Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 1

SHORT FICTION and its ELEMENTS

The short story as we recognize it today is a relatively recent phenomenon. It arose in the mid 19th century in the
work of authors like Poe, Balzac, Irving, Hawthorne, and others.

Before considering short fiction, let's discuss what we mean by fiction itself. The primary distinguishing
characteristic of fiction, as opposed to poetry and drama, is its relative ordinariness. The genre we have come to
know as fiction -- fables, tales, parables, short stories, novellas, and novels.

Despite its relative ordinariness, writers can achieve highly stylized effects with prose: feats of verbal
pyrotechnics, individuated sentence patterns, and unique tonalities. Just because we call prose ordinary doesn't
mean it doesn't have variety and depth. It is just to say that of all the genres of literature, fiction comes the closest
to the way we commonly speak and write.

Another distinguishing characteristic of fiction in addition to its prose form has to do with how we as readers interact
with it. Compared to drama and poetry, reading fiction tends to be a more solitary and silent activity. It is a
gateway to the interior life. Generally speaking, modern fiction isn't read aloud (although folk tales, fables, fairy
tales, and myths have their sources in the oral tradition). Our image of the modern reader of fiction is one consisting
of a person sitting in their favorite armchair on a quiet afternoon or evening reading silently by the lamplight. In this
sense, fiction is the most interior of literary genres. Reading a good novel or story is like entering a portal into an
imaginary world, an escape into the imagination. To read fiction well, you must be willing to use your imagination
because it is less of a sensory experience than a poem, drama, or film.

History of fiction

The short story is part of a long tradition of imaginative prose extending back to ancient times. There was in fact
prose fiction as far back as Ancient Greece and Rome. Apulius's Golden Ass, Petronius's Satyricon, and a few
Greek Romances have survived the ages. In them we see prose being put to imaginative use. (That being said,
fiction in ancient times took a back seat to the more important literary arts of poetry and drama.)

If we go farther back in history, we can find abundant evidence of fiction in mythology, folk, fables, parables, and
tales. These genres used prose to transmit and pass down the wisdom, culture, morals and ideas of societies and
civilizations. Examples include Aesop's Fables, stories from the Bible, the parables of Jesus, Grimms Fairy Tales,
The Arabian Nights and countless mythologies from societies all over the world. Prose fiction of this sort got
transmitted through the oral tradition (word of mouth, memorization) and only later got recorded or written down into
book form.

Intentional literary art, that is imaginative work written by authors purposefully and artfully with the intent of
entertaining, persuading, and educating, was primarily the domain of poets and dramatists. Only later did prose
gain enough respectability to become a legitimate art form in its own right. This happened to coincide with the rise
of national languages in the West (as Latin devolved into local dialects which later distinguished themselves into
separate languages like French, Italian, Spanish, and as Germanic and Slavic languages coalesced into unified,
extended languages like English, German, Russian, and so on.) and the rise of book culture, thanks to the invention
of movable type which enabled large scale printing and binding of books in the vernacular. Literacy among the
general population increased, and with it, the appeal of imaginary literature written in prose.

So we see in the 17th and 18th centuries the rise of the novel (long form prose fiction) in works like Don Quixote,
Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders, Pamela, and Tom Jones. The novel quickly grew hugely popular. By the 19th
century, authors were playing with the forms of fiction, scaling novel length works down closer to the length of
traditional tales and essays. These all happened in conjunction with the rise of magazines, newspapers, and
periodicals, which provided the space for the short story to thrive. Thus was born the short story as we know it.

What distinguishes a short story from a tale, fable, folk tale, or myth? Keep in mind that the lines between these
fictional forms are blurry. All of them involve the narration of imaginary events and portrayal of imaginary characters
in prose. A narrative is an accounting or recital of facts. In stories, narrative is the telling of facts, details, and events
in the story.

A Fable is fictitious story relating to supernatural or extraordinary persons or incidents, and is a product of popular
belief, myth or legend. Usually fables have an obvious moral to them (a kernel of wisdom you can take away from
the story).

A Tale is a story (true or fictitious) drawn up so as to interest or amuse, or to preserve the history of a fact or
incident.

Folklore is the system of traditional beliefs, customs, and legends of the common people in a given culture, often
represented in story form (folk tales) or poems (folk songs).
 Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 2

Myth can be seen as a fictitious narrative usually involving supernatural persons, actions, or events, and
embodying some popular idea concerning natural or historical phenomena (the invention of fire, the creation of the
world).

