# Stichic

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[Poetry](/source/Poetry) made up of lines of the same approximate meter and length, not broken up into [stanzas](/source/Stanza), is called **stichic** (as opposed to **stanzaic**). Most poetry from the Old English period is considered stichic. Most English poetry written in [blank verse](/source/Blank_verse), such as the epic [Paradise Lost](/source/Paradise_Lost) by [John Milton](/source/John_Milton), is stichic. A more contemporary (1790's) example is [Joanna Baillie](/source/Joanna_Baillie)'s "Hay making".[1][2][3]

Greek epic, in [dactylic hexameter](/source/Dactylic_hexameter), as is Latin epic whether in hexameter or (in very old poets) [Saturnian](/source/Saturnian_(poetry)). Poetic dramatic dialogue, whether in English [iambic pentameter](/source/Iambic_pentameter) or Greek [iambic trimeter](/source/Iambic_trimeter), also tends to be stichic in nature.

## References

1. Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed. 1989

1. The New Princeton Encyclopedia for Poetry and Poetics, 1993. Entry for *stichos*

1. Fussell, Paul. Poetic Meter and Poetic Form. Rev. ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979.

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