This is a traditional English form of rhyme, dating back to Chaucer. Heroic couplets are usually in iambic pentameter form, although may vary as hexameter or other types, including a "loose" form used in 20th century writings. The usual structure is 2x5 meter measures, with two lines to each statement. The form was originally considered masculine, hence the "heroic" descriptor, and tends to relate to epic poetry. It's since been discovered that female poets also used heroic couplets widely. This form was revived briefly by latter day English poets in the 18th century. |
Examples of Heroic Couplet:
Geoffrey Chaucer Ben Jonson Alexander Pope Charles Churchill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroic_couplet https://www.cs.grinnell.edu/~simpsone/Connections/Poetry/Forms/couplet1.html https://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/heroic.html |