.
The opening quatrain of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard follows the evening bell, cattle crossing a field, and a tired ploughman heading home, leaving the speaker in the gathering darkness.
In Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray
Paired rhyme: AABB
The first two lines rhyme with each other, and the next two lines form another rhyming pair. Together, the two pairs make a four-line stanza.
In the opening quatrain of The Tyger, collected in Songs of Innocence and of Experience, the speaker addresses a tiger imagined as burning brightly in a dark forest and asks what power could have shaped it.
In Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake
Enclosed rhyme: ABBA
The first and fourth lines rhyme around a second rhyming pair. The outer lines enclose the middle two.
In section seven of In Memoriam A.H.H., the grieving speaker stands outside his dead friend's former home, near the door he can no longer enter to find him.
In In Memoriam A.H.H. by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
How to spot a quatrain
- Count the lines in a stanza or a clear group within the poem.
- Look for four lines that belong together through meaning, rhyme, or layout.
- Compare the line endings to find any rhyme pattern.
Does a quatrain have to rhyme?
No, a quatrain does not have to rhyme. Four lines are its defining feature, not a particular sound pattern. Many familiar quatrains use rhyme, but a four-line stanza in free verse can also be a quatrain.
What is the difference between a quatrain and a stanza?
A quatrain is a four-line unit, while a stanza can contain various numbers of lines. A four-line stanza is therefore a quatrain, but a quatrain can also be a group within a larger structure, such as a sonnet.
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