strofen

Strofen, or strofe in the singular, is the basic structural unit of a poem or song in Dutch. It corresponds to what in English is called a stanza or, in some contexts, a strophe. A strofe groups together several lines that together express a distinct portion of meaning, mood, or action within the larger work.

A Strofe is typically set off from neighboring sections by a blank line or indentation. The lines within a strofe often share a common meter and may follow a consistent rhyme pattern, though exact forms vary by language, period, and genre. While many stanzas adhere to fixed patterns, some poetry uses flexible or free verse within stanzas.

Common lengths include two-line couplets, three-line tercets, and four-line quatrains, with higher or variable line counts also found. Rhyme schemes frequently encountered in stanzas include AABB, ABAB, or more irregular patterns; in some traditions, rhyme is subdued or absent altogether in favor of rhythm and syntax.

In music and lyric poetry, stanzas function as reusable units of text that can be repeated with or without variation as the work progresses. The chorus or refrain in songs is a related concept but is often treated as a separate, repeating section rather than a stanza.

Etymology traces the Dutch term to related forms in other languages, with ties to the broader concept of a stanza or strophe found across European poetry. See also: stanza, strophe, quatrain, tercet, couplet.