Creative Writing

Quarter 1 – Module 2:
Literary Elements and
Techniques of Poetry
 Creative Writing

 After going through this module, you are expected to:

 1. identify the elements of poetry;
 2. recognize the imagery used in poems;
 3. recognize the figurative language of poetry;
 4. analyze a poem based on the elements and literary devices; and
 5. apply the elements and literary devices in writing a poem.
Lesson 1
Poetry: Elements, Techniques, and Literary
Devices
Creative Writing
What is Poetry?
Poetry is a type of literature based on the
interplay of words and rhythm. It often
employs rhyme and meter (a set of rules
governing the number and arrangement
of syllables in each line). In poetry, words
are strung together to form sounds,
images, and ideas that might be too
complex or abstract to describe directly.
Creative Writing
Definition of Poem
A poem is a collection of spoken or
written words that expresses ideas or
emotions in a powerfully vivid and
imaginative style. A poem is comprised of
a particular rhythmic and metrical pattern.
Creative Writing
 What is It
With your imagination, creative writing has much
to offer. Sometimes, it is set to entertain and
satisfy our artistic expression. One avenue of
creative writing is poetry. It is a composition that
is arranged it rhythmic pattern which use to
express creative thoughts and feeling through
specified language.
Moreover, poetry works differently from other
creative writing forms like fiction and drama
because it can express thoughts in briefer way,
and it connotes universal deeper meaning.
Creative Writing

 Six Basic Elements of Poetry

 Theme
 Tone
 Genre
 Rhyme and Rhyme scheme
 Line and meter.
6 Basic Elements of Poetry
 Theme and Tone
In reading poetry, it is very important to comprehend what it is all about and to able to uncover the
possible emotions it encompasses.

Theme is the summarized statement which contains the meaning of the poem. Moreover, theme can
also be the message of the poem. Themes can be wonders and amazements, life and existence,
isolation, self-discovery, and spirituality.
Tone describes the attitude or the mode of the poem which affects the reader’s response to the
poetry. Some poems may have hilarious, joyful, alert, lively intriguing, gloomy, broken, or sad tone.
Theme and Tone

Tone describes the attitude or the mode of the

poem which affects the reader’s response to the
poetry. Some poems may have hilarious, joyful,
alert, lively intriguing, gloomy, broken, or sad
tone.
Let’s go back with the poem “Desiderata”. What is
the theme of the poem? Perhaps, your answer will
be humility, compassion, self-love, honesty or
human dignity?
How about its tone? Is it very positive? Inspiring?
Emotionally strong? Cheerful?
6 Basic Elements of Poetry
Rhyme and Rhyme Scheme
Rhyme refers to the repetition of similar
sounding words that usually appears at the
end of the lines of a poem which brings
rhythm or musicality to the poems. There are
types of rhymes: true rhyme, internal rhyme,
and slant rhyme.
There are types of rhymes: true rhyme,
internal rhyme, and slant rhyme.
6 Basic Elements of Poetry

 A.True Rhyme – occurs when the words sound same syllables at

the end of the lines of the poetry
6 Basic Elements of Poetry
True Rhyme
Example:
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
(excerpt from “A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe)
6 Basic Elements of Poetry

B. Internal Rhyme – unlike the true rhyme, internal rhyme happens two words
within the line of poetry have rhyming sounds.
 Example:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”
(excerpt from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe)
6 Basic Elements of Poetry

C. Slant Rhyme - a type of rhyme where words sound similar but do

not rhyme exactly.
 Example:
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
 (excerpt from “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickinson)
Rhyme Scheme
Rhyme Scheme is the
pattern of rhyme that
comes at the end of each
line in poetry, usually it is
represented or indicated by
letters.
 EXAMPLE OF RHYME SCHEME
Neither Out Far nor in Deep
by Robert Frost
The people along the sand A
All turn and look one way. B
They turn their back on the land. A
They look at the sea all day. B

