CREATIVE WRITING
- a form of artistic expression, draws on
the imagination to convey meaning
through the use of imagery, narrative,
and drama.
- This genre includes poetry, fiction
(novels, short stories), scripts,
screenplays, and creative non-fiction.
• Technical writing conveys specific information about a technical
subject to a specific audience for a specific purpose.
• Creative writing is fiction—poetry, short stories, plays, and
novels—and is most different from technical writing.
• Expressive writing is a subjective response to a personal
experience—journals and diaries—whereas technical writing
might be objective observations of a work-related experience or
research.
• Expository writing “exposes” a topic analytically and
objectively, such as news reports. Like technical writing, the
goal of expository writing is to explain or reveal knowledge, but
expository writing does not necessarily expect a response or
action from the reader.
• Persuasive writing depends on emotional appeal. Its goal is to
change attitudes or motivate to action.
Technical Writing Creative Writing
Content Factual, Straight-forward Imaginative,, metaphoric or
symbolic
Audience Specific General
Purpose Inform, instruct, persuade Entertain, provoke, captivate
Style Formal, standard, Informal, artistic, figurative
academic
Tone Objective Subjective
Vocabulary specialized General, evocative
Organization Sequential, systematic Arbitrary, artistic
STRUCTURE and POETRY
An important method of analyzing a poem is to look at the stanza structure or style of a poem.
Generally speaking, structure has to do with the overall organization of lines and/or the
conventional patterns of sound. Again, many modern poems may not have any identifiable
structure (i.e. they are free verse)
STANZAS: Stanzas are a series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty line
from other stanzas. They are the equivalent of a paragraph in an essay. One way to identify a
stanza is to count the number of lines. Thus:
couplet (2 lines)
tercet (3 lines)
quatrain (4 lines)
cinquain (5 lines)
sestet (6 lines) (sometimes it's called a sexain)
septet (7 lines)
octave (8 lines)
SOUND PATTERNS
Three other elements of poetry are rhyme scheme, meter (ie. regular rhythm) and word sounds (like
alliteration). These are sometimes collectively called sound play because they take advantage of the
performative, spoken nature of poetry.
RHYME
Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds. In poetry, the most common kind of rhyme is the end rhyme, which
occurs at the end of two or more lines. It is usually identified with lower case letters, and a new letter is used to
identify each new end sound. Take a look at the rhyme scheme for the following poem :
I saw a fairy in the wood,
He was dressed all in green.
He drew his sword while I just stood,
And realized I'd been seen.
The rhyme scheme of the poem is abab.
Internal rhyme occurs in the middle of a line, as in these lines from Coleridge, "In mist or cloud, on mast or
shroud" or "Whiles all the night through fog-smoke white" ("The Ancient Mariner"). Remember that most
modern poems do not have rhyme.
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
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.
Ode: It is usually a lyric poem of moderate length, with a serious subject, an elevated style, and an elaborate
stanza pattern.
Elegy: It is a lyric poem that mourns the dead. [It's not to be confused with a eulogy.]It has no set metric or
stanzaic pattern, but it usually begins by reminiscing about the dead person, then laments the reason for the
death, and then resolves the grief by concluding that death leads to immortality. It often uses "apostrophe"
(calling out to the dead person) as a literary technique. It can have a fairly formal style, and sound similar to an
ode.
Sonnet: It is 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. The Italian/Petrarchan sonnet is named after Petrarch, an Italian Renaissance poet.
The Petrarchan sonnet consists of an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines). The Shakespearean sonnet
consists of three quatrains (four lines each) and a concluding couplet (two lines). The Petrarchan sonnet tends to
divide the thought into two parts (argument and conclusion); the Shakespearean, into four (the final couplet is the
summary).
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].
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.
Epic: It is a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero.
Qualities of an Epic Poem:
•narrative poem of great scope; dealing with the founding of a nation or some other heroic theme requires a
dignified theme requires an organic unity requires orderly progress of the action always has a heroic figure or
figures involves supernatural forces
•written in deliberately ceremonial style
Other types of poems include:
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.
Limerick: It has a very structured poem, usually humorous & composed of five lines (a cinquain), in an aabba
rhyming pattern; beat must be anapestic (weak, weak, strong) with 3 feet in lines 1, 2, & 5 and 2 feet in lines 3 &
4. It's usually a narrative poem based upon a short and often ribald anecdote.
TAGALOG POETRY
Ang dalit ay isa pang uri ng maikling tulang Pilipino na binubuo ng apat na taludtod at
may walong pantig bawat taludtod. Isang laganap na uri ng panulaang Pilipino sa
panahon ng Espanyol, at ang mga prayle’y ginamit ang dalit upang itaguyod ang
Katolisismo. Bilang halimbawa aking mga dalit.
bakit sa banyagang dila
bow ng bow, tula ng tula
ngunit sa sariling wika
isang kahig, isang tuka
nagnais akong matanaw
ang sikat ng unang araw
ngunit sa gutom at uhaw
si nanay ako’y hinilaw
Ang tanaga ay isang tula na may apat na taludtod, na binubuo ng pitong pantig kada
taludtod at may tugmaang aaaa, aabb, abba, o abab. Walang pamagat ang mga tulang tanaga.
