SELF-LEARNING MODULE 4

Subject: Creative Writing

Topic: Reading and Writing of Poetry

Grade Level: Senior High School

Learning Objectives:

 Define poetry and explain its basic elements (speaker, content, theme, form, tone, imagery,
diction, figurative language, and sound devices).
 Differentiate among the main forms of poetry: lyrical, narrative, and descriptive, with examples
from literature.
 Classify poems according to type (narrative, lyric, dramatic) and subtypes (epic, ode, sonnet,
haiku, elegy, etc.).

Structure and poetry

- An importance method of analyzing a poem is to look at the stanza structure or style of a
poem. Generally speaking, structure has to do with the overall organization of lines and the
conventional patterns of sound.

Stanzas
- Are series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty line from other stanzas.
They are the equivalent of a paragraph in an essay. One way to identify a stanza is to count
the number of lines. Thus:

- Couplet (2 lines)
- Tercet (3 lines)
- Quatrain (4 lines)
- Sestet (6 lines)
- Septet (7 lines)
- Octave (8 lines)

Form

Three most common types of poems according to form:

1. Lyrical Poetry
- It is any poem with one speaker (not necessarily the poet) who expresses strong thoughts
and feelings.

Ex.
 Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18",
 Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven“
 William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (Daffodils)

2. Narrative Poem:
 It is a poem that tells a story; its structure resembles the plot line of a story (i.e. the
introduction of conflict and characters, rising action, climax and the denouement).

Ex.
 Homer's "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
3. Descriptive Poem:
-It is a poem that describes the world that surrounds the speaker.
-It uses elaborate imagery and adjectives.
- While emotional, it is more “outward-focused” that lyric poetry, which is more personal and
introspective.

Ex.
 William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud“
 "At the Fish houses" by Elizabeth Bishop

Techniques on writing poetry

 Causality
- A plot is not a random string of events.
It has a logic based on cause-and-effect relationships between things that happen in the story.

 Foreshadowing
- Is a plot-related literary technique whereby an author shows or says something in an early
part of a story that hints at a later event.

 Flashback
- Is an interruption in the chronological sequence of events in the plot.
- It narrates a scene that occurred earlier.

 Euphemism
- a mild, indirect word or phrase used to replace one that is considered harsh, blunt, or
offensive, helping to discuss sensitive topics or unpleasant realities more delicately.

 Allusion
- Is when an author refers to the events or characters from another story in her own story
with hopes that those events will add context or depth to the story she’s trying to tell

Ex.

"She's a true Cassandra" (refers to the prophetess who predicted disaster but wasn't believed,
from the Greek myth).

 Emotion Poem
- An emotion poem is used to describe various emotions, good or bad, using descriptive
language.

 Free verse
- It did not follow any rules and the creation is completely in the hands of the author.
- Rhyming, syllable count, punctuation, number of lines, number of stanzas, and line
formation can be done however the author wants in order to convey the idea.

 Haiku
- A form of Japanese poetry that follows a specific syllable pattern.
- It’s made up of 3 lines, consisting of 17 syllables in total.

 Sonnet
- Is a 14 lines poem with a specific rhyme scheme. Each type of sonnet follows a different
rhyming scheme.
  Tanka
- Is another Japanese form of poetry that follows a syllable format.
- This poem composed of 5 lines.
- Lines 1 and 3 have 5 syllables
- Lines 2,4 and 5 contain 7 syllables each.

Elements of poetry
- The basic elements of poetry include the speaker, content, theme, shape and form, mood or
tone, imagery, diction, figurative language and sound-effect devices.

1. Speaker
- Is the person who is addressing the reader.
2. Content
- Is the subject of the poem. It answers the questions “what?”
3. Theme
- Is the meaning of the poem.
- The main idea that the poet is trying to communicate.
4. Shape and Form
- The actual shape and form of poems can very dramatically form poem to poem.
 Structured
 Free verse
5. Mood or Tone
- Is the say that the poet creates and that the reader senses through the poet’s choice of
words, rhythm, rhyme, style and structure.
6. Imagery
- Refers to the “pictures” which we perceive with our mind’s eyes, ears, nose tongue, skin,
and through which we experience the “duplicate world” created by poetic language

Types of poetry
- Poetry can be classified into three types:

 Narrative
 Lyric
 Dramatic poetry

1. Narrative Poetry
- Narrative poetry tells a story, but it does it with poetic flair.

- Here are some elements of narrative poetry that are important:

 Character
 Settings
 Conflict
 Plot

Kinds of narrative poetry

1. Epic
- Is a long-unified narrative poem, recounting in dignified language the adventures of a
warrior, a king or a god, the whole embodying the religious and philosophical beliefs, the
moral code, customs, traditions, manners, attitudes, science, folklore and culture of the
people or country from which it came.

