closed couplet

7.9

Two lines of poetry that rhyme and give a complete thought

noun
/kloʊzd ˈkʌplɪt/

Literature

: pareado cerrado

The closed couplet delivers a complete idea in just two lines, making it memorable.

Examples

Many poets used the closed couplet to end their sonnets with a strong, final statement.
A closed couplet often adds a sense of finality.
In eighteenth-century English poetry, the closed couplet became a dominant form.
The poem ended with a closed couplet.
In eighteenth-century English poetry, the closed couplet became a dominant form.
Many poets used the closed couplet to end their sonnets with a strong, final statement.
The closed couplet delivers a complete idea in just two lines, making it memorable.

Synonyms

couplet

vsclosed couplet

Literature

4 5.9

Two lines of poetry next to each other that usually rhyme

forms a complete sentence or thought within those two lines

Surface Forms

closed couplet singular

closed couplets plural

Morphology

closed + couplet

The meaning is directly derivable from its parts: 'couplet' denotes a pair of rhymed lines and 'closed' signals that the pair is self-contained or complete. This compositional modifier + noun pattern is a standard, cross-linguistically common way to indicate a complete unit, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Closed couplet comes from the idea of a couplet, which is two rhymed lines. The word closed means the two lines finish one idea, like a short sentence that ends, so the pair feels like a 'complete thought'.