Creative Writing

Poetry has 6 basic elements

In reading poetry, it is very important to comprehend what it is all about and to able to uncover
the possible emotions it encompasses.

Theme is the summarized statement which contains the meaning of the poem. Moreover,
theme can also be the message of the poem. Themes can be wonders and amazements, life
and existence, isolation, self-discovery, and spirituality.
Tone describes the attitude or the mode of the poem which affects the reader’s response to the
poetry. Some poems may have hilarious, joyful, alert, lively intriguing, gloomy, broken, or sad
tone.
Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme
Notice that whenever you recite or read a poem there is a melody which makes the piece more
pleasurable to hear and it adds-up rhetoric value. These that link melody and poem have
something to do with rhyme and rhyme scheme.
Rhyme refers to the repetition of similar sounding words that usually appears at the end of the
lines of a poem which brings rhythm or musicality to the poems. There are types of rhymes: true
rhyme, internal rhyme, and slant rhyme.
A. True Rhyme – occurs when the words sound same syllables at the end of the lines of the
poetry.
B. Internal Rhyme – unlike the true rhyme, internal rhyme happens two words within the line of
poetry have rhyming sounds.
C. Slant Rhyme - a type of rhyme where words sound similar but do not rhyme exactly.
Rhyme Scheme is the pattern of rhyme that comes at the end of each line in poetry, usually it is
represented or indicated by letters.
Line and Meter
The structure is very important in writing a poetry especially when it talks about the numbers of
syllables and accents. It varies to the type of poetry you are dealing.
Line refers to the line of words in the poetry. When the lines are formed in a unit or a group it is
called stanza. The table below show the forms of stanzas according to the number of poetic
lines:
Meter is the systematic arrangement of syllables or accents in the line of poetry. There varied
metrical patterns: syllabic meter and free verse are just two of those.
A. True Rhyme – occurs when the words sound same syllables at the end of the lines of the
poetry.
Example:
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
(excerpt from “A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe)
Notice that the highlighted words are rhyme.
brow – now away – day none – gone
B. Internal Rhyme – unlike the true rhyme, internal rhyme happens two words within the line of
poetry have rhyming sounds.
Example:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”
(excerpt from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe)

Look at the words dreary and weary, both words happened to appear
within a line, so the pair words is an example of internal rhyme. In
addition, napping and tapping has the same explanation.

C. Slant Rhyme - a type of rhyme where words sound similar but do not rhyme exactly.
Example:
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
(excerpt from “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickinson)
The following pair of words heard - bird and storm- warm, are slant rhymes since they are
different words but sounds alike.

Rhyme Scheme is the pattern of rhyme that comes at the end of each line in poetry, usually it is
represented or indicated by letters.

Example: The words that have the

Neither Out Far nor in Deep
by Robert Frost
The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.
same letters are rhyme. If
another rhyme appears
on the other stanzas, it
A will take same letter
B representing the rhyme.
A (so, the rhyming scheme
B of the first stanza is ABAB
the second stanza is
C CDCD)
D
C
D

Line and Meter

The structure is very important in writing a poetry especially when it talks about the numbers of
syllables and accents. It varies to the type of poetry you are dealing.

Line refers to the line of words in the poetry. When the lines are formed in a unit or a group it is
called stanza. The table below show the forms of stanzas according to the number of poetic
lines:

Meter is the systematic arrangement of syllables or accents in the line of poetry. There varied
metrical patterns: syllabic meter and free verse are just two of those.
A. Syllabic Meter / Syllabic Verse has a fixed number of syllables in each line, though there
may be a varying number of stresses. In other words, syllabic Meter is determined by the total
number of syllables per line, rather than the number of stresses.
a. Tanaga is a type of short Filipino poem with 4 lines consisting 7 syllables on each line.
b. Haiku is a type of Japanese poem with 3 lines where the first and last lines have 5
syllables and the second line has 5 syllables.
B. Free Verse has lines that have irregular number of stresses and syllables.
Aside from the elements of poetry, another important thing that you should learn are the genres
of poetry and the literary devices.
Genres of Poetry
The genres of poetry are categories into different types: Descriptive Poetry, Narrative Poetry,
and Lyric Poetry.
A. Descriptive Poetry is a type of poetry that deals or focuses on the details of the subject.
Didactic Poem aims primarily to teach something, either in terms of morals or by providing
knowledge of philosophy, religion, arts, science, or skills.
B. Narrative Poetry tells a story with a plot, characters, and a setting It is always told by a
narrator. This genre could be epic or ballad.
1. Epic is a long narrative poem about the remarkable deed of gods or heroes.

