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In poetry, acouplet (/ˈkʌplət/CUP-lət) ordistich (/ˈdɪstɪk/DISS-tick) is a pair of successivelines thatrhyme and have the samemetre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there is a grammatical pause at the end of a line ofverse. In a run-on (open) couplet, the meaning of the first line continues to the second.[1]
The word "couplet" comes from the French word meaning "two pieces of iron riveted or hinged together". The term "couplet" was first used to describe successive lines of verse in Sir P. Sidney'sArcadiain 1590: "In singing some short coplets, whereto the one halfe beginning, the other halfe should answere."[2]
While couplets traditionally rhyme, not all do. Poems may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets iniambic pentameter are calledheroic couplets.John Dryden in the 17th century andAlexander Pope in the 18th century were both well known for their writing in heroic couplets. ThePoetic epigram is also in the couplet form. Couplets can also appear as part of more complexrhyme schemes, such assonnets.
Rhyming couplets are one of the simplest rhyme schemes in poetry. Because the rhyme comes so quickly, it tends to call attention to itself. Good rhyming couplets tend to "explode" as both the rhyme and the idea come to a quick close in two lines. Here are some examples of rhyming couplets where the sense as well as the sound "rhymes":
On the other hand, because rhyming couplets have such a predictable rhyme scheme, they can feel artificial and plodding. Here is a Pope parody of the predictable rhymes of his era:
Regular rhyme was not originally a feature of English poetry:Old English verse came in metrically paired units somewhat analogous to couplets, but constructed according toalliterative verse principles. The rhyming couplet entered English verse in the earlyMiddle English period through the imitation ofmedieval Latin andOld French models.[3] The earliest surviving examples are a metrical paraphrase of theLord's Prayer in short-line couplets, and thePoema Morale in septenary (or "heptameter") couplets, both dating from the twelfth century.[4]
Rhyming couplets were often used in Middle English andearly modern English poetry.Chaucer'sCanterbury Tales, for instance, is predominantly written in rhyming couplets, and Chaucer also incorporated a concluding couplet into hisrhyme royal stanza. Similarly,Shakespeareansonnets often employ rhyming couplets at the end to emphasize the theme. Take one of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets,Sonnet 18, for example (the rhyming couplet is shown in italics):
In the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth-century English rhyming couplets achieved the zenith of their prestige in English verse, in the popularity ofheroic couplets. The heroic couplet was used by famous poets for ambitious translations of revered Classical texts, for instance, inJohn Dryden's translation of theAeneid and inAlexander Pope's translation of theIliad.[6]
Though poets still sometimes write in couplets, the form fell somewhat from favour in English in the twentieth century; contemporary poets writing in English sometimes prefer unrhymed couplets, distinguished by layout rather than by matching sounds.[7]
Couplets calledduilian may be seen on doorways in Chinese communities worldwide. Duilian displayed as part of theChinese New Year festival, on the first morning of the New Year, are calledchunlian (春聯; 春联). These are usually purchased at a market a few days before and glued to the doorframe. The text of the couplets is often traditional and contains hopes for prosperity. Other chunlian reflect more recent concerns. For example, theCCTV New Year's Gala usually promotes couplets reflecting current political themes inmainland China.
Some duilian may consist of two lines of fourcharacters each. Duilian are read from top to bottom where the first line starts from the right.
Tamil literature contains some of the notable examples of ancient couplet poetry. TheTamil language has a rich and refined grammar for couplet poetry, and distichs in Tamil poetry follow thevenpa metre.[8] One of the most notable examples of Tamil couplet poetry is the ancient Tamil moral text of theTirukkural, which contains a total of 1330 couplets written in thekural venpa metre from which the title of the work was derived centuries later. Each Kural couplet is made of exactly 7 words—4 in the first line and 3 in the second.[9] The first word may rhyme with the fourth or the fifth word. Below is an example of a couplet:
InHindi, a couplet is called adoha, while inUrdu, it is called asher.
Couplets were the most common form of poetry between the 12th and 18th Centuries, in Hidustani. Famous poets includeKabir,Tulsidas andRahim Khan-i-Khanan.[10]
Kabir (also known as Kabirdas) is thought to be one of the greatest composers of Hindustani couplets.
The American poetJ. V. Cunningham was noted for many distichs included in the various forms ofepigrams included in his poetry collections, as exampled here:
Deep summer, and time passes. Sorrow wastes
To a new sorrow. While Time heals time hastes[11]