The Short Story differs somewhat from all the forms mentioned above because it is the product of an individual
artist, with a discernible aesthetic arrangement of formal elements such as plot, character, setting, tone, mood,
style, imagery, symbolism, and so on. Short stories tend to be anywhere from 500 to 15,000 words long. Where
fables and folk tales are passed down by tradition, short stories are works of individual craftsmanship.

Generally fables, myths, and tales are spared in the way they are told - they focus on a summary of events and
character. Their aim is to explain something: the way the world works, a hidden truth, a moral lesson. Short stories
(while they don't exclude moralizing, truth telling, and other educational functions) strike us as being written for
entertainment, for capturing a slice of life, a mood, a sense of being, and creating an encapsulated world where our
imaginations can play with meanings.

Edgar Allan Poe saw the short story as a way for writers to hold a reader's attention in one sitting and exert full
control over the reader in that short duration, in order to produce specific effects.

Novelist Joseph Conrad said this of fiction: "My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written
word, to make you hear, to make you feel - it is, before all, to make you see. That - and no more, and it is
everything. If I succeed, you shall find there, according to your deserts, encouragement, consolation, fear, charm,
all you demand - and, perhaps, also that glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask."

Flannery O'Connor's definition of story goes like this: "A story is a complete dramatic action - and in good stories,
the characters are shown through the action and the action is controlled through the characters, and the result of
this is meaning that derives from the whole presented experience."

The Elements of Fiction

When you read fiction, I encourage you to invest extra time to dwell in the imaginary world being created for you by
the writer. Remember, it takes two to tango (you and the writer). Read attentively, slowly, and let your imagination
breathe. After you've formulated some initial impressions of the story, you can go back and begin to analyze for
purposes of discussion and writing essays. Here are a few of the building blocks of fiction:

Plot

Plot is ticker (heart) of the story, the series of events. It is simply what happens and when it happens. It must be
added that plot also establish a causal chain of events. Without motivation and cause/effect, a series of events is
just that a series. It isn't a story. Infusing intentionality, motivation, actions and reactions suddenly brings your plot
to life. Plot forms the core of narrative art. Keep in mind that plot doesn't have to be told in chronological order. Plot
can have two time lines:

1. Chronology: the order of events in the story, reconstructed into chronological order.
2. Narrative time: the order of events as the story sequences them.

Some concepts related to traditional plot:

 Exposition: the "setting the stage" phase of the story, where the writer positions you in time and space,
introduces the main characters and conflicts, and gives you the information you need to appreciate what's
to come later in the story
 Foreshadowing: sometimes the author plants seeds, clues, and hints of action that will follow later as the
plot progresses
 Conflict: the opposing forces in the story and how they interact. Most stories thrive on some kind of
conflict: man vs. man; man vs. environment; man vs. society; man vs. himself.
 Rising action: the portion of the plot when the conflict intensifies and gains momentum. Suspense may
build, complications arise, and characters are faced with thorny crisis.
 Crisis / Climax: the turning point of the story. This is when the action reaches its peak or when the biggest
conflict occurs. In many stories, the climax sets off a chain reaction of events called the falling action
 Falling Action: (denouement): After the climax, events unfold (often inevitably). Eventually, some kind of
order is restored, the conflict is resolved, we achieve a sense of stasis (for better or worse).
 Epiphany: a moment of startling, sudden insight gained by the main character as a result of the unfolding
events in the story. It is a moment in the story when a character sees the "the light bulb goes a moment of
clarity and self recognition flashes before his/her eyes.” Short story plots frequently result in an epiphany of
one sort or another.
 Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 3

Character

The people in the story. Characters often can be better understood in relation to their importance in the plot and can
be divided into major and minor characters. In novels, writers have a lot more room to discuss many characters.
Short stories usually focus on only one or two major characters.

The protagonist is the leading character, the main character, the center of attention, and sometimes the narrator.
The antagonist is the force acting against the main character. Usually a person, but doesn't have to be.
A flat character is known by one or two traits.
A round character is 3D person (we see more of their interior and exterior being), is complex and many-sided, a
fuller representation of the whole person.
Dynamic characters are characters who change or grow from beginning to end of the story.
Static characters don't change or grow as the story unfolds.

