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

Rhyming in heroic couplets, the poem takes its inspiration from Alexander Pope’s 18th-century mock-heroic work “The Dunciad,” which depicts journalists worshiping the goddess “Boredom.”

From Washington Times

He gave these verses to his friend Oliver Goldsmith to use in the poem “The Traveller,” which is basically an eighteenth-century TED talk, in heroic couplets, on the importance of self-actualization, even within tyrannical regimes.

From The New Yorker

An English “Aeneid” first appeared in a 16th-century Scottish version by Gavin Douglas — highly praised by Ezra Pound — and was followed in the 17th century by John Dryden’s classic rendering in heroic couplets.

From Washington Post

He wrote in a smooth, carefully polished style, usually adhering to the traditional forms of English poetry, such as iambic pentameter, heroic couplets and rhyme.

From Washington Post

Deployed in his sparkling heroic couplets, the arguments and summaries are alive with wit, verbal agility and good sense.

From The Guardian