Is there a specific term for the first stanza in a poem?
Best Answer
For some reason, opening springs to mind as a frequent and somewhat idiosyncratic description for the first unit of any unit of writing (and closing similarly for the last). E.g., opening stanza, opening verses, opening scene. But I have never seen a single term used generally. Note that not all poems are divisible into stanzas, so checking on particular established forms might turn up something. E.g., strophe (from ancient Greek poetry) is I think not quite what you're looking for but is the kind of overly specific term that I have in mind.
It may be "synchysis". The sources do not entirely agree. Wikipedia and ChangingMindes both give a definition (unreferenced, unfortunately) which is exactly what you are asking, but rhetoric.byu has a more general definition.
(I've never come across the word before, so thanks for asking!)
But I think the difference is that a stanza is more about structure, whereas a verse is less about rhyming scheme and more just a way to identify sections of a piece of writing.
Best Answer
For some reason, opening springs to mind as a frequent and somewhat idiosyncratic description for the first unit of any unit of writing (and closing similarly for the last). E.g., opening stanza, opening verses, opening scene. But I have never seen a single term used generally. Note that not all poems are divisible into stanzas, so checking on particular established forms might turn up something. E.g., strophe (from ancient Greek poetry) is I think not quite what you're looking for but is the kind of overly specific term that I have in mind.