The Characteristics of a Person

In order for a story to seem real to the reader its characters must seem real. Characterization is the information the
author gives the reader about the characters themselves. The author may reveal a character in several ways:
a) his/her physical appearance
b) what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams
c) what he/she does or does not do
d) what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her

Characters are convincing if they are: consistent, motivated, and life-like (resemble real people)

Motivation: psychologically speaking, you can analyze what moves a character to think and act the way they do.
What psychological drives, needs, values, desires, and outside pressures are at play? All these can motivate a
character to action, so motivation connects closely to developments in the plot. A common saying in literature is
"character determines fate," which means that a well drawn character driven by motivations will take actions
consistent with those motivations that determine a specific outcome in the story.

Point of View

Point of view deals with the art of narration: who is telling the story, and what's their perspective? How much do
they know? How reliable are they? The voice of the story is the narrator.

An omniscient narrator knows all and is capable of telling all. Omniscience is a God-like perspective – the all
seeing, all knowing eye.
A limited omniscient narrator knows all, but doesn't necessarily tell you everything he knows. Certain information is
concealed from the reader deliberately.
Objective or dramatic - the opposite of the omniscient; displays authorial objectivity; compared a roving sound
camera. Very little of the past or the future is given; the story is set in the present. It has the most speed and the
most action; it relies heavily on external action and dialogue, and it offers no opportunities for interpretation by the
author.

A story's point of view gives it a special character or tone:

Stories told in the first person ("I" or "We" narrator) can be reliable or unreliable, and obviously imply a limited
perspective. You're getting one character's point of view.

Stories told in the third person ("he" "she" "it" "they") tend to be more objective in style, although you should still
question the reliability and character of any narrator, even an objective one.

Setting

Where and when the action of the story occurs. In certain stories, the environment can play a significant role.
Sometimes the environment is so important it can act as a character in the story or play a role in the story's conflict.
Knowing where and when the story is happening will help you to produce stronger, more defensible interpretations.
One reason we read for pleasure is for literature's capacity to take us somewhere else. Setting is where the story
takes you to.

Imagery

The way actions, events, people, and objects are described in the story. Does the writer use metaphor, simile,
colorful descriptions? Are there patterns of imagery that can be detected? Imagery often ties in with the story's
thematic content and frequently can rise to the level of symbolism.
 Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 4

Symbol

Symbol is something that stands for or represents something else, not by exact resemblance, but by suggestion (or
convention). It can be a material object representing something immaterial and abstract, like an idea, a theme, a
condition, a state of being.

Irony

Irony is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used. A
condition of affairs or events of a character opposite to what was or might be expected, a contradictory outcome of
events.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony is a state wherein the character in the story is unaware of something that the reader is aware of.
Dramatic irony often results in feelings of pity, suspense, tension, or comic pleasure.

Verbal Irony

Verbal irony can occur within a story, where the words used by characters say one thing and mean another.

Ambiguity

Literature's capacity to support multiple interpretations or "readings". When a story is ambiguous, it doesn't mean it
is vague; it means the story can be viewed from multiple angles and can sustain many layers of understanding:
literal, thematic, symbolic, psychological, social, moral, etc.

Theme

Theme tends to be an overused term in English classes. It implies that each story has a secret message that can
be decoded, if only we can read the clues or possess the secret key. It's a holdover from the expectation that
stories must have a moral lesson to teach. Thus the hunt for literary themes can seem like an absurd scavenger
hunt. And yet, if we allow for the fact that stories are ambiguous, we can discuss theme in this way: themes are
simply what the stories are "about" in the abstract -- in a general way. What ideas are important to the story? What
concepts help you understand the story, or what subjects arise out of the story's characters and conflicts? Themes
can be timeless and universal, or fleeting, local, contextual and particular. So when we say that the "Yellow
Wallpaper" is a story about Victorian Age Woman's struggle for freedom and empowerment, we are discussing a
theme, but not the only theme. There may be universal themes in that story worthy of discussion too, like marriage,
identity, individuality, mental health.

