Creative writing

Module 1 Quarter 1
What is Figurative Speech?
• Think of Figurative Speech as a way to make your everyday language a little more interesting! Figurative
speech are words or phrases that are used, to add creativity in a non-literal way.
• There are different kinds of figurative speech. Sometimes it involves changing the arrangement of words
making it more poetic, or using imagery to give a visualization on a certain topic.
• Figurative speech or figures of speech act as literary devices as they are able to bring out a more expressive
use of language.
• Words and phrases are used differently from the usual literal meanings and applications.

Types of Figures of Speech

• Now that you have an idea of what Figures of Speech are, we can now talk about the types of figures of
speech! There many different types that can be used in different ways,
• Some figures of speech are used to make comparisons. There is a simile and a metaphor. Simile compares
two dissimilar things are compared to each other by using the words “like” or “as. For example, “He is
as red as a tomato.”
• Metaphor is also used to compare, like a simile does except it does not have connecting words. An example
would be, “Life is a rollercoaster.”
• Alliteration is another figure of speech that repeats the beginning sounds of neighboring words. Here is an
example, “Sheep should sleep in a shed.”
• Hyperbole exaggerates in order to put emphasis or a greater effect. For example, “He runs faster than the
wind.”
• Irony is used when there is a contrast between what is said and meant. For example, “The police station gets
robbed.”
• Onomatopoeia uses words that make the sound of what it is describing. Some examples of this would be
machine sounds such as zap, boing, and animal sounds such as moo, rabbit.
• Personification uses human qualities to describe non-living things or ideas. “The flowers danced in the
wind.” would be an example of personification.
• Another figure of speech is synecdoche. This happens when a part is represented by a whole or vise versa.
The phrase “All hands on deck.” is an example of synecdoche. The word hands represents a part of a
whole crew.
• An apostrophe is when a speaker directly addresses someone (or something) that is not present or cannot
respond in reality. The entity being addressed can be an absent, dead, or imaginary person.
• Allusion is when a text alludes to another text—or a human, location, or event. It can be stated explicitly or
inferred. One example of allusion would be “You’re my Achilles heel.” pertaining to a weakness one
might have for another.
• Oxymoron is two terms that contradict each other, used together. The word “Bittersweet| is an example of
an oxymoron. Bitter and sweet are two things or feelings that contradict each other.

MODULE 2

BASIC ELEMENTS OF 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
1. 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.
2. 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.
3.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), Sestet (6 lines),
Tercet (3 lines), Septet (7 lines),
Quatrain (4 lines), Octave (8 lines).
Cinquain (5 lines),
4. 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.
 5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.

5 Types of Imagery

There are five main types of imagery, each related to one of the human senses:
 Visual imagery (sight)
 Auditory imagery (hearing)
 Olfactory imagery (smell)
 Gustatory imagery (taste)
 Tactile imagery (touch)

1. Visual Imagery ( sight )

Visual imagery is description that stimulates the eyes. Specifically, your mind’s eye: when you can
visualize the colors, shapes, forms, and aesthetics of something that’s described to you, the writer is
employing visual imagery. When you can visualize the colors, shapes, forms, and aesthetics of
something that’s described to you, the writer is employing visual imagery.

2. Auditory Imagery ( hearing )

Auditory imagery is description that stimulates the ears. When you can hear the sounds of nature,
machinery, or someone’s voice, it’s because of the description employed in the author’s auditory
imagery.When you can hear sounds like nature, machinery, or someone’s voice, it’s because of the
description employed in the author’s auditory imagery.

Do note that, while you might be able to hear dialogue in your head, dialogue alone doesn’t count as
auditory imagery. The sounds need to be described using adjectives, adverbs,
and especially comparisons to other images.
3.Tactile Imagery ( touch )

Tactile imagery is description that stimulates your sense of touch. Sensations like itching, stickiness,
and the warmth of sunlight all count as tactile imagery, which appeals to the way your skin might feel
in that moment. Sensations like itching, stickiness, and the warmth of sunlight all count as tactile
imagery, which appeals to the way your skin might feel in that moment.

Tactile experiences only refer to external sensations, primarily on the skin. When a writer describes
internal sensations, they’re using organic imagery, which we’ll define later on.

4. Olfactory Imagery ( smell )

Olfactory imagery is description that stimulates the nose. By describing the peculiarities of a scent—
its richness, pungence, weight, distinctness, or physical effect—the author transports the reader
through the use of olfactory imagery.By describing the peculiarities of a scent—its richness,
pungence, weight, distinctness, or physical effect—the author transports the reader through the use
of olfactory imagery.

Olfactory looks like a strange word, but it comes from the Latin for “to smell,” and we have an
olfactory bulb in our brains which processes smells. Fun fact: the olfactory bulb is situated just in front
of the hippocampus, which processes memory. As a result, smells often stimulate stronger memories
than the other senses, so you can use olfactory imagery to arouse both smell and memory.

5.  Gustatory Imagery ( taste )

Gustatory imagery is description that stimulates the tongue. If you’ve ever done a wine or coffee
tasting, you know exactly how complex a flavor can be. Gustatory imagery captures a flavor’s
richness, acidity, earthiness, sweetness, bitterness, harshness, etc.Gustatory imagery captures a
flavor’s richness, acidity, earthiness, sweetness, bitterness, harshness, etc.

This is perhaps the rarest of the 5 types of imagery, as authors don’t seem to dwell on tastes too
much, but gustatory imagery can absolutely throw the reader into different cultures, cuisines, and
histories.