Types of Stanzas*
The type of stanza in a poem may be determined by counting the number of lines in the stanza. In English, for example, the most common type of stanza is the quatrain, or four line stanza. A Shakespearian Sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet – or fourteen lines divided into three four line stanzas and a two line stanza.
Stanzas are often named according to Roman numerical prefixes:
…there is no word for a one line stanza – that’s simply a line.
Couplet - Two line stanza. When in Iambic Pentameter, it is a Heroic Couplet
Triplet/Tercet - Three line stanza (both are correct)
Quatrain - As stated, has four lines
Quintet/Cinquain - Five line stanza. Although both are correct, I favor cinquain, as quintet us usually used in a musical context.
Sestet/Sextain - Six lines. I suspect that freshman English literature classes have a lot to do with why the latter name is seldom used.
Septet -Seven lines. When in iambic pentameter, this is called Rhyme Royal. Supposedly, this is because King James I really liked it.
Octave/Sicilian Octave - Eight line stanza. I have no idea why it is sometimes called Sicilian, perhaps to distinguish it from a musical octave? If anybody knows, could you msg me?
References to nine line stanzas usually are to the Spenserian Stanza.
It is not unheard of for a poetic form to be named after its length in some way. Examples of this are the Sestina, the Septinarius, the Triolet, and the Cinquain.
Sources: Allen Grossman’s Introduction to Poetry class, Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, and me noggin.
*I tried saying Stanzaic Forms, which is grammatically correct, but Stanzaic is just a stupid looking word.