POETRY and ITS ELEMENTS

Poetry has perhaps always lain in some men's hearts. Perhaps, as seen from some of the evidence we have
discovered in our times, even primitive man held close to him the origins of poetry. He had, for example, the pristine
sky above him filled at night with such marvelous stars, such supernumerary lanterns and sparkling bits of sky, all
suspended by who knew what, right in the middle of the overwhelming darkness and space of the night -- yes, right
in the middle of that stunning vacuum and depth which seemed to go out deeper and deeper and forever. These
sensational ideas and thoughts perhaps ran through the inexpert mind of the primordial being hundreds of
thousands of years ago, when man was not even man yet, and when man was just on the evolutionary machinery
and path of becoming what he has been since about ten or twenty thousand years ago.

These were surely the wonderments which captivated his mind and attention when outdoors at night. They must
have been truly marvelous sights to look at in those times. Things have changed since then, and yet if we just take
time when we are away from the city, or maybe even when we are in our own back yard, if we just look above us in
total darkness, we will still be able to admire the depth of the starry skies which we look at. How much more
marvelous must it have been for ancient and primitive man!

It is the sensations that were captivated by the formative human mind that were stored genetically in the remotest
depths of the unconscious that were evolutionarily reserved in the unconscious and instinctive part of the brain and
mind. These sensations of admiration and awe for the stars and the wondrous things in nature were the ones
responsible for the communion and romance between the very individual and nature; between a man and the
world; between a person and the universe; yes, even between a person and God himself. It was the admiration
itself which was also responsible for creating the feeling and knowledge of someone or something much, much
greater than ourselves. And it was all these things combined, perhaps, which led some person to express these
admirations and marvels through a special and very personal manner, the one which we now translate as poetry.
He created a kind of expression which turned out to be externally a product or a form called "poetry."
 Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 5

This kind of expression was different from all the other kinds of expression which he had already accumulated.
Even if it were in the form of pictographs or something of the like, this kind of expression was different from the rest.
And thus poetry was born. Thus poetry came to be part of man's evolutionary heritage.

This is why we still study and enjoy of poetry. It became an intimate part of men's and women's cultures. It became
an evolutionary asset, possession, of mankind. And even today we still feel, many of us, the sensations of
communion and romance and love or strong feeling which lead us to yet create more and more poetry. Poetry is not
only the heritage of mankind -- poetry is the music of the heart, the language of the soul, the expression of the parts
we do not see in humans. And it is not only male possessed -- women are part of it, too. Even children form part of
our poetry. Poetry is for everyone. /JZR

The Elements of Poetry

Poetry, as man's inherited possession, is the expression of strong feeling and thought which leads to a
communion between the individual and his surroundings, but most usually between a person and nature,
the world, or the universe. Poetry is the means of universalizing and perpetuating a thought, an idea, a
feeling, sensation, or internal experience.

Form

Whenever we look at a poem, the first thing we will probably notice is its form. In other words, poems have a given
FORM. One poem will look very different from another, and still another poem will look very distinct from the second
one, and so on. Each poet uses the "form" which will most effectively EXPRESS what he wants to convey to other
human beings.

Traditional poetry used to follow very strict forms. People who still follow these forms nowadays are following the
traditional manner and style. But nowadays we know that there is a strong tendency to break from the traditional
and to become even very unorthodox, unconventional or even unusual. This kind of poetry is called FREE VERSE.
It is most often used in modern times and presents a multitude of possibilities. The poet uses free form to make the
poem fit the contents and to express the mood or feeling of his work.

Lines

After looking at a poem and seeing that it has some sort of FORM, we often notice that it also consists of LINES.
These are the vehicles of the author’s thoughts and ideas. These are the building blocks with which to create a
poem. The WORDS of each line proceed as usual from left to right, but they curiously end where the poet wants
them to stop. Therefore, you may have some lines that are of equal length and others which are not.

Besides the length and margining of the first word in each line, the PUNCTUATION at the end of each is also a
major tool for the poet. At times he will want us to make a full stop, other times a gentle or slight pause, and even
others perhaps a sudden break, and so on. Ultimately, then, poetry creates sensations, moods, and images in the
reader's mind.

Stanzas

The lines in a poem are most often divided into sections looking as some sort of paragraphing. These we call
STANZAS. A stanza, therefore, is the grouping of the lines, sort of like a paragraph.

Rhyme

Rhyme is the SONIC imitation usually of end syllables of words. There are basically two kinds of rhyme used in
poetry. The first is the most typical and best known by young people, END RHYME, in which the words at the end
of a given line rhyme. The second kind of rhyme is called INTERNAL RHYME. This kind of rhyming is different from
end rhyme in that the rhyming takes place somewhere within the line and not at the end. But most of us find it more
natural to use rhyming at the end and not in the middle of our poem's lines. Still, the most widely read and enjoyed
poetry artfully combines these and other patterns and techniques for the creation of the poems.

