Quintains

Quintain is a term for a poem or a stanza consisting of five lines. The word derives from Latin quintus meaning fifth, and the form appears in various languages and historical periods. In contemporary usage, quintain often refers to the five-line form known as the cinquain, and it is commonly taught in schools as a concise exercise in imagery and word economy.

The cinquain was popularized in English by the American poet Adelaide Crapsey in the early 20th century. Crapsey’s cinquain uses a fixed syllable count of 2-4-6-8-2 across the five lines and usually focuses on a single image or moment; lines may progress from subject to description, action, feeling, and a final summarizing word. There are other five-line variants of the form, including word-count versions used in classroom settings, where each line is prescribed a specific number of words rather than syllables.

Beyond the cinquain, quintain also denotes any five-line stanza in poetry. In this broader sense, five-line forms have appeared in many traditions with various rhyme schemes, such as the limerick with AABBA, or free verse quintains that do not follow a strict pattern. Because of its brevity, the quintain is often used to capture a moment, image, or humorous observation in a compact package. The form remains a common pedagogical tool and a flexible unit in modern poetry.