2. Ballad a poem like a folk tale which uses a repeated refrain. This means that every few
stanzas a portion of the poem is repeated, much like a song.

C. Lyric Poetry is a genre of poetry where the main feature is the expression of feelings and
thoughts of the poet. The common forms of this genre are elegy, sonnet, and ode.

1. Elegy is a poem of mourning or reflection on the death of an individual.

2. Ode is a serious and thoughtful type of lyrical poetry, usually with a formal structure generally
seen to pay homage or tribute to a thing or person.

3. Sonnet is a fourteen-line poem which dealt with the lover’s suffering and hopes.

Literary Devices in Poetry

In poetry, it is remarkable that you can capture the attention of your readers. The effective use
of language and imagination can spice up the involvement of the readers’ senses to the piece of
poetry and letting their imagination work to create clear interpretation of the poetry. The
language can be flowery, elaborate, expressive, and conversational as long as the intention of
the poem will be communicated. One’s mind is powerful that it can visualize words.
Imagery and figurative language or figures of speech are utilized in writing poems to give the
audience different experience in reading.

Imagery refers to the descriptive language that are used to appeal to the human senses: sight
(visual imagery), smell (olfactory imagery), hearing (auditory imagery), taste (gustatory
imagery), and touch (tactile imagery), and helps the readers to create clear mental picture of the
scene or subject being described.

Figurative Language (Figure of Speech) has an important role in literary works. It primarily
works to communicate the poets’ or writer’s ideas and emotions to the readers, where it
expands reader’s comprehension beyond the literal meaning of the lines (or the poem as a
whole
1. Simile is a figure of speech that shows comparison of two things using “like” or “as” to
describe common quality

2. Metaphor refers to the figurative language that makes a comparison by directly relating one
thing to another unrelated thing, unlike simile, without using “as” or “like”.

3. Personificationis a figure of speech which gives human attribution to the inanimate object or
idea.

4. Hyperbole is a figure of speech that involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of
emphasis.

5. Alliteration is the repetition of the first consonant of neighboring words.

6. Allusion is a figurative language that uses person, place, or things as reference.

7. Onomatopoeia is defined as the figurative language of sound, which imitates sound to

express or describe of a thing/situation.

Elements of Fiction
A fiction is a story that is written about imaginary characters and events and not based on real
people and facts.
Setting is the time and location that a story takes place. It also includes:
1) place – What is the geographical location? Mountains, forest, desert?

2) time – What is its historical period, time of day, or year?

3) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?

4) social conditions - What is the daily life of the character's like? Does the story contain local
colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular
place)?

5) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created in the story? Sad, happy, scary?

Character is a person or other being in a narrative. The character may be entirely fictional
or based on a real-life person
There are two kinds of characters:
1) Protagonist. It is the center in the story.

2) Antagonist. It is the opposition or enemy of the main character

Characterization is a description personality of the characters in the fiction.

Characteristics of a character can be revealed through:
 physical appearance
 what the character says, thinks, feels, and does or does not do
 what other characters say about him/her
Plot consists of the series of events with a beginning, middle, and ending.
Below are the essential parts of the plot.
1) Exposition. It is the beginning of the story where the characters are revealed and the setting
is described.

2) Rising action. It is where the conflict or problem begins.

3) Climax. It is the most interesting part whether the conflict / problem will be solved or not.

4) Falling Action. It is where the problems / complications start to fall.

5) Resolution. It is the final outcome of events in the story. Endings could be happy, sad, or
hanging.

Point of View (POV). It is the angle from which the story is told. An author chooses from a
perspective of a character to achieve its purpose.
1) First Person – The story is told by the protagonist. Speaker uses the pronouns "I", "me", "we".
The readers experience the story through this person's eyes. The reader only knows what the
speaker knows and feels.
2) Second Person – The story is told by a narrator. The speaker uses pronouns "you", "your",
and "yours".
3) Third Person – The story is told by a narrator who sees all of the action; speaker uses the
pronouns "he", "she", "it", "they", "his", "hers", "its", and "theirs". This person may be a character
in the story.

There are several types of third person POV:

Limited – The narrator looks at all actions through the eyes of a single character; readers only
see what the narrator sees. It uses the pronoun he, she, or they.
Omniscient - The narrator knows and sees everything, and can move from one character's mind
to another. The narrator is telling from a “bird’s eye” view where the narrators sees and knows
everything including the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters.
Stream of Consciousness – The story is told so readers solely experience a character's
thoughts and reactions.

Theme. It is the central message of the author.