(Internal Rhyme):

It won't be LONG before my SONG ends the day,

And the FLOWERS near the TOWERS reach the sky.

Pattern

Rhyme contributes in creating a pattern when read appropriately. It creates a special effect which results in being
pleasant and motivating. Humans in general are susceptible to patterns. As a matter of fact, we live with all sorts of
patterns every day of our lives. Our very lives are patterns themselves. The human mind itself has an inherent
 Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 6

(internal) patterning force and capacity which allows the individual to perceive and create the patterns inherent in
poems. And it is rhyme which is one of the contributors to the pattern created in reading or writing a poem:

SQUEEZE ... TEASE;

RUN ... FUN;
DEMONSTRATE ... WHAT SHE ATE.

Another contributor to pattern is the number of syllables, as can be seen in the third set of the examples given right
above. DE-MONS-TRATE as imitated by WHAT-SHE-ATE. Still another element which contributes to pattern is the
accommodation and distribution of the lines. The reader is thus led or even forced into following a given pattern,
and BEAT.

 But the ultimate creator of pattern is the combination of the STRESSED SYLLABLES IN ANY
PARTICULAR LINE of a poem.

RHYTHM

This brings us to the topic of RHYTHM, perhaps the pivot point of all the elements, because it is rhythm which
creates the pleasant gliding effect when we read a poem. It helps us as readers to travel along the lines of the
poem with a certain enjoyable tempo created by the components of rhythm.

Never in my lonely life,

Could you make it -- be my wife. or,

If only then she had seen,

That crime and anger were to have been.

 The lengths of the lines are different, but it is the combination that creates a certain rhythm.

Now, if the poet just repeats the same pattern with every set of lines in a stanza, and from stanza to stanza, then he
will be effectively creating a rhythm. It is the REGULARITY of the REPETITION that tends to create the rhythmical
pattern. A BEAT is created when we analyze the STRESSED and UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES within the lines of a
poem.

Observe the following lines from a poem:

And as she WALKED to the MOON,

We could ALL hear her SWOON,
To the MARvelous SIGHTS,
In which she NOW so deLIGHTS,

Euphony

EUPHONY is simply the combination of agreeable and melodious sounds which make a poem pleasant to listen to.
It is the nice- sounding tone of a poem when read. This is the reason why a poem is never as effective as when
read aloud -- simply because poetry in general deals a lot with the euphonic sounds contained within it. EUPHONY
is perhaps one ultimate aim of poetry. The esthete -- the beautiful. It is poetry which allows mankind to express
such beauty from within. Poetry itself is beauty created.

Poetic Devices

Poetry, like every other art, has its techniques and DEVICES. Becoming a poet liked by others is not always an
easy thing to do, and it so happens that the cause of this is the way the author of a poem uses the available
devices to his advantage or purposes. Below are some of the major devices used in many of the poems we
encounter as students of poetry.

1. Alliteration

The purposeful repetition of a consonant sound in two or more consecutive words, usually at the beginning of such
words.

2. Repetition

a) of WORDS/ IDEAS/ or, IMAGES;

b) Anaphora:
 Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 7

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or stanzas.

Tomorrow when the sun comes out,

Tomorrow when the birds sing out,
Tomorrow it will come to be,
Tomorrow, when you'll come to me.

c) Anadiplosis

The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of one line and at the beginning of the next; or, at the end of the last
line in a stanza or verse, and at the beginning of the next stanza.

She will never come to this my land,

To this my land where I belong.

3. Onomatopoeia

The use of words which imitate the sounds they stand for.

4. Inversion

a) Anastrophe:

To the sea she went,

Without smiling they parted,

b) Hysteron-Proteron (the last first):

Then came the thunder.

Out she went.
Fear she felt.

5. Figures of Speech

a) simile
b) metaphor
c) personification
d) hyperbole
e) understatement

6. Imagery

The use of language, sensory language, language which stimulates the reader's imagination. The use of the
sensory language which serves to transmit or invoke the same or similar images in the reader's mind.

