Sapphic stanza in Polish poetry Sapphic ones. Only the last one is made up of four hendecasyllabic lines. All strophes rhyme ABAB. The Sapphic stanza is still used in translations form Sappho's or Horace's poems. The scheme of Sapphic stanza is so recognizable, that it can be preserved even in free verse. Lucylla Pszczołowska points out that Czesław Miłosz sometimes composed four-line stanzas with last line of five syllables and other lines of different length. The Sapphic stanza's scheme was so attractive to Polish poets that they started to modify it, and many stanzas based on it can be found in Polish literature. Already in
Viriato Trágico (poem) The poem, like many other epic works of 17th-century Portuguese literature, is written in ottava rima ("oitava rima" in Portuguese). This eight-line stanza of Italian origin is composed of hendecasyllabic lines rhymed "abababcc". The form was introduced into epic poetry by Giovanni Boccaccio in the 14th century. Soon it became very popular in Italy. In the beginning of the 16th century Francisco de Sá de Miranda, returning home from a stay in Italy, imported it into Portuguese poetry. This stanza was chosen by Luís de Camões for his "Lusiads". Many other poets used this form in the 17th century, including