Home › Glossary › Letter M

Mirror couplet

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 couplet in which the second line mirrors the first through reversed syntax, inverted word order, or symmetrical phrasing to create balance or irony.

Detailed Definition
A mirror couplet consists of two successive lines of verse that reflect or invert each other syntactically, semantically, or phonetically—such as through chiasmus or reversed word order—creating a symmetrical effect that emphasizes balance, contrast, or thematic duality within the poetic structure.
Example
Example in poetry:
A couplet where the second line is a reversal or inversion of the first line's thought or structure, e.g., 'What I must know, I cannot find ; What I can find, I do not know'; A two-line unit where the words or phrases in the first line are nearly mirrored in the second, 'They laugh who win ; Who win they laugh'; A couplet where the rhyme words are the same, but the order of the other words is inverted; A line followed by a second line that repeats the ideas of the first using antonyms.
Additional Notes
Mirror couplet: A two-line stanza where the second line structurally or thematically reverses the first; often uses chiasmus or antithesis.
Also Known As
Reflective couplet twin couplet doubled couplet Antimetabole couplet Boustrophedonic couplet inverted couplet matching couplet
Skip to main content