Which best defines a couplet?
A couplet is a stanza of four poetic lines.
A couplet is two consecutive rhyming lines.
A couplet is three quatrains and two rhyming lines.
A couplet is a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables.
A couplet is two consecutive rhyming lines.
The correct answer is: A couplet is two consecutive rhyming lines.
To arrive at this answer, you can break down the options and identify the correct definition:
- Option 1: A couplet is a stanza of four poetic lines. This definition is incorrect because a couplet consists of only two lines, not four.
- Option 2: A couplet is two consecutive rhyming lines. This definition is correct as it accurately describes a couplet. In poetry, a couplet is a pair of lines that usually share the same meter and rhyme scheme, with two consecutive lines forming a complete thought or idea.
- Option 3: A couplet is three quatrains and two rhyming lines. This definition is incorrect because it describes a different poetic structure known as a sonnet, which typically consists of three quatrains followed by a concluding couplet.
- Option 4: A couplet is a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables. This definition is incorrect because it describes the concept of meter, which refers to the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry, rather than the specific structure of a couplet.
Therefore, the correct answer is that a couplet is two consecutive rhyming lines.