Creative Writing

• Poetic devices


  Methods of arranging words that a poet can use to create specific effects
• A poet is limited with the materials he can use in creating his works: all he has are words to express his ideas and feelings
• Words in poetry

  • They must sound right to the listener even if their purpose is to entertain
  • They must have a meaning that is unanticipated but is perfect
  • They must be constructed in a way that is easy to follow and understandable to the reader
  • They must probe the depths of human thought, emotion, and empathy, while appearing simple, self-contained, and unpretentious
• The English language contains a wide range of words from which to choose for almost every thought, and there are also numerous plans or methods of arrangement of these words, called "poetic devices", which can assist the writer in developing cogent expressions pleasing to his readers
• Even though today's poetry is mostly read silently, it should still have the same feelings when spoken. The reader should practice "hearing" the piece to fully catch the art created by the poet
• Alliteration


  Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words placed near each other, usually on the same or adjacent lines
• Alliteration


  • fast and furious
  • Peter and Andrew patted the pony at Ascot
• Assonance


  Repeated vowel sounds in words placed near each other, usually on the same or adjacent lines
• Assonance


  • He's a bruisin' loser
  • Andrew, patted, Ascot
• Consonance


  Repeated consonant sounds at the ending of words placed near each other, usually on the same or adjacent lines
• Consonance


  • boats into the past
  • cool soul
• Cacophony


  A discordant series of harsh, unpleasant sounds helps to convey disorder
• Cacophony


  • My stick fingers click with a snicker And, chuckling, they knuckle the keys; Light-footed, my steel feelers flicker And pluck from these keys melodies.
• Euphony


  A series of musically pleasant sounds, conveying a sense of harmony and beauty to the language
• Euphony


  • Than Oars divide the Ocean, Too silver for a seam— Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon Leap, plashless as they swim.
• Onomatopoeia


  Words that sound like their meanings
• Onomatopoeia


  • boom, buzz, crackle, gurgle, hiss, pop, sizzle, snap, swoosh, whir, zip
• Repetition


  The purposeful re-use of words and phrases for an effect
• Repetition


  • I was glad; so very, very glad.
  • Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward...
  • Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volley'd and thunder'd...
• Rhyme


  Words that have different beginning sounds but whose endings sound alike, including the final vowel sound and everything following it
• Rhyme


  • time, slime, mime
  • revival, arrival, survival
  • greenery, machinery, scenery
• Slant rhyme


  If only the final consonant sounds of the words are the same, but the initial consonants and the vowel sounds are different
• Slant rhyme


  • soul, oil, foul; taut, sat, knit
• Near rhyme

  If the final vowel sounds are the same, but the final consonant sounds are slightly different
• Near rhyme


  • fine, rhyme; poem, goin'
• Sight rhyme


  Words, which are spelled the same (as if they rhymed), but are pronounced differently
• Sight rhyme


  • enough, cough, through, bough
• Rhythm


  The organization of speech rhythms (verbal stresses) into a regular pattern of accented syllables separated by unaccented syllables
• Rhythm

  • i THOUGHT i SAW a PUSsyCAT
• Allegory


  A representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning
• Allusion


  A brief reference to some person, historical event, work of art, or Biblical or mythological situation or character
• Ambiguity


  A word or phrase that can mean more than one thing, even in its context
• Ambiguity


  • Robert Frost's 'The Subverted Flower'
• Analogy


  A comparison, usually something unfamiliar with something familiar
• Analogy


  • The plumbing took a maze of turns where even water got lost
• Apostrophe


  Speaking directly to a real or imagined listener or inanimate object; addressing that person or thing by name
• Apostrophe


  • O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done...
• Cliché


  Any figure of speech that was once clever and original but through overuse has become outdated
• Cliché


  • busy as a bee
• Connotation


  The emotional, psychological, or social overtones of a word; its implications and associations apart from its literal meaning