Ang nasa ibabang halimbawa’y aking mga tanaga.
bango ay todo bigay
rosas siyang donselya
tinik na kapamilya
hindi man lang mapugay
huwag mo nang salingin
mga taong mahahangin
‘yaan sila’y tumingin
sa wagas mong pagtingin
Ang diona ay isang pre-Hispanikong tulang may isahang tugma na binubuo ng tatlong
taludtod at may pitong pantig bawat talutod na nagpapahayag ng isang buong ideya. Bilang
halimbawa aking mga tulang diona.
isang mapulang apol
sa’yo lagi kong ungol
na ayaw kong pumatol
ang gabing walang katol—
si tatay umuungol
sa paggawa ng sangol
isdang liit lang naman
aking pakakawalan
sa tiyang walang laman
RHYTHM AND METER
Meter: the tsystematic regularity in rhythm; This systematic rhythm (or sound pattern) is usually identified by
examining the type of "foot" and the number of feet.
1. Poetic Foot: The traditional line of metered poetry contains a number of rhythmical units, which are called
feet. The feet in a line are distinguished as a recurring pattern of two or three syllables ("apple" has 2
syllables, "banana" has 3 syllables, etc.). The pattern, or foot, is designated according to the number of
syllables contained, and the relationship in each foot between the strong and weak syllables.Thus:
__ = a stressed (or strong, or LOUD) syllable
U = an unstressed (or weak, or quiet) syllable
In other words, any line of poetry with a systematic rhythm has a certain number of feet, and each foot has two
or three syllables with a constant beat pattern .
a. Iamb (Iambic) - weak syllable followed by strong syllable. [Note that the pattern is sometimes fairly hard to
maintain, as in the third foot.]
b. Trochee (Trochaic): strong syllable followed by a weak syllable.
c. Anapest (Anapestic): two weak syllables followed by a strong syllable.
e.g. In her room at the prow of the house
Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed...
From "The Writer", by Richard Wilbur
d. Dactyl (Dactylic): a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables.
Here's another (silly) example of dactylic rhythm.
DDDA was an / archer, who / shot at a / frog
DDDB was a / butcher, and / had a great / dog
DDDC was a / captain, all / covered with / lace
DDDD was a / drunkard, and / had a red / face.
e. Spondee (Spondaic): two strong syllables (not common as lines, but appears as a foot). A spondee
usually appears at the end of a line.
2. The Number of Feet: The second part of meter is the number of feet contained in a line.
Thus:
one foot=monometer
two feet=dimeter
three feet=trimeter
four feet=tetrameter
five feet=pentameter
six feet=hexameter (when hexameter is in iambic rhythm, it is called an alexandrine)
Poems with an identifiable meter are therefore identified by the type of feet (e.g. iambic) and the number of feet
in a line (e.g. pentameter).
The following line is iambic pentameter because it (1) has five feet [pentameter], and (2) each foot has two
syllables with the stress on the second syllable [iambic].
That time | of year | thou mayst | in me | behold
Thus, you will hear meter identified as iambic pentameter, trochaic tetrameter, and so on.
3. Irregularity: Many metered poems in English avoid perfectly regular rhythm because it is monotonous.
Irregularities in rhythm add interest and emphasis to the lines. In this line: (missing)
The first foot substitutes a trochee for an iamb. Thus, the basic iambic pentameter is varied with the opening
trochee.
4. Blank Verse: Any poetry that does have a set metrical pattern (usually iambic pentameter), but does not
have rhyme, is blank verse. Shakespeare frequently used unrhymed iambic pentameter in his plays; his works
are an early example of blank verse.
5. Free Verse: Most modern poetry no longer follows strict rules of meter or rhyme, especially throughout an
entire poem. Free verse, frankly, has no rules about meter or rhyme whatsoever! [In other words, blank verse
has rhythm, but no rhyme, while free verse has neither rhythm nor rhyme.] So, you may find it difficult to find
regular iambic pentameter in a modern poem, though you might find it in particular lines. Modern poets do like
to throw in the occasional line or phrase of metered poetry, particularly if they’re trying to create a certain
effect. Free verse can also apply to a lack of a formal verse structure.
TONE
Language whether spoken or written conveys feelings, attitudes, likes, dislikes or intentions
which is called the TONE. Tone can be mournful or happy, playful or serious, scornful, bitter,
reverent, awestruck and so on.
FORM: Is the logical order or design of ideas or external appearance of a poem.
1. CONTINUOUS FORM – Lines follow each other without formal grouping the only breaks
are dictated by thought units.
2. STANZAIC FORMS – Stanzas have the same number of line, same metrical pattern, and
often has identical rhyme scheme. The poet may follow a traditional stanza pattern or
invent his or her own.
3. FIXED FORM – This is a traditional pattern which applies to a whole poem. Examples of
this are sonnets and limerick (verse of 5 lines usually with a rhyme scheme aabba used for
humor or nonsense).
Study the following verse and identify the form
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lovely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawl;
He watches from his mountain he falls.
- The Eagle, Alfred Lord Tennyson
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