OBJECTIVE:
Writing COUPLETS is a great way to interact creatively with the photographs on piclits.com. A couplet is a form of verse with two lines that often rhyme, follow the same rhythm or meter, and offer a complete thought.

Here is famous couplet by Alexander Pope who write in heroic couplets in his “Essay on Man” and “Essay on Criticism” in the 18th Century. Here, Pope captures the current familiar adage “be just shy of the cutting edge”:

“Be not the first by whom the new are tried,
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.”

Note how the last words in each line of verse rhyme: “tried” and “aside”. And notice how the couplet offers a complete thought; it tells us to be wary of being the first to try something new and wary of being the last to hold onto the old way of doing things. Sound advice and it is memorable because it rhymes.

In this Level 1 Lesson, our couplets should rhyme, but they do not need to follow a strict meter or rhythm. Meter is the number of stresses per line of verse. The most common meter is iambic pentameter; five major stresses per line. But, no more on that since we are not concerned with developing meter; that is in lesson 2!

So select an amazing photo, think creatively, and generate a RHYMING COUPLET in the FREESTYLE mode on piclits.com.

MODEL PIC-LIT:

Notice how the couplet offers a complete thought AND rhymes: “inspiration and Declaration”.

GUIDED PRACTICE WRITING PROMPT:

1. Go to piclits.com
2. Sign in with your e-mail and password
3. Select a picture from the gallery of pictures
4. In FREESTYLE mode, write a RHYMING COUPLET to enhance the viewer’s understanding of the photograph.