A.
STANZA - one or more lines (or verses) of verse,
consisting of a division of a poem or verse.
B. FORMS OF STANZA
1. ONE LINER
2. COUPLET - a stanza containing two
rhyming lines
3. TRIPLET/TERCET - a stanza composed of
three lines.
4. QUATRAIN - a stanza of four lines. It is
the most popular stanza length in the
English versification.
5. CINQUAIN - a stanza or poem of five
lines.
6. SEXTET - a stanza of six lines.
7. SEPTET - a stanza of seven lines
8. OTTAWA - stanza of eight lines and more.
C. FORM - A poem may or may not have a specific
number of lines, rhyme scheme and/or metrical
pattern, but it can still be labeled according to its
form or style. Here are the three most common
types of poems according to form:
1. Lyric Poetry: It is any poem with one
speaker (not necessarily the poet) who
expresses strong thoughts and feelings.
Most poems, especially modern ones,
are lyric poems.
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].
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" than lyric poetry,
which is more personal and
introspective.
D. TYPES OF POETRY
1. ODE - It is usually a lyric poem of
moderate length, with a serious subject,
an elevated style, and an elaborate
stanza pattern.
2. ELEGY - It is a lyric poem that mourns the
dead.
3. SONNET - It isLILI a lyric poem consisting
of 14 lines and, in the English version, is
usually written in iambic pentameter.
There are two basic kinds of sonnets: the
Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnet and the
Shakespearean (or Elizabethan/English)
sonnet
4. BALLAD - It is a narrative poem that has
a musical rhythm and can be sung. A
ballad is usually organized into quatrains
or cinquains, has a simple rhythm
structure, and tells the tales of ordinary
people.
5. EPIC - It is a long narrative poem in
elevated style recounting the deeds of a
legendary or historical hero.
6. LIMERICK - It has a very structured
poem, usually humorous & composed of
five lines (a cinquain)
7. HAIKU - It has an unrhymed verse form
having three lines (a tercet) and usually
5,7,5 syllables, respectively. It's usually
considered a lyric poem.
E. SOUND OF POETRY
1. Rhyme Scheme - Poets organize rhyming
words in a variety of patterns called
rhyme schemes. End rhyme is the
rhyming of words at the ends of lines of
poetry.
2. METER - the systematic regularity in
rhythm; this systematic rhythm (or
sound pattern) is usually identified by
examining the type of "foot" and the
number of feet.
3. REPETITION - the recurring use of a
sound, a word, a phrase, or a line
4. ALLITERATION - the repetition of
beginning consonant sounds.
5. ASSONANCE - the repetition of vowel
sounds.
6. CONSONANCE - the repetition of
consonant sounds anywhere within
words, not just at the beginning.
7. ONOMATOPOEIA - the use of words that
create the sounds they describe
8. TONE - conveys the speaker’s implied
attitude toward the poem’s subject.
F. DENOTATION - the literal or primary meaning of
a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that
the word suggests
G. CONOTATION: an idea or feeling that a word
invokes in addition to its literal or primary
meaning
H. FIGURATIVE/LITERARY DEVICES
1. SIMILE - introduced by "like" or "as."
These comparisons are usually between
dissimilar situations or objects that have
something in common, such as "My love
is like a red, red rose."
2. METAPHOR - A metaphor leaves out
"like" or "as" and implies a direct
comparison between objects or
situations. "All flesh is grass."
3. SYNECDOCHE is a form of metaphor,
which in mentioning an important (and
attached) part signifies the whole (e.g.
"hands" for labour).
4. METONYMY is similar to synecdoche; it's
a form of metaphor allowing an object
closely associated (but unattached) with
a object or situation to stand for the
thing itself (e.g. the crown or throne for
a king or the bench for the judicial
system).
5. A SYMBOL is like a simile or metaphor
with the first term left out. "My love is
like a red, red rose" is a simile. If, through
persistent identification of the rose with
the beloved woman, we may come to
associate the rose with her and her
particular virtues. At this point, the rose
would become a symbol.
6. ALLEGORY can be defined as a one-to-
one correspondence between a series of
abstract ideas and a series of images or
pictures presented in the form of a story
or a narrative. For example, George
Orwell's Animal Farm is an extended
allegory that represents the Russian
Revolution through a fable of a farm and
its rebellious animals.
7. PERSONIFICATION occurs when you
treat abstractions or inanimate objects
as human, that is, giving them human
attributes, powers, or feelings (e.g.,
"nature wept" or "the wind whispered
many truths to me").
8. IRONY takes many forms. Most basically,
irony is a figure of speech in which actual
intent is expressed through words that
carry the opposite meaning.
9. PARADOX: usually a literal contradiction
of terms or situations - e.g. "All animals
are equal, but some are more equal than
others!"
10. SITUATIONAL IRONY: when a situation in
life or a story is incongruent - e.g. a
firehall burns down
11. DRAMATIC IRONY: audience has more
information or greater perspective than
the characters
12. VERBAL IRONY: saying one thing but
meaning another
1. Overstatement (hyperbole)
2. Understatement (meiosis)
3. Sarcasm
Irony may be a positive or negative force.
