couplet

American  

[kuhp-lit] / ˈkʌp lɪt /

noun

1. a pair of successive lines of verse, especially a pair that rhyme and are of the same length.

2. a pair; couple.

3. Music. any of the contrasting sections of a rondo occurring between statements of the refrain.

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couplet British  

/ ˈkʌplɪt /

noun

1. two successive lines of verse, usually rhymed and of the same metre

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couplet Cultural  

1. A pair of lines of verse that rhyme. Some poems, such as “The Night Before Christmas,” are written entirely in couplets:

   `Twas the night before Christmas , when all through the house

   Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

   The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

   In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

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Etymology

Origin of couplet

From Middle French, dating back to 1570–80; see origin at couple, -et

Explanation

A couplet is two lines of poetry that usually rhyme. Here's a famous couplet: "Good night! Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night till it be morrow." The couplet above comes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, which is a play, not a poem. But Shakespeare often used rhyming couplets at the end of scenes to signal the ending. Couplets are very common in poetry. Often whole poems are written in couplet form — two lines of rhyming poetry, followed by two more lines with a different rhyme, and so on. Robert Frost, one of America's great poets, wrote many poems using couplets.

Example Sentences

A version of this review appears in print on February 14, 2014, on page C10 of the with the headline: A Couplet Fantasy Denied .

From New York Times • Feb. 13, 2014

Again, your Verse is orderly,—and more,— 'The Waves behind impel the Waves before;' Monotonously musical they glide, Till Couplet unto Couplet hath replied.

From Letters to Dead Authors by Lang, Andrew

Use in, of the Couplet, Closed and Free Systems, 95, illustrations, 96 et sqq.,

From Life of John Keats His Life and Poetry, his Friends, Critics and After-fame by Colvin, Sidney

Richmond, Surrey Couplet in De Foe— "Restraint from ill is freedom to the wise, And good men wicked liberties despise."

From Notes and Queries, Number 50, October 12, 1850 by Various

Couplet tried to explain that the time for taking it had expired on August 26.

From France and the Republic A Record of Things Seen and Learned in the French Provinces During the 'Centennial' Year 1889 by Hurlbert, William Henry

Related Words

• verse