RESEARCH IN

CREATIVE WRITING
(3rd Qrt/2nd Semester)

Submitted by:
John Lester Limbaga
Grade & Section:
11-St. Vincent de Paul (HUMSS)
Submitted to:
Ms. Edysa Libunao
Definition of Terms:

What is Poem?

 A composition in verse, especially one that is characterized by a highly

developed artistic form and by the use of heightened language and rhythm to
express an intensely imaginative interpretation of the subject.
 composition that, though not in verse, is characterized by great beauty of
language or expression:
-a prose poem from the Scriptures; a symphonic poem.

Example:

Example #1: The Song of Hiawatha (By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

“By the shore of Gitchie Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,
Hiawatha stood and waited…”

Example #2: After the Sea-Ship (By Walt Whitman)

“After the Sea-Ship—after the whistling winds;
After the white-gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes,
Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necks,
Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship:
Waves of the ocean, bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying…”

Example #3: La Belle Dame sans Merci (By John Keats)

“O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms
Alone and palely loitering
The sedge has wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing …

And this is why I sojourn her

Alone and palely loiteringThough the sedge is wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.”
What is Poetry?

 Poetry is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities
in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. It consists
largely of oral or literary works in which language is used in a manner that is
felt by its user and audience to differ from ordinary prose.

 Poetry can be differentiated most of the time from prose, which is language
meant to convey meaning in a more expansive and less condensed way,
frequently using more complete logical or narrative structures than poetry does.

What is Haiku?

 A haiku poem has three lines, where the first and last lines have five moras,
and the middle line has seven. The pattern in this Japanese genre is 5-7-5.
The mora is another name for a sound unit, which is like a syllable, though
there is a difference. As the moras cannot be translated into English, they are
modified, and syllables are used instead. The lines of such poems rarely
rhyme with each other.
 Haiku became popular as tanka poems in Japan during the 9th and 12th
centuries. Initially, it was called “hokku” and Basho, Buson, and Issa were
the first three masters of the haiku genre.

Features of Haiku:
 It contains three lines.
 It has five moras (syllables) in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the last line.
 It contains 17 syllables in total.
 A Haiku poem does not rhyme.
 Haiku poems frequently have a kigo, or seasonal reference.
 Haiku poems are usually about nature or natural phenomena.
 The poem has two juxtaposed subjects that are divided into two contrasting parts.
 In English, this division between two parts can be shown by a colon or a dash.
Example:

Example #1: Tapat Dapat

Kung maghahanap
Kaibigang kausap
Dapat ay tapat.

Example #2: PILIIN

Ang payo ko lang
Makipagkaibigan
Sa maiinam.

Example #3: LAHAT NG ORAS

Ang kaibigan,
Iyong maaasahan
Sa kagipitan.

What is Tanaga?

 The Tanaga is an indigenous type of Filipino poem, that is used traditionally in

the Tagalog language. The modern tanaga is used in a variety of Philippine
languages and English due to popularity in the 20th century. Its usage declined
in the later half of the 20th century, but was revived through a collectivity of
Filipino artists in the 21st century. The poetic art uses four lines, each line
having seven syllables only. The art exemplifies teachings, idioms, feelings,
and ways of life. It contains many figures of speech.
 While the Tanaga is originally intended to be written in Tagalog, it has been
written in other languages such as English. Like-minded poets from all over the
world are encouraged to utilize the Tanaga.
Example:

Example #1: Kaibigan (By Emelita Perez Baes)

Ang katoto kapag tunay
hindi ngiti ang pang-alay
kundi isang katapatan
ng mataus na pagdamay.

Example #2: Palay (By Ildefonso Santos)

Palay siyang matino,
Nang humangi’y yumuko;
Nguni’t muling tumayo
Nagkabunga ng ginto

Example #3: Pag Ibig (By Emelita Perez Baes)

Wala iyan sa pabalat
at sa puso nakatatak,
nadarama’t nalalasap
ang pag-ibig na matapat.

What is Sonnet?

 The word sonnet is derived from the Italian word “sonetto,” which means a
“little song” or small lyric. In poetry, a sonnet has 14 lines, and is written in
iambic pentameter. Each line has 10 syllables. It has a specific rhyme scheme,
and a volta, or a specific turn.
 Generally, sonnets are divided into different groups based on the rhyme scheme
they follow. The rhymes of a sonnet are arranged according to a certain rhyme
scheme. The rhyme scheme in English is usually abab–cdcd–efef–gg, and in
Italian abba–abba–cde–cde.

Types of Sonnet:

Sonnets can be categorized into six major types:

 Italian Sonnet
 Shakespearean Sonnet
 Spenserian Sonnet
 Miltonic Sonnet
 Terza Rima Sonnet
  Curtal Sonnet

Function of Sonnet:

 The sonnet has become popular among different poets because it has a great
adaptability to different purposes and requirements. Rhythms are strictly
followed. It could be a perfect poetic style for elaboration or expression of a
single feeling or thought, with its short length in iambic pentameter. In fact, it
gives an ideal setting for a poet to explore strong emotions. Due to its short
length, it is easy to manage for both the writer and the reader.

