Definition of "strophe" [stro•phe]

• The first of a pair of stanzas of alternating form on which the structure of a given poem is based. (noun)
• A stanza containing irregular lines. (noun)
• The first division of the triad constituting a section of a Pindaric ode. (noun)
• The first movement of the chorus in classical Greek drama while turning from one side of the orchestra to the other. (noun)
• The part of a choral ode sung while this movement is executed. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term strophe has come to be used also for verse paragraphs where there is no antistrophic arrangement."
• "In each set of three the first stanza is called the strophe (turn), being intended, probably, for chanting as the chorus moved in one direction; the second stanza is called the antistrophe, chanted as the chorus executed a second, contrasting, movement; and the third stanza the epode, chanted as the chorus stood still."
• "In the original the opening strophe, which is altogether more regular than the average and is, moreover, one of the few that have also complete caesural rhyme, is as follows:"