Creative Writing

Lesson 2: Write a short Poem Applying the

Various Elements and Literary Devices
Exploring Innovative Techniques

Prepared by: Mrs. Clare T. Siplon

Brief Introduction
Poetry is derived from the Greek word
“poiesis” which literally translates to
“making or creating.” It is arranged in a
rhythmic pattern and is used to express
one’s creative thoughts and feelings
through a specialized and heightened
language.

The implication is important:

poetry is made and the poet is the maker.

The word made suggests materials; and the

word maker suggests effort.
The language of poetry in poetry The poet uses a unique style and
resonates worlds of other rhythm, to express intense

Poetry
meaning. experience.

In a sense, the poet distils Poetry is imaginative and is read to

meaning in brief and vivid delight or amuse.
phrases.
 Elements of Poetry
Speaker Audience
It is the person or people to whom
It is the created narrative voice of
the speaker is speaking.
the poem.
Identifying the audience within a
The person the reader is supposed
poem helps you to understand the
to imagine talking or speaking in
poem better.
the poem.
There are different people the speaker
The poet reveals the identity of the can address in the poem:
speaker in various ways. Choice of the speaker can address another
words, focus of attention and character in the poem; a character who
attitudes will indicate the age, is not present or is dead; or the reader.
perspective and identity of the
speaker.
 Elements of Poetry
Content Structure
It is the subject or the idea or the
thing that the poem concerns or It includes the line and stanza.
represents.
Poets combine the use of
Poetry often tells a story, describes a language and a specific structure
scene, event, or feeling, or otherwise to create imaginative and creative
comments on the human work.
predicament.

It is contained in description,
narration, and assertion.
Line
It is a unit of language into which a poem is
divided, which operates on principles which are
distinct from and not necessarily coincident
with grammatical structures, such as the
sentence or single clauses in sentences.
 Stanza Example:
a group set of lines within a poem, May by Sara Teasdale
usually set off from other stanzas, by a
blank line or indentation.
The wind is tossing the lilacs,
Stanzas can have regular rhyme and The new leaves laugh in the sun,
metrical schemes, though stanzas are And the petals fall on the orchard wall,
not strictly required to have either. But for me the spring is done.

Beneath the apple blossoms

I go a wintry way,
For love that smiled in April
Is false to me in May
 Tone
It is the attitude you feel in it—the Frost tells us about his past with a
writer’s attitude toward the subject or
“sigh”, this gives the above lines an
audience. It can be playful, humorous,
serious, and ironic, anything—and it unhappy tone. This tone leads us into
can change as the poem goes along.
thinking that the speaker in the poem
Example: (excerpt from “The Road Not had to make a difficult choice.
Taken” by Robert Frost)

“I shall be telling this with a sigh.

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
 Imagery Diction
Poetic diction is the term used to refer to
It refers to the pictures which we
the linguistic style, the vocabulary, and
perceive with our mind’s eyes, ears,
the metaphors used in writing of poetry.
nose, tongue, skin, and through which
we experience the “duplicate world”
created by poetic language.

The poet uses sound words, and words

of color and touch in addition to figures
of speech. As well, concrete details that
appeal to the reader’s senses are used
to build up images.
 Figures of Speech
It is a type of language that varies from
the norms of literal language, in which
words mean exactly what they say for
the sake of comparison, emphasis,
clarity, or freshness.
 Here are some steps to
help you create your own
poem.
STEP 1: STARTING THE POEM
1. Pick a specific theme or idea 2. Brainstorm for Ideas
Try a free write. Grab a notebook and
Before you start writing down your just start writing—about your day, your
poem, pick a topic. You need to choose feelings, or how you don’t know what to
a specific theme you are passionate to write about.
talk about.
Make a list or mind map of images.
Whatever theme you decide to pick, Think about a situation that’s full of
make sure that it is specific. For emotion for you and write down a list of
example, if you are going to talk about images or ideas that you associate with
love, you can work around the topics it. You could also write about
“love of family” or “love of friends”. something you see right in front of you
3. Choose a poetic form 4. Read examples of poetry

Choose a poetic form that would fit

your style of writing. There are many If you are still hesitant, You may
different poetic forms that you can look through your books or search
choose from. online from the classic poems to
contemporary ones.
Narrative Poems: epic, ballad,
metrical romance
Lyric Poems: hymn, psalm, sonnet,
song, simple lyric, spoken poetry
Dramatic poems: tragedy, comedy,
tragicomedy
STEP 2: WRITING THE POEM 2. Include Literary Devices

Literary devices are techniques that

1. Use Concrete Imagery writers use to create a special and pointed
effect in their writing, to convey
Concrete imagery will help your
information, or to help readers understand
readers connect with the poem through
their writing on a deeper level.
the mental pictures they imagine upon
reading.
Metaphor: A comparison of two unlike things
without the use of as or like
Ex: A host, of golden daffodils; Ex: All the world’s a stage (Seven Ages)
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Synecdoche: A part is used for a whole or a
whole is used for a part
(I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud) Ex: The hand that mocked them and the heart
that fed (Ozymandias) (The hand refer to the
sculptor, the heart refer to the King)
3. Write for the Ear
Poetry is made to be read out loud and
you should write your poem with a focus
on how it sounds on the page. Writing for
the ear will allow you to play with the
structure of your poem and your word
choice.

