What form and meter characterize Dryden's rhyming couplets?

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Multiple Choice

What form and meter characterize Dryden's rhyming couplets?

Explanation:
Dryden’s style uses two-line units that rhyme at the ends, with each line built in iambic pentameter. That means every line typically has five iambs—an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one—creating a balanced, crisp rhythm, and the two lines together form a complete, self-contained unit. This pairing of a rhymed couplet with the iambic pentameter beat is what defines the form, giving Dryden that precise, witty, and formal feel. Other options don’t fit because blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter, free verse has no fixed meter or rhyme, and ballad stanzas rely on a different stanzaic pattern and rhyme scheme.

Dryden’s style uses two-line units that rhyme at the ends, with each line built in iambic pentameter. That means every line typically has five iambs—an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one—creating a balanced, crisp rhythm, and the two lines together form a complete, self-contained unit. This pairing of a rhymed couplet with the iambic pentameter beat is what defines the form, giving Dryden that precise, witty, and formal feel. Other options don’t fit because blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter, free verse has no fixed meter or rhyme, and ballad stanzas rely on a different stanzaic pattern and rhyme scheme.

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