wiersza

Wiersza is the genitive singular form of the Polish noun wiersz, which denotes a poem or verse. In modern usage, wiersz most often refers to a single poem, though it can also be understood as a line of poetry in some contexts. The term is widely used in literary discussion, criticism, and everyday reference to poetry.

As a lexical form, wiersz is a masculine noun of native Polish origin. It is declined across cases, for example: nominative wiersz, genitive wiersza, dative wierszowi, accusative wiersz, instrumental wierszem, locative wierszu; plural forms are wiersze (nominative), wierszy (genitive), wierszom (dative), wiersze (accusative), wierszami (instrumental), wierszach (locative). The genitive singular wiersza appears in phrases such as autor wiersza (the author of the poem), treść wiersza (the content of the poem), and tytuł wiersza (the title of the poem).

Wiersz is distinct from neiher strofa nor poem-specific terms in other languages; in Polish, strofa or strofy refers to a stanza, a subdivision within a longer poem. A single wiersz can be standalone or part of a larger collection of poems. Polish poetry spans varied forms, from free verse to metrically regular genres such as sonet, ballada, and elegia, all of which may be described as wiersze when referring to individual pieces.

See also: Polish poetry, wiersz (lemma), strofa.