2. Metrical romance
- Recounts the quest undertaken by a single knight in order to gain a lady’s favor.
 3. Metrical tale
- Is a simple, straightforward story in verse.

4. Ballad
- Is a narrative poem which is meant to be sung, usually composed in the ballad stanza.

2. Lyric poetry
- Is generally considered the most intense genre of poetry, the form that honors its musical
origins.

 Kinds of lyric poetry

1. Ode
- A dignified and elaborately structured lyric poem praising and glorifying an
individual , commemorating an event, or describing nature intellectually rather
than emotionally.

2. Elegy
- Is a lyric poem, written in elegiac couplets, the expresses sorrow or
lamentation, usually for one has died.

3. Sonnet
- Is a short poem with fourteen lines, usually written in iambic pentameter

4. Song
- Is a lyric poem which is set to music.
- All songs have strong beat created largely through the 3R’s

 Rhythm
 Rhyme
 Repetition

5. Simple Lyric
- Is a short poem expressing the poet’s thought, feeling, or emotion

Dramatic poetry
- presents one or more characters speaking, usually to other characters, but sometimes to
themselves or directly to the reader.

 Kinds of dramatic poetry

1. Dramatic monologue
- Is a literary device that is used when a character reveals his or her innermost thoughts and
feelings, those that are hidden throughout the course of the story line, through a poem or a
speech.

2. Soliloquy
- is a dramatic device in literature, especially in plays, where a character speaks their
thoughts aloud while alone on stage (or while thinking no one else can hear them).

15 tips on how to write poetry

- Writing poems may sometimes be too expressive. There are times also that you need to
consider certain rules which makes it sound too technical. With this, you as a writer need to
be communicated well with your reader. Below are some of the innovative techniques on
writing poetry:

1. Know your goal

 - You need to know what you are trying to accomplish before you begin any project. Writing a
poem is no exception.
2. Avoid cliches
- A work full of cliches is like a plate of old food; unappetizing. Cliches dull meaning.
3. Avoid sentimentality
- When readers have the feeling that emotions like rage of indignation have been pushed
artificially for their own sake, they will not take the point seriously.
4. Use images
- Poetry should stimulate six senses:
 Sight
 Hearing
 Smell
 Touch
 Taste
 Motion
5. Use Metaphor and Simile
- Use metaphor and simile to bring imagery and concrete words into your writing.

6. Use concrete words instead of abstract words

- Concrete words describe things that people experience with their senses.

 Orange
 Warm
 Cat
- Abstract words refer to concepts or feelings:

 Liberty
 Happy
 Love

7. Communicate Theme

 Poetry has a theme.

 Theme is not just a topic, but an idea with an opinion.
 The poet must strive to show the reader his/her theme during the entire poem, making use
of literary techniques.

8. Subvert ordinary
- Poet’s strength is the ability to see what other people see everyday in a new way.
9. Rhyme with extreme caution
- Rhyme and meter (the pattern of stressed and unstressed words) can be dangerous if use the
wrong way.
- If you choose a rhyme scheme that makes your poem sound sing-song, it will detract from the
quality of your poem.
10. Revise, revise, revise
- The first completed draft of your poem is only the beginning.
- Poets often go through several drafts of a poem before considering thee work “done.”
11. Tricks with language
- Repeating a word or phrase to emphasize its importance create a regular rhythm.
12. Use personification
- Describe an object/idea as though it were alive.
- Giving it human qualities.
13. Use the idea of “contrast”
- The poets place 2 very different things side by side to emphasize something important towards the
subject.
14. Use symbolism
- It is a word that becomes a sign of something other than simply itself.
15. Ambiguity
- This is where words/sentences have more than one meaning/ are open to numerous interpretations.
Activity:
 The Mirror of Life
by Catherine Pulsifer

Life is but a mirror,

Looking back at us.
Everything we do each day,
Should lead us to impress.
And sometimes when we need,
To see life differently.
We have that mirror to help us,
Change our view gently.

The eyes of everyone,

Also reflect back.
Mirrors come in different ways,
To show us what we lack.

But most importantly,

Don't forget to always look.
Be your best
And life will look after the rest.
What we see and what we do
Are reflections of what is true
Don't let your mirror reflect the things
That you do not want to come true.
Instead each day set your goals
Strive to complete, it is good for your soul.
Give life all you've got
Never look in the mirror and stop.

Questions

1. How do you feel when you read about this poem? Does the speaker’s tone affect your present view
about life?

2. How is the first poem different from the second poem in terms of the theme they try to present?

3. In your opinion, which do you think is more effective in conveying a message to an audience, a story in
prose (told or written in ordinary form) or a poem? Support your answer.