couplet

Meaning

1. 1nouncountable

   A pair of lines of verse next to each other that rhyme and are usually of the same length.

   Grammar: Countable: a rhyming couplet; three couplets.

   Patterns

   • a rhyming couplet
   • end with a couplet

   The sonnet ends with a rhyming couplet that sums up the argument.

   She wrote a witty couplet on the back of the card.

   Pope's poems are famous for their polished couplets.

Word forms

Common combinations

rhyming couplet

Shakespeare often ended scenes with a rhyming couplet.

heroic couplet

The poem is written in heroic couplets.

closing couplet

The closing couplet delivers the poem's twist.

write a couplet

Write a couplet about the sea.

final couplet

The final couplet changes the meaning of the whole poem.

Synonyms and how they differ

distich

Distich is a rare, technical word for a two-line unit, while couplet is the usual term.

pair

Pair is general and can mean any two things, whereas couplet is only for lines of verse.

verse

Verse is a broader word for poetry or a stanza, and may be many lines long.

Word family

couple noun

two people or things together

quatrain noun

a four-line stanza

triplet noun

a group of three lines of verse

stanza noun

a group of lines forming a section of a poem

Commonly confused: couplet or couple?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “couplet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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