What is Free Verse?

 Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from
limitations of regular meter or rhythm, and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such
poems are without rhythm and rhyme schemes, do not follow regular rhyme scheme
rules, yet still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his own shape
to a poem however he or she desires. However, it still allows poets to use alliteration,
rhyme, cadences, and rhythms to get the effects that they consider are suitable for the
piece.

Examples:

Example #1: Visions (By Francesco Petrarch)

“Being one day at my window all alone,
So manie strange things happened me to see,
As much as it grieveth me to thinke thereon.
At my right hand a hynde appear’d to mee,

So faire as mote the greatest god delite;

Two eager dogs did her pursue in chace.
Of which the one was blacke, the other white
With deadly force so in their cruell race

They pincht the haunches of that gentle beast,

That at the last, and in short time, I spide,
Under a rocke, where she alas, opprest,
 Fell to the ground, and there untimely dide.
Cruell death vanquishing so noble beautie
Oft makes me wayle so hard a desire.”

Example #2: Sonnet 1 (By William Shakespeare)

“From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty’s rose might never die.
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,

Feed’st thy light’s flame with self-substantial fuel,

Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,

Within thine own bud buriest thy content

And, tender churl, mak’st waste in niggarding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world’s due, by the grave and thee…”

What is Prose?

 Prose is a form of language that has no formal metrical structure. It applies a

natural flow of speech, and ordinary grammatical structure, rather than
rhythmic structure, such as in the case of traditional poetry.
 Normal everyday speech is spoken in prose, and most people think and write in
prose form. Prose comprises of full grammatical sentences, which consist of
paragraphs, and forgoes aesthetic appeal in favor of clear, straightforward
language. It can be said to be the most reflective of conversational speech.
Some works of prose do have versification, and a blend of the two formats that
is called “prose poetry.”

Some Common Types of Prose:

 Nonfictional Prose: A literary work that is mainly based on fact, though it may contain
fictional elements in certain cases. Examples include biographies and essays.
  Fictional Prose: A literary work that is wholly or partly imagined or theoretical.
Examples are novels.
 Heroic Prose: A literary work that may be written down or recited, and which employs
many of the formulaic expressions found in oral tradition. Examples are legends and
tales.
 Prose Poetry: A literary work that exhibits poetic quality – using emotional effects and
heightened imagery – but which are written in prose instead of verse.

Examples:

Example #1: 1984 (By George Orwell)

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

Example #2: David Copperfield (By Charles Dickens)

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by
anybody else, these pages must show.”

Example #3: Anna Karenina (By Leo Tolstoy)

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
5 Key Characteristics of Poetry
 Figures of Speech. Figures of speech, or figurative language, are ways of describing or
explaining things in a non-literal or non-traditional way. ...
 Descriptive Imagery. Imagery is something concrete, like a sight, smell or taste. ...
 Punctuation and Format. ...
 Sound and Tone. ...
 Choice of Meter.

Figures of Speech

Figures of speech, or figurative language, are ways of describing or

explaining things in a non-literal or non-traditional way. For example, a metaphor
describes something by likening it to something else: "His touch was a lightning
strike." The author doesn't mean that the touch was literally a lightning strike, but
rather that it produced feelings of heightened excitement and charged emotions. Other
figures of speech may include hyperbole, which is a frequently humorous
exaggeration that hints at a larger truth. The quote "I ran faster than a cheetah" is an
example of hyperbole. The mention of object to symbolize or represent something
else is also hyperbole.

Descriptive Imagery

Imagery is something concrete, like a sight, smell or taste. Imagery describes

what the poet sees, hears or otherwise senses, be it a literal image or one that exists in
his mind. Visual imagery, which describes what the poet sees, is the most common
type of image in poetry. It creates a picture that the reader or listener can see in his
mind.

Punctuation and Format

The punctuation and format of the poem deal with how it is arranged on the
page and how the author intends for you to read it. For example, if a poem has
frequent line breaks and short stanzas, it forces you to read it in a different rhythm
than if it were arranged in longer stanzas with fewer breaks. To better understand this
concept, read poetry aloud instead of in your head; when you read poetry, or listen to
the poet read his own work, you see the impact of the format.
Sound and Tone

Poets use different sounds and tones throughout poetry to change the way it
sounds. For example, the poet may use alliteration, which is when multiple
consecutive words start with the same letter. For example, he may write, "Pretty pugs
playfully prance on the promenade." The poet may choose his letters to give the poem
a soft or sharp sound, as well. For example, choosing words that use "soft" consonants
like f, m and w produces a different sound than words with "hard" consonants like d,
k, t and z.

Choice of Meter

The meter of a poem is the rhythm or pattern of speech with which you read it,
and it doesn't happen by accident. Poets use different meters to give their poetry
different rhythms, which have technical names like iambic pentameter or spondaic
heptameter. These names function like measurements for poetry -- a poem's rhythm
and meter can be broken down and analyzed according to measurements like these.