Stichic

In prosody, stichic refers to a compositional style in poetry where verses are written consecutively without a regular pattern of stanzaic division. In other words, a stichic composition proceeds line after line without being broken into distinct stanzas or other formal groupings of lines. It contrasts with strophic composition, which involves the structuring of verses into recurring stanza patterns.

A stichic poem may still employ other poetic devices such as rhyme, meter, and alliteration, but its defining characteristic is the absence of visually or structurally defined stanzas. The lines simply flow continuously.

While the term "stichic" specifically denotes the absence of stanzaic structure, the overall form and organization of a stichic poem can be influenced by other factors, such as narrative progression, thematic development, or rhetorical devices. The length and meter of the lines themselves may or may not be consistent throughout the poem. The term serves primarily to identify that the poem does not use stanzas.