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Decasyllabic couplet

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A rhymed pair of lines, each containing ten syllables—typically in iambic pentameter—as used in heroic couplets.

Detailed Definition
Decasyllabic couplet consists of two successive lines of poetry, each containing exactly ten syllables, often used in narrative or didactic verse; while not necessarily iambic, it provides rhythmic regularity and structural balance, commonly found in French and early English heroic couplets.
Example
Example in poetry:
Dryden’s heroic couplets in “Absalom and Achitophel”: “In pious times, ere priestcraft did begin”; Pope’s “Essay on Man” uses decasyllabic couplets with precision; Samuel Johnson’s “The Vanity of Human Wishes” exemplifies moral decasyllabic couplets; Modern poets like Gwendolyn Brooks adapt decasyllabic couplets in “The Anniad.”
Additional Notes
Decasyllabic couplet pairs two ten-syllable lines with end rhyme. Related to heroic couplet (iambic pentameter). French decasyllable differs from English pentameter. Common in Romance language poetry—see Italian endecasillabo.
Also Known As
Ten-syllable couplet Hendecasyllabic pair Ten-beat rhyming verse Decasyllabic rhyme-pair Ten-syllable two-liner Ten-beat rhyme-pair
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