Cou·plet
Tonya Trimpe
Definition
Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.
Explanation
How you can locate a couplet in a poem.
- Two lines that are one after another in a stanza that rhyme.
- Couplets can be grouped together to make a four-line stanza.
Examples
Two consecutive lines in a poem
Shakespeare Sonnet 29
Lines 13-14
"For thy sweet sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings."
As you can see there are:
- two consecutive lines
- the poetry rhymes "brings;kings"
Four-line stanza:
Poem "To an Athlete Dying Young"Lines 13-16
"... Eyes that shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears: ..."
As you can see there are:
- two consecutive lines but paired
- the poetry rhymes "shut;cut....cheers;ears"
Citations
- Beers, G. Kylene, and Lee Odell. "Collection 2." Holt Elements of Literature: Essentials of British and World Literature. Vol. 6. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005. 167. Print.
- Beers, G. Kylene, and Lee Odell. "Collection 3." Holt Elements of Literature: Essentials of British and World Literature. Vol. 6. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005. 278-79. Print.
- Beers, G. Kylene, and Lee Odell. "Resource Center." Holt Elements of Literature: Essentials of British and World Literature. Vol. 6. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005. 1186. Print.