Alliteration: the repetition of initial sounds on

the same line
Ex: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I
pondered, weak and weary (The Raven)

Onomatopoeia: the use of words that sound

like their meaning
Ex: Once upon a time a frog Croaked away
in Bingle bog (The Frog and the Nightangale)
STEP 3: Polishing the Poem
1. Read the Poem Aloud 2. Get Feedback from Others
Once your poem is complete, read Share your poem with persons who
it aloud. Pay attention to every can help you improve it. You can read
word in each line. How do they it to your family writing. Allow them to
sound? Is the meaning clear? Take give their reaction.
down notes or mark the lines that
may sound different or confusing
to you.
Experimental Texts
 Shape/Concrete Poetry Performance/Spoken-Word Poetry

The most inventive forms is for the It is being recited in front of the
poem to take on the shape of its subject. audience in public places. It uses
vernacular language and appealing oral
Therefore, if the subject of your poem elements like music, recordings and
were of a flower, then the poem should other elements of signification.
be shaped like a flower.
Example: Shaped poetry
 Different Forms of Poetry
a) Structured- has predictable patterns
of rhyme, rhythm, line length and
stanza construction;

b) Free verse- the poet experiments the

poet of the poem.
 What is a Haiku?

a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines

of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of
the natural world. This poem is in English written in the
form of a haiku.
Guide:

A Tanka is a five-line poem where the first

and third lines have 5 syllables and the
rest of the lines has 7 syllables.
A tanka poem is an ancient Japanese form of poetry that is
categorized by the number of syllables in each line, totaling 31
syllables. Tanka, which means “short song,” has been an
important literary form in Japanese culture for nearly a thousand
years. These poems traditionally are about seasons, nature,
desires, or feelings, and often include many different types of
literary devices, such as personification, metaphors, and similes.
Tankas typically present a whole story or picture within the 31
syllables.
Rhyming isn't a requirement or the focus for a tanka poem. Most
don't rhyme, although it wouldn't disqualify it from being
a tanka.

Ex:
This cold winter night
the snow clings to the tree boughs
in the pale moonlight
the kisses of your soft lips
warm this aching heart of mine
 Ex:
Crash at two A.M.
I opened my bedroom door
A white cat ran by
Startled by the clanging fall
Of the treat jar’s metal lid

Looking at this example, you might have noticed

that there is no end punctuation or rhyming used in tanka.
EXAMPLES:
1. About a place: 2. About a person:

New York is brimming / With people Rushing down the hall / She can’t
who are thinking / About the city / spare just a moment / To notice her
That gives them a lease on life / But heart / Is like a timpani drum / In
takes as much as it gives. search of an orchestra.

This tanka begins with a picture of a This tanka makes you wonder why
well-known metropolis and she’s rushing down the hall and why
transitions into a reflection on how it her quickly beating heart is so lonely.
can uplift and drain the people who An air of mystery is common among
live there. this Japanese style of poetry.
 Writing the Poem
Direction: On your paper, write your own
Tanka. The topic of the poem should be
based on seasons, nature, desires, or
feelings.
______________________________________ (title)

______________________________________ (5 syllables)
______________________________________ (7 syllables)
______________________________________ (5 syllables)
______________________________________ (7 syllables)
______________________________________ (7 syllables)
 10 8 6 4

NEEDS
Categories EXCEPTIONAL GOOD AVERGAE IMPROVEMENT
Most lines in the Some of the lines
All lines in the acrostic poem in the Few of the lines in
acrostic poem begin acrostic poem the acrostic poem
FORMAT
begin with the correct with the correct begin with the begin with the correct
letter. letter. correct letter. letter.

Acrostic poem Acrostic poem does

TITLE includes a title. N/A N/A not include a title.
Most lines are Some lines are
All lines are related to related to the related to the Few lines are related
CONTENT
the topic. topic. topic. to the topic.

Uses some
Uses poetic poetic
Effectively uses
POETIC techniques to techniques to Uses few poetic
poetic techniques to
TECHNIQUES reinforce the reinforce the techniques.
reinforce the theme.
theme. theme.
Guide:
An acrostic is a poem where the first
letter of each line spell a name, word or
phrase.
 That’s me!

C – ongenial, extraordinary and a bit daring,

L – ike aurora borealis so bright and alluring.
A – t times crazy but all the time hopeful,
R – eady to achieve a tomorrow that’s so colourful.
E – ach adversity matters, and for that I am grateful.
Limerick. A
limerick is a five-line poem with the rhyme scheme AAB
BA
.

Ex: Mother Goose, “Hickory, Dickory, Dock”

Hickory dickory dock.
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
And down he run.
Hickory dickory dock.
 THE DIFFERENT RHYME
SCHEME
Alternate rhyme. In an alternate rhyme, the first and third
lines rhyme at the end, and the second and fourth lines
rhyme at the end following the pattern ABAB for each
stanza. This rhyme scheme is used for poems with four-
line stanzas.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “A Psalm of Life”

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Monorhyme. In a monorhyme, all the lines in a stanza or entire poem end
with the same rhyme.
Ex: William Blake, “Silent, Silent Night”
Silent Silent Night,
Quench the holy light,
Of thy torches bright.

For possess’d of Day,

Thousand spirits stray ,
That sweet joys betray.

Why should joys be sweet

Used with deceit
Nor with sorrows meet

But an honest joy

Does itself destroy
For a harlot coy
 Perfromance Task
Found
What is found poems?
Poems (portfolio)
It gives language to students who may struggle to find the right words. Found poetry
is easily accessible, hands on, and fun.

Procedure:
• Collect a pile of old magazine, newspapers, or even old books.
• Find powerful words in the pages, and cut them out. You can cut and collect
many words, and phrases.
• Create a poetic verse by arranging the words into meaningful poetry. (Note:
choose the best words, hence, eliminate unnecessary words; play with your word
choice.)
• Glue the poem into a short bond paper.
• Write a short explanation of your output.
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