Verse
Verse has two meanings in literary discussions, neither
of which is the most familiar use outside English departments.
Although "verse" is used in the real world to name a group of
lines in a song (as in "Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge,
Verse, Chorus"), the term "verse" means "single line" when used
with poetry. A group of verses is called a stanza or a verse
paragraph. You'll impress English teachers by using the
terms precisely.
The other meaning for verse is more general: it's
sometimes used of metrical writing of
all sorts: in other words, for poetry
in general, as distinct from prose.
From the Guide to Literary Terms by Jack Lynch.
Please send comments to jlynch@andromeda.rutgers.edu.
Note: This guide is still in the early stages of development. Bear with me.