Couplet - tsuiku (English spelling)

A couplet consisting of two or more identical rhymes. It can be used alone as a proverb or epigram, but is more commonly used as a continuous couplet. An example of the former is the following epitaph written by John Gay for his own tomb:

Life is a jest, and all things show it. I thought so once, but now I know it.
(Life is a joke, and everything shows it. I once thought so, and now I know it.)
Such epitaphs were used in ancient Greece and were a specialty of the Latin poet Martial, who influenced satirical epigrams in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Among the latter, consecutive couplets, those using iambic pentameter are called "heroic couplets" and were widely used in the "heroic poetry" that was popular from the 17th to the 18th century. In contrast to the blank verse that Shakespeare used to write tragedies, this regular heroic couplet is suitable for stating things in an epigram or definitive manner. For example,

During his office, treason was no crime; The sons of Belial had a glorious time.
(Treason was no crime during his time. The sons of Belial had the mercy of the times.) --Dryden, from Absalom and Achitophel In the same vein, in his philosophical poem of life, Pope uses the following:

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is Man. --Pope, An Essay on Man Thus, the couplet is largely in keeping with the spirit of classicism.

[Shunichi Niikura]

In Japanese literature, this technique refers to the juxtaposition of contrasting words and phrases in terms of rhythm and meaning, aiming for expressive effects such as interesting contrast and beautiful symmetry. It is used in verse such as popular songs, waka, and Chinese poetry, but is also used in metrical prose. It is likely a technique brought about by the influence of oral literature, which places importance on rhythm, and Chinese literature, which makes use of elaborate rhetorical techniques. It was already widely used in ancient prose such as the Kojiki and Nihon shoki, but it is particularly noteworthy in the long poems in the Manyoshu, especially the works of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. There are examples including pairs of two or four verses, such as "Flying birds cross the Asuka River on the upper rapids over a stone bridge, and on the lower rapids over a built-up bridge. The seaweed that grows and sways on the stone bridge, grows when it dies. The riverweed that grows and sways on the built-up bridge, grows when it dies" (Volume 2). Many studies were conducted in the early modern period, such as Tachibana Moribe's "Senkaku Choka." The collection of Chinese poetry and prose, Wakan Roeishu, is a treasure trove of couplets, and many masterpieces begin with couplets, such as "The sound of the bell at Gion-shoja has the echo of impermanence. The color of the flowers of the Sharasoju expresses the truth that all things that thrive must decline" in The Tale of the Heike, and "The flow of the river never ceases, yet the water is never the same. The bubbles that float on the stagnant pool disappear and form again, and never stay for long" in The Hojoki. Noh plays and Joruri also often use couplets to express rich emotions. Couplets are also used frequently in Chinese literature, and are characteristic of regulated verse and benbun.

[Teruhiko Komachiya]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

同じ脚韻を重ねた二行連をいう。これだけで単独に、格言や警句として用いられることもあるが、普通、二行連句として続けて用いられることが多い。前者の例は、たとえば次のジョン・ゲイがつくった自分の墓碑銘がある。

　　Life is a jest, and all things show it. I thought so once, but now I know it.
　（人生は冗談で、いっさいがそれを示している。かつてそう考えたが、いまではそれを知っている。）
　このような墓碑銘は古くからギリシアで用いられ、またラテン詩人マルティアリスが得意とした。彼の影響で17世紀から18世紀にかけて風刺的な警句が流行した。

　後者の連続して使う二行連句のなかでは、弱強五歩格iambic pentameterを用いたものを「英雄対句」heroic coupletとよび、やはり17世紀から18世紀にかけて風靡(ふうび)した「英雄詩」に広く使われた。シェークスピアが悲劇を書くために用いた無韻詩blank verseと対照的に、この規則的な英雄対句は警句的あるいは断定的に事柄を述べるのに適している。たとえば、このような例があげられる。

　　During his office, treason was no crime; The sons of Belial had a glorious time.
　（彼の在職中には反逆は罪ではなかった。ベリアルの息子たちは時代をほしいままにした。）――ドライデン『アブサロムとアキトフェル』から
　同じ調子で、哲学的な人生詩で、ポープも次のように使っている。

　　Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is Man.（なんじ自身を知れ、神を測るなかれ。人間こそ人間たちの適切な課題なれば。）――ポープ『人間論』から
　このように、対句は主として古典主義の精神にかなっている。

［新倉俊一］

　日本文学においては、韻律や意味などで対照的な語句を並列させて、対照のおもしろさや均整の美しさなどの表現効果を志向する技法をいう。歌謡・和歌・漢詩文など韻文に用いられるが、韻律的な散文にも使われる。律調を重視する口唱文学や、修辞技巧を凝らす漢文学などの影響によってもたらされた技法であろう。記紀など上代の散文にもすでに多用されているが、とくに注目すべきは、『万葉集』の長歌、とりわけ柿本人麻呂(かきのもとのひとまろ)の詠作であろう。「飛ぶ鳥の　明日香(あすか)の川の　上(かみ)つ瀬(せ)に　石橋(いはばし)渡し　下(しも)つ瀬に　打橋渡し　石橋に　生ひ靡(なび)く　玉藻(たまも)ぞ　絶ゆれば生ふる　打橋に　生ひををれる　川藻もぞ　枯るれば生ゆる」（巻2）のような、二句対や四句対を含んだ例がみられる。橘守部(たちばなもりべ)の『長歌撰格(せんかく)』など、近世に入り多くの研究が行われた。漢詩文集『和漢朗詠集』は対句の宝庫であり、『平家物語』の「祇園精舎(ぎおんしょうじゃ)の鐘の声、諸行無常の響あり。娑羅双樹(しゃらそうじゅ)の花の色、盛者(じょうしゃ)必衰の理(ことわ)りを表はす」、『方丈記』の「行く川の流れは絶えずして、しかも、もとの水にあらず。淀(よど)みに浮かぶうたかたは、かつ消えかつ結びて、久しく留(とど)まりたる例(ためし)なし」など、名作の冒頭は対句を用いたものが少なくない。謡曲や浄瑠璃(じょうるり)なども、対句によって豊かな情調が表出されている場面が多い。中国文学でも詩文に多く用いられ、律詩(りっし)、駢文(べんぶん)などに特徴的に見られる。

［小町谷照彦］

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