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Difficulty: MediumPoetic Forms and Structures

Examine the classical verse lines provided below and identify the specific poetic structure by supplying the missing descriptive term.

Answer:Excerpt:
'Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,
The proper study of mankind is man.'

A pair of rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter, as demonstrated in the excerpt above, is formally referred to as a 【heroic】 couplet.

Answer

heroic
A heroic couplet is defined in English poetry as a pair of rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter. In the provided excerpt from Alexander Pope's 'An Essay on Man', the two lines complete a thought in rhymed iambic pentameter, matching the definition of a heroic couplet.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the verse structure and meter of the excerpt.
The excerpt consists of two lines with ten syllables each, following an unstressed/stressed pattern (iambic pentameter).
Determining line length and rhythmic meter is essential for identifying poetic structural units.
2
Examine the end-rhyme scheme between the consecutive lines.
The words 'scan' and 'man' form an exact end-rhyme (aa pattern).
A two-line rhyming unit constitutes a couplet.
3
Synthesize the meter and rhyme characteristics into the formal poetic term.
A two-line rhyming unit written specifically in iambic pentameter is defined as a heroic couplet.
This structural form was widely popularized in English Augustan poetry by Alexander Pope and John Dryden.

Key Concept

Heroic Couplet Structure and Meter
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Topics

Poetic Forms and Structures

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