heroic couplet

noun

, Prosody.

1. a stanza consisting of two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter, especially one forming a rhetorical unit and written in an elevated style, as, Know then thyself, presume not God to scan / The proper study of Mankind is Man.

heroic couplet

noun

1. prosody a verse form consisting of two rhyming lines in iambic pentameter

Word History and Origins

Origin of heroic couplet¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Pindar made his living hymning the exploits of Olympians; he would hardly have known where to start with this particular heroic couplet.

From The Guardian

In English, however, it was not enough to designate a single iambic line of five beats as heroic verse, because it was necessary to distinguish blank verse from the distich, which was formed by the heroic couplet.

From Project Gutenberg

It is owing to this, in part, that the heroic couplet is so often required to give, in translation, the full value of a single Homeric hexameter.

From Project Gutenberg

The use of the heroic couplet was its distinguishing mark; of course, an imitation of French practice.

From Project Gutenberg

He writes in the heroic couplet, which he manœuvres with great ease and smoothness.

From Project Gutenberg