Day 2 ~ How to Write a “Couplet Poem” for “30 Poems in 30 Days" #NationalPoetryMonth

I love introducing a couplet poem on Day 2 – seems appropriate, that a couple of days into the poetry writing challenge, we should write a couplet. (On day four – we will learn to write quatrains). 

But back to couplets: they are SO basic that it’s nice to address it early on in the month. Every poet should know how to write a couplet. It can be the basis of longer poems (such as a Sonnet or Ghazal). There are even several types of couplets, such as: the Heroic, Elegiac, Chinese or Poetic Epigram (if you are feeling ambitious or looking for additional challenges – feel free to look these types of couplets up and try them out – let us know if you choose one).

But, for the basic couplet, it is simply TWO lines of poetry, with the same beat (basically, that equals your syllable count) and ending rhyme. And that is as simple as it gets and what we will focus on today – there are other views of what makes a couplet and I have included a bit of that info below if you are curious.

HANDY TOOL:  (even used a couplet to present it). LOL (BTW, the word poem is only 1 syllable. Yeah, you will probably double check that… but it is).

And, so, before this month of poetry is through,

You may want access to this handy little tool!

Free Online Syllable Counter: Syllable Counter

Since yesterday was Easter - I chose this little COUPLE as our graphic for the poetry form "couplet" ~ cheers!! 

Day 2 will be fun and super easy:

Carefully stringing thoughts along
Into lovely little word-songs.

                      © 2014 ~ Stephanie Abney

Although I’ve seen some couplets that are totally random, the dictionary definition of a “couplet” suggests that they usually consist of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter. The above example has 8 beats in each line and the endings rhyme well enough. So ~

Another thing to remember when writing a couple is that those two lines really need to be able to stand alone, expressing a complete thought in two mid-sized poetic lines. The last words of each line should rhyme. It can be spiritual or silly or romantic or whatever suits your fancy – couplets are great to write for children or with children.

Some definitions insist that couplets require that each line must contain ending punctuation (making them "closed" grammatical units).

It is possible to string a bunch of couplets together to create a longer poem, but for today – just try creating one or more individual 2-line couplets. Oh, and a couplet can be about ANY subject. What’s on your mind? How about putting together a couple of thoughts on the subject, rhyme the ending words and aim for the same meter on each line. What can you come up with?

Here’s a couple of couplets (hee hee) that I wrote about seven years ago, for what they’re worth (one is simple; the other is silly).

~ I was thinking about the Lord's tender mercies and came up with this:

I know the Lord is mindful of me,
And it makes me happy as can be.
                             © 2011 by Stephanie Abney

~ then, in a moment of frustration, I thought a little on "getting one's nose out of joint" and came up with this:

Writing this little assignment
Puts my nose out of alignment.
                               © 2011 by Stephanie Abney

Did you think of a couplet? Just look around and think on an object or an emotion and give it a shot!!

Last year when I managed to get my husband, some of my kids, and their kids to come up with some poetry together, I came up with this little couplet in memory of our fun evening:

Writing poems with the family is fun.

But it makes me sad to see now we’re done.

                               © 2017 by Stephanie Abney

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright for to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or you FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.