Final answer:
A line is a single horizontal poetic thought, whereas a stanza often groups four lines with a specific rhyme or rhythmic pattern in poetry. The sonnet, couplet, and haiku are examples of different poetic structures, while the prose poem blends poetry with prose.
Step-by-step explanation:
A line is a single unit of poetry, usually a sentence or part of a sentence that runs horizontally across the page. Poets make important decisions about line length, which can influence the poem's rhythm, tone, and meaning. Famous poets like Robert Creeley and C. K. Williams are known for their distinctive styles of short and long lines, respectively. On the other hand, a stanza is like a paragraph in a poem, grouping lines together to create a rhetorical effect, and it commonly contains four lines. An example of a stanza is a quaternion, which has four lines that rhyme in various patterns.
The sonnet is a 14-line poem known for its structure and a volta, which signifies a shift or turn in thought. Sonnets often adhere to specific rhyme schemes and regular meter. The couplet consists of two adjoining lines that typically share an end rhyme, as seen in the concluding lines of many of Shakespeare's sonnets. Another poetic form is the haiku, a three-line Japanese form traditionally focused on nature and seasons, with a 5-7-5 syllable count. In contrast, a prose poem does not have line breaks but incorporates elements of poetry like musical language and rich imagery, blurring the distinction between poetry and prose.