April 9 - The Rhyming Couplet: The One-Two Punch of Poetry

The Rhyming Couplet

Below are definitions and examples of couplet poems from underdown.org and Funny Poems for Free. 

Patterns of rhythm, meter and rhyme are essential ingredients in children's favorite poems. One of the most popular patterns is the couplet. Couplets have two lines that rhyme. Here are five couplets from poems in Tickle Day: Poems from Father Gooseby Charles Ghigna. (underdown.org)

from Little Daddy Longlegs
Little Daddy Longlegs played in the sun,
Climbing up the front steps just for fun.

from Turtle Trouble
Tell me if you think you know
How to make a turtle go.

from Tomorrow's My Birthday
Tomorrow's my birthday and I'll be four
And I won't have to stay home anymore.

from Nature's Shows
Nature puts on little shows
Every time it rains or snows.

from It's Snow Wonder
It's snow wonder that we cheer
Snowflakes when they fall each year.

Couplet poems, or couplet poetry, are poems comprised of two rhyming lines of verse. They can be as short as one couplet (two lines), or as long as it takes to tell the poem. While it might sound easier to write just two-line poems, this is not always the case. The shorter the poem, the more impact there must be on every word used. (Funny Poems for Free)

Check out these rhyming dictionaries if you need help finding a rhyming word:
- http://www.rhymer.com/
- http://www.rhymezone.com/
- http://www.writeexpress.com/online2.html

Go to the Giggle Poetry site to read about rhyming couplets, then try writing your own rhyming couplet to add to the poem Sick by Shel Silverstein.

Here is my first attempt:

My nose is dripping everywhere.
I think I've got snot in my hair!

You can write any kind of couplet poem you like - long or short!

Also, check out how to write a Backwards Poem like Bruce Lansky. 

Have fun,
Mrs. F.