MODULE 2

LESSON 3
ELEMENTS OF CREATIVE WRITING

The choice of words and how these words are arranged in a sentence show creativity in the use of language and the
underlying theme.
1. DICTION – is the choice of words used by the writers. Good writing makes good use of diction. The words should
be right and accurate, appropriate to the context in which they were used, and comprehensible to the intended
audience.
Poetry has a unique diction such as the use of imagery, figures of speech and rhyming words.
 Rhyme – is the sense of musicality that you notice in each line of verse which most poetry have. It is the
presence of the rhyming words at the end of the line.
Example:
“I prize thy love more than whole mines gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.”
(Anne Bradstreet, “To My Dear and Loving Husband”)

2. SYNTAX – is how the words are arranged in a sentence or line. The usual syntax is, of course, subject – verb.
Example:
“Go out I cannot, nor can I stay in,
Becalmed mid carpet, breathless, on the road
To nowhere and the road has petered out.”
(PJ Kavanagh, “Beyond Decoration”)

3. THEME – is the topic or central idea, which is universal in nature. It is an underlying truth. It may be one word
such as love or truth, or a universal statement such as “Love conquers all odds” or “The truth sets one free.”

Example:
“First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all
kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider the things from his point of
view… until you climb into his skin and walk around it”
-Harper Lee’s, “To Kill a Mockingbird”

ASSESSMENT:
A. SPICE WORDS
Here are some quotations about change. Reverse or rearrange the words and make them sound or look creative.

1. “If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”

- Mary Engelbreit

2. “Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not.”

- Stephen King

3. “You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler.”
- Denis Waitley

4. “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

- John F. Kennedy
5. “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”
- W. Edwards Deming
B. ACTIVITY.

Your school is looking for a representative to the Interschool Literary Competition. You would like to represent
your school in this contest.

Any literary genre is accepted as long as the theme is “Change Do Not.” These are things you wish would never
change. Pay attention to diction and syntax as you write.

In preparation for the full literary work, you start making short paragraphs or vignettes of at least 120 words on
the topic. That which you consider as your best output shall be submitted and graded according to the following
rubric:

Imaginative Writing Rubric: Theme, Diction, and Syntax

Criteria 5 points 3 points 2 points

Theme Focus on the theme from Focus on the theme is Focus on the theme is
beginning to end is clear. lost in one/two line/s or lost in more than two
sentence/s. line/s or sentence/s.
Diction Word used are One or two word/s used More than two words
appropriate for topic. is/are inappropriate for used are inappropriate for
the topic. the topic.
Syntax Creativity in the There is little creativity No creativity in the
arrangement of words in in the arrangement of arrangement of words in
all lines or sentences is words or sentences. one line or sentence is
obvious. obvious.
Writing Standards No spelling or One or two spelling/s or More than two grammar
grammatical error is grammar error/s are errors are detected.
detected. detected.
 MODULE 2
LESSON 4
POETRY: ANALYSIS THROUGH FORM

KINDS OF POETRY
1. JAPANESE HAIKU – short poem with three lines and a syllable count of 5-7-5; contains element such kigo
(seasonal reference) and an ikireji (“cutting word” placed between juxtaposed imagery).

2. ENGLISH HAIKU – similar to a Japanese haiku, but it less restrictive with regard to the syllable count (due to
the language.); does not necessarily have the same features as a Japanese haiku.

3. FILIPINO HAIKU – even less restrictive in form as the English haiku, and written in Filipino.

4. HAIBUN – comparable to the essence of a travel journal, the haibun combines prose and poetry; the prose
serves to vividly describe the location or scene, while the poetry is meant to capture the atmosphere or “feeling”
associated with the scene.

5. TANKA – Japanese short poem (generally known as waka) with five lines following a syllable count 5-7-5-7-7

6. ENGLISH/ SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET – fourteen lines, conventionally follows iambic pentameter, with a
rhyme of a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d-e-f-e-f-g-g.

7. SESTINA – six verses with six line, each following an alternating end - word pattern.

8. VILLANELLE – nineteen-line poem of five tercets and quatrain; the poem has two refrains and two rhyme
patterns repeated throughout, involving the alternate repetition of the first and third lines of the first tercet.

9. TANAGA – Filipino poetic form of four lines with seven syllables each, all of which rhyme together.

10. AWIT – another Filipino poetic form; emphasizes narrative greatly.

ASSESSMENT:
INSTRUCTION: Choose two kinds of poem from the discussed kinds of poem and make your own poem from it.
Example: You chose Tanaga and Haiku. Then you are going to make your own Tanaga and Haiku poem.