As long as it takes to pass C

A ship keeps raising its hull; D
The wetter ground like glass C
Reflects a standing gull. D
( so, the rhyming scheme of the first stanza is ABAB the second stanza is CDCD )
Rhyme Scheme
 Now, it is your time to try. Identify the
remaining rhyming scheme of the poem.
 Hint: The listing of the letters must be
continued.
The land may vary more; ___
But wherever the truth may be— ___
The water comes ashore, ___
And the people look at the sea. ___
They cannot look out far. ___
They cannot look in deep. ___
But when was that ever a bar ___
To any watch they keep? ___
Line and Meter

 Line refers to the line of words in the poetry. When the lines are formed in a unit
or a group it is called stanza. The table below show the forms of stanzas
according to the number of poetic lines:
Line and Meter

Number of Lines Forms

2 Couplet
3 Tercet

4 Quatrain

5 Quintain

6 Sestet

7 Septet

8 Octave
 Desiderata
Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant,
they too have their story.

.
.
 Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself
. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let not this blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
 Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
 Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden
misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself
 You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it
should.
 Therefore, be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams;
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy
Line and Meter
 Meter is the systematic arrangement of syllables or accents
in the line of poetry. There are varied metrical patterns:
 1. syllabic meter
 2. free verse
These are just two of various metrical patterns.
Line and Meter
A. Syllabic Meter / Syllabic Verse has a fixed
number of syllables in each line, though there
may be a varying number of stresses. In other
words, syllabic Meter is determined by the
total number of syllables per line, rather than
the number of stresses.
Line and Meter
 Ex.
 a. Tanaga is a type of short Filipino poem with 4 lines consisting 7 syllables on
each line.
 Example:
PALAY
Ildefonso Santos
Palay siyang matino, Pa1/lay2/si3/yang4/ma5/ti6/no7
Nang humangi’y yumuko; Nang1/hu2/ma3/ngi’y4/yu5/mu6/ko7
Nguni’t muling tumayo Ngu1/ni’t2/mu3/ling4/tu5/ma6/yo7
Nagkabunga ng ginto. Nag1/ka2/bu3/nga4/ng5/gin6/to7
Line and Meter
 b. Haiku is a type of Japanese poem with 3 lines where the
first and last lines have 5 syllables and the second line has
7 syllables.
 Example:

Yuku haru ya Spring is passing.

Tori naki uwo no The birds cry, and the fishes’eyes
are
Me ha namida with tears
Line and Meter
 B. Free Verse has lines that have irregular number of stresses and syllables.
You are a child of the universe, - 9 syllables
no less than the trees and the stars; - 8 syllables
you have a right to be here. - 6 syllables
And whether or not it is clear to you, - 10 syllables
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. - 13 syllables (Excerpt from
“Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann)
 As shown in the example above, the poem “Desiderata” is a free verse poem
considering that it has no fixed numbers of syllables and accents.
 Aside from the elements of poetry, another important thing that you should learn
are the genres of poetry and the literary devices.
Aside from the elements of poetry, another
important thing that you should
learn are the genres of poetry and the
literary devices.
Genres of Poetry

 The genres of poetry are categories into different types: Descriptive Poetry,
Narrative Poetry, and Lyric Poetry.
A. Descriptive Poetry is a type of poetry
that deals or focuses on the details of the
subject.
 Didactic Poem aims primarily to teach something, either in terms of
morals or by providing knowledge of philosophy, religion, arts,
science, or skills.
 Example:
 You are a child of the universe,
 no less than the trees and the stars;
 you have a right to be here.
 And whether or not it is clear to you,
 no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
 (Excerpt from “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann)
B. Narrative Poetry tells a story with a
plot, characters, and a setting It is always
told by a narrator. This genre could be epic
or ballad.
1. Epic is a long narrative poem about the
remarkable deed of gods or
heroes.
Examples: The Epic of Gilgamesh
Bi-ag ni Lam-ang
Ilia
2. Ballad a poem like a folk tale which
uses a repeated refrain. This
means that every few stanzas a portion of
the poem is repeated, much
like a song.
 Example:

Annabel Lee
Edgar Allan Poe
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
 I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the winged seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
 The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.