Final answer:
The term 'line' can refer to both a single line of poetry and to poetry as a general term. Lines are essential organizational tools in poetry and contribute to the auditory and visual structure of the poem. Poetry is characterized by its use of lines, meter, and stanzas.
Step-by-step explanation:
The word that may be used for both a single line of poetry and a general term for poetry is line. In poetry, a line serves as an organizational tool and is typically a sentence or part of a sentence that runs horizontally across the page. This element of poetry dates back to when stories were orally transmitted and structured in verse for ease of memorization. With the evolution of writing and literacy, the function of lines has taken on greater complexity, heightening auditory and visual experiences within poetry.
Poetry itself is an ancient form of literature, often recognized by its distinct use of line, meter, and stanzas. Historical definitions of poetry have emphasized its rhythmic and verse structure, establishing it as a normative category of fictive or rhetorical art. Additionally, a stanza in poetry is comparable to a paragraph in prose, with some poems being divided into multiple stanzas to achieve a rhetorical effect, while others may consist of a single stanza.