7. Variety

The use of variety in length of lines, rhythm, rhyme, distribution of lines and words, and anything else which adds to
the EFFECTIVENESS of the poem. Variety may be used to create humor, depression, or many other moods or
sensations. The effective poet learns to use variety whenever and wherever it serves his purposes of expression
and externalization of internal experiences.

Types of Poetry

1. Narrative

There are many kinds or types of poems. Some describe what poets see; some what they remember; and others
what they perceive through other senses. But other poems are intended to tell a story. These are called
NARRATIVE POEMS. Just like the regular stories which you read in your literature courses, a narrative poem also
has the same basic elements. It has a setting, one or more characters in it, usually a conflict, a plot which builds up
to a climax, and even a conclusion, oftentimes. The story which the narrative poem tells can also be about almost
anything.

2. Lyric/Descriptive

LYRIC poetry, also called DESCRIPTIVE poetry, is a very personal kind of poetry. It is usually brief, melodic, and
very expressive. It is descriptive in essence, and conveys IMPRESSIONS, FEELINGS, EMOTIONS,
 Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 8

SENSATIONS, and very personal and INTIMATE VIEWS concerning an experience. Lyric or Descriptive poetry
may touch such themes as: nature, beauty, love and friendship, the joy of life, death, patriotism, and the like.

3. Humorous

It is probable that you, as student of literature, have never really stopped to think how versatile poetry is. But it is
because poetry is so FLEXIBLE, so PLASTIC, that there are so many varieties of poetry in the world or nation. The
plasticity of poetry makes it possible therefore for author's to bend and shape this kind of written expression to suit
their needs or purposes.

It is no wonder then that some poets should choose HUMOR as their main purpose in writing a poem.

Forms of Poetry

As seen from the introduction of this document, poems possess form. And we also now understand that poems
have different forms. Four of these forms will be studied in the course, and they are briefly presented and described
in the following and last section.

1. Limerick

A LIMERICK is a special type of poem intended to be humorous. It consists of five lines only. It is usually a
nonsense verse which often concerns something ridiculous. But even so, it follows a regular and distinctive pattern.
Of the five lines, the FIRST, SECOND, and FIFTH lines have the same length. Each one of these contains NINE
SYLLABLES, ... and they RHYME. The THIRD and FOURTH lines, which are shorter, contain only FIVE syllables,
and they too rhyme. Also, these third and fourth lines are slightly indented -- that is, they are indented by three
letters. Following is an example.

There once was a pretty young girl Who had pretty teeth like a pearl, But her fortune did change, When her mom
dis-ar-ranged, The nice girl, and her teeth and a curl. This limerick form probably originated in the old town of
Limerick in Ireland, and thus borrowed the name from it. But limericks are just for fun and laughter. Here is another
example.

A puppy whose hair was so flowing,

There really was no means of knowing
Which end was his head,
Once stopped me and said,
"Please, sir, am I coming or going?"

2. Haiku

This is a traditional form of poetry which originated in Japan. In form, it is apparently a very simplistic sort of poetry,
but the truth is that it is an art trying to create Haiku poetry with the beauty and effectiveness it requires. Haiku
poetry consists of only THREE lines in all. Incredible! But, the "trick" here is trying to create as much beauty in such
few words as possible.

The first line of the Haiku poem must have FIVE syllables; the second line must have SEVEN syllables; and finally,
the third must consist of another FIVE, just like the first. (5/7/5). Thus, the Haiku poet is obliged to describe as
vividly as possible, in only seventeen syllables, a picture or IMAGE or SCENE which beautifully forms sharply in the
reader's mind. To do this well is a true challenge!

HAIKU may seem like child's play at first... especially to most of us who look on it as merely a game or sort of toy to
fool around with. But on closer study and relaxed scrutiny, anyone can easily begin to discover that HAIKU is
absolutely NOT mere child's play, but, rather, an ART form -- a POETIC-ART form which requires INTERNAL
expression of sensed feelings, impressions, images, colors, visions, and, ultimately, authentic and legitimate
Internal, SPIRITUAL and SPONTANEOUS EXPERIENCES which have blended and communed with the elements
of Nature, and the universal components of the Cosmos, of the Whole, of the Tao, of the Sacred or Refined
blendings with the Absolute and God himself, all expressed in these transcendental sensations and impressions
acquired through the oneness with the Natural. Naturalness, Spontaneity, and letting go are therefore crucial to the
EXPERIENCE of Haiku.

