What is a couplet?

What is a couplet?

• A. Two rhyming lines that summarize the sonnet.
• B. Two unrelated lines
• C. A pair of iambs
• D. Two lines that rhyme with the previous quatrain only

Answer: (A)

A couplet is two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and form a single unit. In a sonnet, the final two lines make up the couplet, and they typically deliver a concluding thought or twist for the poem. This is why the option describing two rhyming lines that summarize the sonnet fits best: the two lines stand together, rhyme with each other, and provide a wrap-up or final insight. Two unrelated lines aren’t tied together as a unit, so they wouldn’t be a couplet. A pair of iambs refers to a metrical pattern, not a paired ending. And two lines that rhyme only with the previous quatrain would describe a different rhyme relationship than the standard end-to-end couplet.

A couplet is two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and form a single unit. In a sonnet, the final two lines make up the couplet, and they typically deliver a concluding thought or twist for the poem. This is why the option describing two rhyming lines that summarize the sonnet fits best: the two lines stand together, rhyme with each other, and provide a wrap-up or final insight.

Two unrelated lines aren’t tied together as a unit, so they wouldn’t be a couplet. A pair of iambs refers to a metrical pattern, not a paired ending. And two lines that rhyme only with the previous quatrain would describe a different rhyme relationship than the standard end-to-end couplet.