Why do poets split their poems into multiple stanzas if the whole poem is focused on one overall topic?

In this lesson you will learn how a poem’s organization influences its meaning by asking how the stanzas in a poem fit together.

Let’s Review STANZA: Small section of poem Made of 1+ lines Separated by a break

Sample poem: Words words words There are so many words I cannot use them all I don’t want to use them all Because this is a poem And I choose my words so carefully In all of my poems That too many would just be too much Words words words There are so many words I cannot use them all I don’t want to use them all Because this is a poem And I choose my words so carefully In all of my poems That too many would just be too much Stanza 1 Stanza 2 Stanza 3 Stanza 4

A Common Mistake

Core Lesson THE ROAD NOT TAKEN By: Robert Frost STANZA ONE: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; THE ROAD NOT TAKEN By: Robert Frost STANZA ONE: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Stanza 1 sets up the speaker’s conflict and makes us wonder, ‘Which road will he/she choose?’ Stanza 1 sets up the speaker’s conflict and makes us wonder, ‘Which road will he/she choose?’ How does this stanza fit with the rest of the poem?

Core Lesson THE ROAD NOT TAKEN By: Robert Frost STANZA TWO: Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, THE ROAD NOT TAKEN By: Robert Frost STANZA TWO: Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, How does this stanza fit with the rest of the poem? Stanza 2 tells us which road the speaker chooses. It is a deciding moment, one that could be pivotal in determining the course of the poem. Stanza 2 tells us which road the speaker chooses. It is a deciding moment, one that could be pivotal in determining the course of the poem.

Core Lesson Why did the author choose to structure the poem this way? Stanza 1: Which road should be taken? Stanza 2: Which choice was made?

Re-read and think: “How does each stanza fit in with what I read before?” 1 2 Jot down the answer next to each stanza. 3 Ask: “Why did the author choose to structure the poem in this way?”

In this lesson you have learned how a poem’s organization influences its meaning by asking how the stanzas in a poem fit together.

Guided Practice In “The Road Not Taken,” study the purpose for stanza 3. Explain how this stanza fits in with the previous stanzas. Why did the poet organize the poem this way? And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

Extension Activities Study the organization of “Now Close the Windows”. How does the structure of the poem compare to “The Road Not Taken”?

Quick Quiz In “The Road Not Taken,” study the purposes for stanza 4. Explain how this stanza fits in with the previous stanzas and why the poet organized the poem this way. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–– I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–– I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.