Quarter 3- Module 5

CREATIVE WRITING
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
1. Identify the various elements, techniques, and literary devices in poetry.
Poetry: Elements and Literary Devices
WHAT IS POETRY?
Poetry can be defined as 'literature in a metrical form' or 'a composition forming rhythmic lines'.
A poem is something that follows a particular flow of rhythm and meter.
Compared to prose, where there is no such restriction, and the content of the piece flows
according to story, a poem may or may not have a story, but definitely has a structured method
of writing.

ELEMENTS OF POETRY
Rhythm: This is the music made by the statements of the poem, which includes the syllables in
the lines. The best method of understanding this is to read the poem aloud, and understand the
stressed and unstressed syllables.
Meter: This is the basic structural make-up of the poem. Do the syllables match with each other?
Every line in the poem must adhere to this structure. A poem is made up of blocks of lines, which
convey a single strand of thought. Within those blocks, a structure of syllables which follow the
rhythm has to be included. This is the meter or the metrical form of poetry.
Stanza: Stanza in poetry is defined as a smaller unit or group of lines or a paragraph in a poem. A
particular stanza has a specific meter, rhyme scheme, etc. Based on the number of lines, stanzas
are named as couplet (2 lines), Tercet (3 lines), Quatrain (4 lines), Cinquain (5 lines), Sestet (6
lines), Septet (7 lines), Octave (8 lines).
Rhyme: A poem may or may not have a rhyme. When you write poetry that has rhyme, it means
that the last words or sounds of the lines match with each other in some form. Rhyme is basically
similar sounding words like 'cat' and 'hat', 'close' and 'shows', 'house' and 'mouse', etc. Free
verse poetry, though, does not follow this system.
Rhyme Scheme: As a continuation of rhyme, the rhyme scheme is also one of the basic elements
of poetry. In simple words, it is defined as the pattern of rhyme. Either the last words of the first-
and second-lines rhyme with each other, or the first and the third, second and the fourth and so
on. It is denoted by alphabets like aabb (1st line rhyming with 2nd, 3rd with 4th); abab (1st with
3rd, 2nd with 4th); abba (1st with 4th, 2nd with 3rd), etc.
Theme: This is what the poem is all about. The theme of the poem is the central idea that the
poet wants to convey. It can be a story, or a thought, or a description of something or someone;
anything that the poem is about.
Symbolism: Often poems will convey ideas and thoughts using symbols. A symbol can stand for
many things at one time and leads the reader out of a systematic and structured method of
looking at things. Often a symbol used in the poem will be used to create such an effect.
Imagery: Imagery is also one of the important elements of a poem. This device is used by the
poet for readers to create an image in their imagination. Imagery appeals to all the five senses.
For e.g., when the poet describes, 'the flower is bright red', an image of a red flower is
immediately created in the reader's mind.
Tone: The tone of the poem refers to your attitude toward your subject and readers. Your tone
can be informal or formal, serious or humorous, sad or happy. You can identify your tone by the
way in which you use diction, syntax, rhyme, meter, and so forth.

Literary Devices in Poetry: Poetic Devices List

Let’s examine the essential literary devices in poetry, with examples. Try to include these poetic
devices in your next finished poems!

1. Anaphora
Anaphora describes a poem that repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line.
Sometimes the anaphora is a central element of the poem’s construction; other times, poets only
use anaphora in one or two stanzas, not the whole piece.
Consider “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” by N. Scott Momaday.
I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water
I am the shadow that follows a child

