Couplet

A pair of successive lines of poetry, which may or may not rhyme.

Two successive lines of poetry; they do not have to rhyme.

The poem has seven quatrains followed by a final couplet. The mostly regular stanza lengths give the account an outward framework, but its free verse, varied line lengths and conversational rhythms prevent it from sounding neatly controlled. There is no consistent rhyme scheme, although occasional rhymes draw particular phrases together: “eyes” (line 25) pairs with “lines” (line 26), while “land” (line 27) rhymes with “sand” (line 28).

Two consecutive lines of poetry, sometimes forming a separate stanza; they do not have to rhyme.

Connect the final couplet to the movement from separation to closeness across the whole poem.

Do not claim that every couplet contrasts love with hate or that all the couplets rhyme. Check the particular pairing you discuss.

Parts (a) and (b): describe the actual layout: five two-line stanzas, not three stanzas. Explain what the couplets and the enjambment do.

The fifth couplet contains two positive statements. ‘Its doubloons’ in line 9 evokes gold coins, treasure and adventure: love seems valuable and exciting. ‘Its bird-bones’ in line 10 offers a much more delicate image.

A two-line stanza or pair of lines. A couplet does not have to rhyme.

A pair of successive lines of poetry, often forming a stanza.

Two successive lines of verse; a rhyming couplet ends both lines with matching sounds.

The poem is a fourteen-line sonnet with a Shakespearean rhyme pattern, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Its three quatrains are followed by a final rhyming couplet, although the rhyme between ‘unchangeable’ and ‘swell’ is imperfect. The predominantly iambic pentameter gives the wish a measured, sustained movement.

A pair of successive lines, sometimes forming a two-line stanza; the lines do not necessarily rhyme.

A pair of consecutive lines of poetry, which need not rhyme.

Two consecutive lines of verse. A rhyming couplet ends both lines with matching sounds.

The rhyme pattern divides its argument into three quatrains, or four-line units, and a closing couplet. The first two quatrains explore natural beauty; the third turns to music and cultural belonging; the final couplet explains the emotional need behind the imagined return.

A pair of lines; these do not have to rhyme.

Definition

How each exam board covers it

AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702

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Edexcel GCSE English Literature · 1ET0

OCR GCSE English Literature · J352

Eduqas GCSE English Literature · C720