It is most valuable as a mode of
perception that assists the poet to see
around and behind opposed attitudes,
and to see the often-conflicting
interpretations that come from our
examination of life.
I. CREATIVE WRITING GENRE
GENRE – refers to the type or category of story
you are writing
1. Children’s Writing
i. Age - If children’s writing is
targeted at different age groups,
the author must continually
review their work to check that
is age appropriate. The style of
writing, the pictures in the
books, the font used and so on,
will vary according to the age of
the child you are writing for.
ii. Genre - Children, like adults,
enjoy reading books in different
genres from realistic through to
fantastical stories.
2. Fantasy Writing - is a sub-genre of
speculative fiction which includes
writing categories like science fiction,
supernatural fiction, horror, apocalyptic
fiction, and so forth. Unlike science
fiction, fantasy avoids scientific themes.
Instead, the focus is primarily on magical
and fantastical themes.
3. Crime Fiction
 i. Courtroom drama - the main
characters are lawyers, judges,
co-workers, etc.
ii. Legal fiction - involves
investigating crimes and
litigation as themes; might be a
police drama, detective drama
iii. Hardboiled fiction - usually
includes a detective who also
has to deal with the rougher side
of life, corruption, etc. Typically
set during prohibition or some
other subversive time.
4. Poetry - Poetry is more a major form of
literature along with novels, novellas,
plays (drama), and short stories rather
than a genre per se.
5. Science Fiction - related to fantasy
writing in that it is a subgenre of
speculative writing, and a science fiction.
6. Romance and Relationship Writing –
These are generally love stories which
must always end with a satisfactory and
happy conclusion.
7. COMMERCIAL GENRES - All of the genres
discussed above are used within the
main divisions of literature e.g. writing
novels, poems, stage plays and shows,
but there are other genres that are used
in the commercial world.
i. Creative Marketing - can include
advertising slogans, advertising
jingles, press releases, articles
about products, or articles about
celebrities and famous people.
The aim of creative marketing is
to sell a product, so it needs to
be persuasive and attract the
attention of customers.
J. FORMS OF WRITING - Writing comes in many
forms, all of which can be creatively employed
and manipulated by the creative writer,
regardless of the genre (novel, poetry, travel
guide etc) in which she or he is writing. One form
of writing is rarely used on its own.
1. Reflection: An internal process of
reviewing and making meaning from
one's own experience;
2. Exposition or Reporting: Covers a wide
area of writing. Events, thoughts and
situations are exposed or shown to the
reader, as in textbooks, magazine articles
or news stories, but also when the
narrator or a character takes an
informing role. One very important form
of reporting or exposition for writers is
description.
3. Description: The reporting of
information to convey an impression or
feeling about a place, person, thing or
idea, rather than facts. Description can
be a small part of a particular narrative,
or the main part of it. A lot of good travel
writing is descriptive, as is a lot of fiction.
4. Explanation: A process of leading
another person to a particular
understanding or perception through
information and reason, rather than
through persuasive language. It includes
instruction, rules and guidelines,
argument and analysis.
5. Argument: Aims to persuade the reader
to change their viewpoint or attitude
about an idea or situation.
6. Narration: The most widely used form of
human expression, so much so that it is
believed that, as a species, we are
programmed to tell stories. Narration
tells a story of an event or a series of
events that take place over time, no
matter how brief the time or how short
the story.
K. CREATIVE WRITING FUNDAMENTALS
1. Images - By telling the reader what you
or your character saw, heard, smelled,
tasted and touched, you will make the
reader feel as though they are there with
you or your character.
2. Voice - The language that comes
naturally to you is your voice, and there’s
no need to change it. Yet try to be
flexible and expand your vocabulary and
range of style.
POINTS OF VIEW
i. First Person Point-of-View “I” -
spoken directly from you or from
a character’s direct point of view
 ii. Second Person Point-of-View
“YOU” - direct address to the
reader.
iii. Third Person Point-of-View
“she” or “he” - spoken by a
narrator about a character
3. Character - You can present a character
(and this character can be yourself) to
the reader through: image (appearance),
voice (speech), action, thought, and
telling (telling the reader directly how a
character feels).
4. Setting - propels the wish to write. It
shows a writer’s relationship to place
and time, and creates a particular place
and period that is necessary to
imaginative writing.
5. Verisimilitude - A special kind of
suspension of disbelief occurs in readers'
minds when they are reading and
enjoying stories. This suspension can
only be achieved when the writing has
verisimilitude, which means
believability.
6. Plot - Plot is what happens in the story.
7. Style - slippery to take hold of because it
is made up of thin, smokey ephemeral
things which are clearly extant but also
difficult to grasp. It is a signature inside
your writing and drawn from your
vocabulary, syntax, rhythm, voice, and
mood.
8. Theme - in fiction is not limited to any
specific set of ideas. Your theme(s) refers
to the 'moral of the story" or the bigger
ideas in your story such as murder,
betrayal, honesty, and compassion.