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Couplets are any two lines working as a unit, whether they comprise a single
stanza or are part of a larger stanza. Most couplets rhyme (aa), but they do
not have to. There are several set forms of the couplet and a myriad of
variations based on line length and meter. All of the following rhyme "aa":
Short Couplet- iambic or trochaic tetrameter. From Maxine Kumin's "Morning
Swim"
Into my empty head there come
a cotton beach, a dock wherefrom
I set out, oily and nude
through mist in oily solitude.
Split Couplet- the first line in iambic pentameter, the second in iambic
dimeter. From Richard Steere's "On a Sea-Storm Nigh the Coast"
The weighty seas are rowled from the deeps
In mighty heaps,
And from the rocks' foundations do arise
To kiss the skies.
Heroic Couplet- two lines of iambic pentameter, also the last two lines of
the English sonnet. From Richard Steere's "On a Sea-Storm Nigh the Coast"
Wave after wave in hills each other crowds,
As if the deeps resolved to storm the clouds.
Alexandrine Couplet- an alexandrine is a line of iambic hexameter, so an
alexandrine couplet is two rhymed lines of such. These often come at the end
of stanzas or poems and, in these cases, are also called codas.
Qasida- an Arabic form consisting of any number of lines all rhyming on the
same rhyme.
How To You can do almost anything with a couplet. They can stand as single
thoughts, meaning they can exist on their own, outside of the poem, or they
can be enjambed, relying on the previous and succeeding couplets to be
complete. Most open form couplets are written this way, and a rhyme scheme
should play no bearing on how couplets are or are not interlocked.
The couplet can be a very lonely stanza, minimalistic. Poems whose content is
melancholy or depressing, for example, can make good use of the couplet
because--on the page--there is a lot of white space, emptiness, as opposed to
writing in quatrains where the stanzas are blocks which limit the white
space. As well, because the couplet can be so small, it is a good idea to
pack it full of image and emotion, like a hard punch packed in a tight space,
very concentrated. If the power in a couplet is not contained to the couplet,
then you have a quatrain or something larger. This doesn't mean the idea and
emotion cannot flow between or through couplets, I am only suggesting that
each couplet be a powerful, emotionally-intensive unit to the whole.
-- Damon McLaughlin
COUPLET
(CUP- let)
You know a couple means two. So a couplet is a pair of lines of poetry that
are usually rhymed. We think the idea of the couplet came from the French and
English. There are lots of ways to write different types of couplets.
Couplets can also be used to "build" other poems, but we'll get to that later!
We are going to use a couplet for a "play on words," or a word game. This
type of couplet is called a "terse verse." Here's the way you play,
"If turkeys gobble,
Do Pilgrims squabble?"
"If cars go zoom,
exhaust smoke will plume!"
"If the phone rings,
hope then still clings."
stanza or are part of a larger stanza. Most couplets rhyme (aa), but they do
not have to. There are several set forms of the couplet and a myriad of
variations based on line length and meter. All of the following rhyme "aa":
Short Couplet- iambic or trochaic tetrameter. From Maxine Kumin's "Morning
Swim"
Into my empty head there come
a cotton beach, a dock wherefrom
I set out, oily and nude
through mist in oily solitude.
Split Couplet- the first line in iambic pentameter, the second in iambic
dimeter. From Richard Steere's "On a Sea-Storm Nigh the Coast"
The weighty seas are rowled from the deeps
In mighty heaps,
And from the rocks' foundations do arise
To kiss the skies.
Heroic Couplet- two lines of iambic pentameter, also the last two lines of
the English sonnet. From Richard Steere's "On a Sea-Storm Nigh the Coast"
Wave after wave in hills each other crowds,
As if the deeps resolved to storm the clouds.
Alexandrine Couplet- an alexandrine is a line of iambic hexameter, so an
alexandrine couplet is two rhymed lines of such. These often come at the end
of stanzas or poems and, in these cases, are also called codas.
Qasida- an Arabic form consisting of any number of lines all rhyming on the
same rhyme.
How To You can do almost anything with a couplet. They can stand as single
thoughts, meaning they can exist on their own, outside of the poem, or they
can be enjambed, relying on the previous and succeeding couplets to be
complete. Most open form couplets are written this way, and a rhyme scheme
should play no bearing on how couplets are or are not interlocked.
The couplet can be a very lonely stanza, minimalistic. Poems whose content is
melancholy or depressing, for example, can make good use of the couplet
because--on the page--there is a lot of white space, emptiness, as opposed to
writing in quatrains where the stanzas are blocks which limit the white
space. As well, because the couplet can be so small, it is a good idea to
pack it full of image and emotion, like a hard punch packed in a tight space,
very concentrated. If the power in a couplet is not contained to the couplet,
then you have a quatrain or something larger. This doesn't mean the idea and
emotion cannot flow between or through couplets, I am only suggesting that
each couplet be a powerful, emotionally-intensive unit to the whole.
-- Damon McLaughlin
COUPLET
(CUP- let)
You know a couple means two. So a couplet is a pair of lines of poetry that
are usually rhymed. We think the idea of the couplet came from the French and
English. There are lots of ways to write different types of couplets.
Couplets can also be used to "build" other poems, but we'll get to that later!
We are going to use a couplet for a "play on words," or a word game. This
type of couplet is called a "terse verse." Here's the way you play,
"If turkeys gobble,
Do Pilgrims squabble?"
"If cars go zoom,
exhaust smoke will plume!"
"If the phone rings,
hope then still clings."
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