Anaphora describes a poem that repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line.
2. Conceit
A conceit is, essentially, an extended metaphor. Which, when you think about it, it’s kind of
stuck-up to have a fancy word for an extended metaphor, so a conceit is pretty conceited, don’t
you think?
In order for a metaphor to be a conceit, it must run through the entire poem and be the poem’s
central device. Consider the poem “The Flea” by John Donne. The speaker uses the flea as a
conceit for physical relations, arguing that two bodies have already intermingled if they’ve
shared the odious bed bug. With the flea as a conceit for intimacy, Donne presents a poem both
humorous and strangely erotic.
A conceit must run through the entire poem as the poem’s central device.
3. Apostrophe
Don’t confuse this with the punctuation mark for plural nouns—the literary device apostrophe is
different. Apostrophe describes any instance when the speaker talks to a person or object that is
absent from the poem. Poets employ apostrophe when they speak to the dead or to a long-lost
lover, but they also use apostrophe when writing an Ode to a Grecian Urn or an Ode to the
Women in Long Island.
Apostrophe is often employed in admiration or longing, as we often talk about things far away in
wistfulness or praise. Still, try using apostrophe to express other emotions: express joy, grief,
fear, anger, despair, jealousy, or ecstasy, as this poetic device can prove very powerful for
poetry writers.
4. Metonymy & Synecdoche
Metonymy and synecdoche are very similar poetic devices, so we’ll include them as one item. A
metonymy is when the writer replaces “a part for a part,” choosing one noun to describe a
different noun. For example, in the phrase “the pen is mightier than the sword,” the pen is a
metonymy for writing and the sword is a metonymy for fighting.

Metonymy: a part for a part.

Synecdoche is a form of metonymy, but instead of “a part for a part,” the writer substitutes “a
part for a whole.” In other words, they represent an object with only a distinct part of the object.
If I described your car as “a nice set of wheels,” then I’m using synecdoche to refer to your car.
I’m also using synecdoche if I call your laptop an “overpriced sound system.”

Synecdoche: a part for a whole.

5. Enjambment & End-Stopped Lines
Poets have something at their disposal which prose writers don’t: the mighty line break. Line
breaks and stanza breaks help guide the reader through the poem, and while these might not be
hardline “literary devices in poetry,” they’re important to understanding the strategies of poetry
writing.

Line breaks can be one of two things: enjambed or end-stopped. End-stopped lines are lines
which end on a period or on a natural break in the sentence. Enjambment, by contrast, refers to
a line break that interrupts the flow of a sentence: either the line usually doesn’t end with
punctuation, and the thought continues on the next line.
6. Zeugma
Zeugma (pronounced: zoyg-muh) is a fun little device you don’t see often in contemporary
poetry—it was much more common in ancient Greek and Latin poetry, such as the poetry of
Ovid. This might not be an “essential” device, but if you use it on your own poetry, you’ll stand
out for your mastery of language and unique stylistic choices.

A zeugma occurs when one verb is used to mean two different things for two different objects.
For example, I might say “He ate some pasta, and my heart out.” To eat pasta and eat
someone’s heart out are two very different definitions for ate: one consumption is physical, the
other is conceptual. The key here is to only use “ate” once in the sentence, as a zeugma should
surprise the reader.
7. Repetition
Strategic repetition of certain phrases can reinforce the core of your poem.
Last but not least among the top literary devices in poetry, repetition is key. We’ve already seen
repetition in some of the aforementioned poetic devices, like anaphora and conceit. Still,
repetition deserves its own special mention.

Strategic repetition of certain phrases can reinforce the core of your poem. In fact, some poetry
forms require repetition, such as the villanelle. In a villanelle, the first line must be repeated in
lines 6, 12, and 18; the third line must be repeated in lines 9, 15, and 19.

Third Quarter
Module 5-Assessment
CREATIVE WRITING
Name: ________________________________ Grade Level & Strand: ____________ Score:
___________
Teacher’s Name: Joan L. Lomo
Direction. Identify what elements or literary devices of poetry in the statement below. Write
your answer on the space provided.

________________________1. Describes a poem that repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line.

________________________2. It occurs when one verb is used to mean two different things for two different objects.

________________________3. The writer replaces “a part for a part,” choosing one noun to describe a different noun.

________________________4. Describes any instance when the speaker talks to a person or object that is absent from
the poem.

________________________5. They represent an object with only a distinct part of the object.

________________________6. This is what the poem is all about.

________________________7. This is the music made by the statements of the poem, which includes the syllables in
the lines.

________________________8. Defined as a smaller unit or group of lines or a paragraph in a poem.

________________________9. Describes a poem that repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line.

________________________10. It means that the last words or sounds of the lines match with each other in some form.

________________________11. It refers to your attitude toward your subject and readers.

________________________12. This is the basic structural make-up of the poem.

________________________13. used by the poet for readers to create an image in their imagination.

________________________14. It is defined as the pattern of rhyme.

________________________15. It often poems will convey ideas and thoughts.