heroic couplet

American  

noun

Prosody.

1. a stanza consisting of two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter, especially one forming a rhetorical unit and written in an elevated style, as, Know then thyself, presume not God to scan / The proper study of Mankind is Man.

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heroic couplet British  

noun

1. prosody a verse form consisting of two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter

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Etymology

Origin of heroic couplet

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heroic couplet

At the approach of the 18th century, John Dryden offered Virgil as a master of the heroic couplet: "Arms, and the man I sing, who, forced by Fate,/ And haughty Juno's unrelenting hate."

From Time Magazine Archive

Satire, heroic couplet in, 181, 182, 183, 206.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden

He chose the heroic couplet, and in handling it reversed the settled practice of more than a century.

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

The most important discussion of the influence of Waller on English poetry, and on the heroic couplet in particular, is found in Mr. Gosse's book, From Shakespeare to Pope.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden

"The heroic couplet," says Mr. Gosse, "was never employed, even by Pope himself, with more melody than by Goldsmith in this poem."

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden