How to write a couplet

1. How to Write a Couplet
Lisa Schlageck
TEC539 Digital Media
August 29, 2010

2. What is a Couplet?
A small portion of a poem consisting
of two consecutive lines that rhyme
(eHow, 2010).
Any two lines working as a unit,
whether they compromise a single
stanza or are part of a larger stanza.
Most rhyme, but they do not have to
(Gotera, 1999).

3. First,
Understand the format
and then choose a topic.
Make it simple yet descriptive.
A topic such as your life would be
difficult to compress, but a topic
about a flower can be simple.
(eHow, Inc., 2010 and wikiHow, 2010)

4. Second,
Write the idea you wish to
convey in a variety of
ways, each time ending
the line with a different word.
Express your complete thought
into two, mid-sized poetic lines.
Keep the flow going throughout
the poem.
(eHow, Inc., 2010 and wikiHow, 2010)

5. Third,
Recite each couplet aloud, listening carefully
to the rhythm and flow of the words.
Read aloud to a friend for an opinion.
(eHow, Inc., 2010)

6. Finally,
Combine many couplets to form an
extensive poem. I won’t be a couplet
any longer but it will sound great if put
together (eHow, Inc., 2010).
If you enjoyed writing a couplet, you
may enjoy writing a sonnet. It
involves putting together many
couplets in a different way (wikiHow,
2010).

7. Example of a Couplet
From Maxine Kumin’s “Morning Swim”
Into my empty head there come
a cotton beach, a dock wherefrom
From Richard Steere’s “On a Sea-Storm Nigh
the Coast”
The weighty seas are rowled from the deeps
In mighty heaps,
And from the rocks' foundations do arise
To kiss the skies.
(Gotera, 1999)

8. References
eHow, Inc., (2010). How to write a couplet.
Retrieved from
http://www.ehow.com/how_2057569_write-couplet.html
wikiHow, (2010). How to write a couplet.
Retrieved from
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Couplet
Gotera, V. (1999). Couplet. Retrieved from
http://www.uni.edu/~gotera/CraftOfPoetry/couplet.html