Couplets

Heroic Couplet
One of the most common types of couplets is the heroic couplet. These couplets follow Iambic
pentameter like in William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 52."
"Blessed are you whose worthiness gives scope,
Being had, to triumph, being lacked, to hope."
Split Couplet
When you look at a split couplet, they have an asymmetric rhythm. See an example in Richard Steere's
"On a Sea-Storm Nigh the Coast." While the first line has five beats, the second line only has two.
"The weighty seas are rowled from the deeps

In mighty heaps,"
Open Couplet
An open couplet runs right through from the first line to the second. Examples of open couplets can be
found in some of William Shakespeare's sonnets, all of which end with rhyming couplets:
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
In this sonnet, readers perceive the last two lines as a single sentence that is communicating just one
continuous thought. Shakespeare's sonnets often end with rhyming couplets that challenge readers'
perceptions of the poem up until that point. In this sonnet, the last two lines emphasize the speaker's
love for his mistress despite the supposed flaws he has spent most of the poem listing. The couplet is
open so that the final thought at the end of the poem has maximum impact on the readers.
Uneven Couplet
also called split couplets, are rhyming couplets that do not have the same meter in both lines. Such
couplets can take many different forms, with either the first or second line being longer. Two examples
of uneven couplets can be found in Richard Steere's poem, ''On a Sea-Storm Nigh the Coast''. It reads:
The Weighty Seas are rowled from the Deeps

In mighty heaps,
And from the Rocks' foundations do arise
To Kiss the Skies
Uneven couplets can keep readers from getting too comfortable and can use the shorter lines to create
meaningful moments in a longer poem.
Closed Couplet
Closed couplets are perhaps more common in literature. They have the ability to create a kind of
separation between the two lines of the couplet, which can provide dramatic effect. Alexander Pope was
notable for his use of rhyming couplets: his epic satirical poem ''The Rape of the Lock'' is written entirely
in rhyming couplets, both open and closed. Here is an example of a closed couplet and the dramatic
impact it can have with its judicious use of punctuation, from the third canto:
The hungry judges soon the sentence sign,
And wretches hang that jury-men may dine
The comma at the end of the first line may be a small detail, but the impact that it has on the couplet is
profound: it evokes the feeling of a tense pause in which someone awaits a sentencing.
Qasida poetry:
Let the Eagles Soar
Let the eagles soar above the hills
Displaying remarkable flying skills,
Symbols of our nation’s strength
And intrepid patriotic feeling instills
Our anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner,
The heart of an impassioned patriot fills,
When hearing about our spacious skies
Our hearts do tremble with gusty thrills,
And give us deep satisfaction to cheer
While dancing those old-fashioned rills,
They crawl up our arms in tiny bumps
Cause us to shudder with the chills.
Displaying remarkable flying skills,
The grasslands, deserts, and seashore
From majestic mountains to tiny rills,
To live in a land of freedom and might
Covers up many of our frustrating ills
With thanksgiving each day for bounty
Our hearts with gratitude over spills,
Displaying remarkable flying skills.

Couplets

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Heroic Couplet

"The weighty seas are rowled from the deeps

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;

The Weighty Seas are rowled from the Deeps

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