How do couplets and meter typically function in poetry?

• A. A couplet resolves a question and a steady meter provides rhythm that shapes mood and theme.
• B. A couplet is a four-line stanza; meter is optional.
• C. Meter always distracts from meaning.
• D. Couplets create chaotic tempo.

Answer: (B)

Two-line units that often rhyme, a couplet, compactly express a complete thought or a pointed ending within a poem. Meter is the recurring pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables in each line, giving poetry its rhythm, pace, and musical feel. When you have a rhymed pair of lines in a steady meter, the rhythm helps emphasize the idea and often heightens the impact of the ending—the pace and beat can feel quick, formal, playful, or solemn depending on the meter. A couplet is not a four-line stanza, and meter is not universally optional; while poets can write free verse without a set meter, traditional practice uses both to shape how meaning lands and how the poem feels to read.