Below are some samples of Haiku to easily begin to discover that HAIKU is in fact an ART form -- a POETIC-ART
form -- which has developed and remained for hundreds of years. Last, notice how Haiku is a very personal event
achieved artfully by only a very few, as are all Arts. Only some are gifted or destined to become Masters of the Art.
Nevertheless, we can all enjoy of attempting to follow in the footsteps of the Exalted and enjoy making our very own
Haiku when we feel ready for it.

You will need to read and learn about the Masters, especially the original creator of the genuine HAIKU, Basho,
along with a couple of others who aided furthering Basho's Art into a Traditional form of Japanese and worldly
 Elements of Fiction and Poetry | 9

poetry. These you will find in another Section of this Site. You may wish to continue this document on the theory of
poetry -- or you may wish now to go on to more learning and information on this POETIC-ART form called Haiku.

Haiku Samples:

Dampness and clear dew Warmth against my skin

pine smell, grass smell fill the air, sand dust in the warm moist air,
sun star bright above. sounds of sea water.

No mo yama mo Mountains and plains, Japanese Haiku:

yuki ni torareta all are taken by the snow, by Naito Joso
nani mo nashi nothing remains. (1661-1704)

Samidare ya All the rains of June, Japanese Haiku:

aru yo hisoka ni| and then one evening, secretly by Oshima Ryota
matsu no tsuki| through the pines, the moon!| (1718-1787)

As a note of interest, HAIKU was developed during the Tokugawa period in Japan (1603-1620) for the townspeople
(commoners), then growing in wealth and power, but whose education was informal: 2 lines set a scene; and the
third ends with a sort of spiritual "twist." The third line SPIRITUALIZES the EXPERIENCE and scene depicted
through the (first two lines of the) HAIKU.

3. Ballad

One of the oldest types of poetry is a special kind of Narrative poem known as the BALLAD. The Ballad tells a story
and happens to be quite lengthy. As a rule, a Ballad is concerned with a sharp CONFLICT and with deep HUMAN
EMOTION. Once in a great while, though, a ballad here and there will deal with the funnier side of life. But, as a
rule ballads dealt with love, honor, courage, and death. Characteristics of a Ballad include the following.

1) They usually involve the common people (although there are some about nobles, too).
2) They usually deal with physical courage and tragic love.
3) They contain little characterization or description.
4) The action in ballads usually moves forward through dialogue.
5) Much of the story is IMPLIED or suggested, forcing the listener to fill in the details.
6) They tell the story in ballad stanzas.

The BALLAD STANZA contains FOUR LINES. The FOURTH line rhymes with the SECOND. The FIRST and
THIRD lines usually have FOUR ACCENTED SYLLABLES while the SECOND and FOURTH have THREE each.

BALLAD RHYTHM: Lines 1/3 = 4 BEATS; Lines 2/4 = 3 BEATS.

Come LISten to ME,

you GALlants so FREE,
All YOU that love MIRTH for to HEAR,
And I will you TELL of a BOLD outLAW,
That LIVED in NOTtinghamSHIRE.

As ROBin Hood IN the FORest STOOD,

All UNder the GREENwood TREE,
There WAS he WARE of a BRAVE young MAN,
As FINE as FINE can BE.

[Note: The capitalized syllables are stressed.]

[These stressed syllables create the BEATS.]

4. Free Verse

The poet uses free form to make the poem fit the contents and to express the mood or feeling of his intentions or
purposes. The length of the lines is irregular, the indentation of the lines may also vary from one to the next, it does
use rhythm, but it seldom uses end rhyme nor regular stanzas. Capitalization of the first letter in each line and
proper nouns is unorthodox or conveniently changed. Punctuation is equally affected, and the distribution of the
lines and words is entirely in the hands of the writer. Most poetry we read today, therefore, is Free Verse.

The basics of poetry

Elements: Lines/ Stanzas/ Rhyme/ Rhythm/ Beat/ (Un)Stressed Syllables/ Euphony/ Pattern.
Forms: Limerick/ Haiku/ Ballad/ Free Verse.
Types: * Narrative/ * Lyric-Descriptive/ Humorous/ Parody
Devices: Simile/ Metaphor/ Personification/ Repetition/ Anaphora/ Anadiplosis/ Alliteration/ Inversion/
Onomatopoeia/ Imagery/ Refrain/ Variety.