LESSON 2

The Language of
Creative Writing
 Learning Targets
At the end of the lesson, the learners are expected to

1.Utilize language to evoke emotional and intellectual

responses from the readers; and
2.Use diction and figures of speech in composing creative
outputs.
 The use of figures of speech and
“ diction plays an important role in
completely utilizing the language
that creative form of writing
requires.
These literary devices enrich the
message or theme that the writer
wishes to convey to its readers.
“ Often times, literary pieces depict
not only the subject which they
mainly feature, but also reveal the
character of the author.
These written selections voice out
the author’s principles and ideals;
made evident through words and
language used through his/her
work.
“ The poem that follows is one of the
classic literary works of the
renowned American poet Robert
Frost, who I highly regarded for
his portrayal of rural life.
Robert Frost
 Highly regarded for
his realistic
depictions of rural
life
 His works frequently
employed settings
from rural life in
New England in the
early 20th century
 He used them to
examine complex
 The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

Then took the other, as just as fair,

I shall be telling this with a sigh
And having perhaps the better claim,
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Because it was grassy and wanted
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
wear;
I took the one less traveled by,
Though as for that the passing there
And that has made all the difference.
Had worn them really about the same,
 Discussion
Questions
1.What can you say about the persona of the
poem? How did he feel as he chose the road
less traveled?
2.What do you notice about the language of
the poem? Is it complex?
3.As a whole, what did Frost mean by “the
road being less taken”?
In coming up with a good
literary piece, every writer must
learn how to use language in
such a way that it will form
images in the minds of the
readers. These images are
further emphasized by adding
different figures of speech and
other sound devices.
 FIGURES OF
SPEECH
A figure of speech is a word or phrase that
possesses a separate meaning from its literal
definition.

The following are the most commonly used

figures of speech which aid writers in
developing mental images.
 SIMILE You are like a lily in
Used for the comparison of two bloom.
essentially unlike things, often in a
phrase. It is introduced by like or as,
and is a more subtle way of My love for you is as
comparing two objects than deep as the ocean.
metaphor, since it only points out
the likeness of the two things being I consider our friendship
compared. like peas in a pod.
 My life became a sea of
METAPHOR troubles the day I met
you.

His voice is a music to

The use of a word or phrase that
my ears.
ordinarily designates one thing as
that of another, thus making an
implicit and direct comparison. Books are mirrors of
the soul.
PERSONIFIC Flowers danced about
the lawn, swaying with
ATION
the wind.

The wind is whispering

Endows human qualities to
outside.
inanimate objects or abstract ideas.
These are often represented as
possessing human form. My heart danced when
he walked in the room.
 HYPERBOL
E I could sleep for a year!
More commonly known as extreme
exaggeration. It is often used to give
extreme emphasis or to show I have cried a bucket of
tears for the boy who broke
extreme effect to a statement.
my heart.
However, these statements are often
greatly exaggerated that they are
almost impossible to be true. He feels buried under a
mountain of work.
ONOMATOP
OEIA
Known as a sound word. It employs
the use of words that imitate the
sounds associated with the objects or
actions they refer to.
The buzzing of the bees
bothered my sisters as
they ate their lunch.
The splashing of the
water indicated that
there were fish in the
pond.
 APOSTROP
Oh, my God!
HE
Directly addressing an
absent/imaginary person or a Fate, why have you
personified abstraction, as a living been so cruel to me?
entity. It is used as a digression in
the course of a speech or
composition. Life! I cannot
understand you.
 METONYM
Let the white doves fly.
Y

The team brought home

Replaces one word or phrase for the laurel leaves.
another, usually as a symbol with
which it is closely associated.
I wish I could perform
on the broadway.
 OXYMORO There was deafening
silence in the room
N
when he entered.
Uses contradictory terms which are
He was indeed a
combined to make meaning. To be
mournful optimist.
able to understand a passage that
employs this figure of speech, the
entire statement must be read. My sister and I had a
friendly fight over the
lipstick.
 IRONY Telling a rude customer
to “have a nice day”

Coming home to a big

mess and saying, “it’s
An expression which is the opposite great to be back”
of what is meant,
Walking into an empty
theater and asking, “it’s
too crowded”
 “War is peace.
PARADOX Ignorance is strength.
Freedom is slavery.”

The more you give, the

A figure of speech which contradicts more you get.
itself in the same sentence.

Change is constant.
SYNECHDO
CHE He asked her hand for
Present when a particular idea is marriage.
expressed through the following
ways:
• A part is used for the whole The law brought the
• The whole is used for a part thief into prison.
• The specific is used for the
general
• The general is used for specific Lend me your ears.
UNDERSTAT
EMENT Don’t worry about me.
This cancer is nothing.

An expression wherein the thing

described is made to appear We are not rich. We
unimportant. only have a resort in
Palawan and a vacation
house in Baguio.
ANTITHESIS
A contradiction that pits two ideas
against each other in a balanced
way,
If you fail to plan, then
you plan to fail.
When there is need of silence,
you speak, and when there is
need of speech, you are dumb.
When you are present, you wish
to be absent, and when absent,
you desire to be present. In
peace you are for war, and in
war you long for peace. In
council you descant on bravery,
SOUND DEVICES

Helps a lot in adding flavor to literary

compositions, especially in poems.
RHYMING WORDS
a. Rhyming words add beauty to a poem
Forward, the light Brigade!
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply
Theirs not to reason why.
Theirs but to do and die. “The Charge of the Light
Brigade”
Into the Valley of Death By Alfred Lord Tennyson
Road the six hundred.
RHYMING WORDS
b. It also adds rhythm to the lines of the poem
It was many and many a year ago
In a kingdom by the sea.
…
And this maiden she lived with no other
thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

“Annabel Lee”
By Edgar Allan Poe
ALLITERATION
The repetition of the same sounds or of the
same kinds of sounds at the beginning of
words or in stressed syllables.

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies

I’m not cute or built a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
“Phenomenal Women”
By Maya Angelou
ASSONANCE
The repetition of the sound of a vowel or
diphthong which are near enough to each
other for the sound to be describable.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

“How do I Love Thee?”

By Elizabeth Barrett Browning
 DICTION

The right choices of words greatly

contributes to the development of a
composition. As such, diction is applied.

Simply put in, diction is the selection of the

most appropriate word you can use for your
written work.
 The more serious the piece of writing is, the more formal its diction.

FORMAL: The protesters are not angry with politics but with the politicians.

CASUAL: The activists aren’t mad about politics but with politicians.

INFORMAL: The crowd isn't ticked about politics but with the people involved in
it.
It is important to remember that in literature, writers should
choose their words carefully to create and convey a typical
mood, tone, and atmosphere that they wish to impart and
share with their readers.
 QUIZ

Answer your quiz on LEARNiFi.