Skip to content

duple

adjective

No English definition recorded for this entry.

L336307 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈdjuːpəl/ / /ˈduːpəl/

adj

Etymology: PIE word *dwóh₁ From Latin duplus (“twofold, double”). Attested since the 16th century. Doublet of double and doppio.

  1. Double.
  2. Having two beats, or a multiple of two beats, in each measure.
  3. Having two beats in each foot.

    McGonagall is earnestly trying to gather the resources of a metrical tradition, not subvert it, but the mismatch of duple and triple measure in the first line alone means that, while it’s made of recognisable metrical feet, the line doesn’t feel like it belongs to any specific metrical pattern (iambic, dactylic, anapestic etc) or mode (pastoral, elegy or ballad).