Grade 12
Unit 8
LANGUAGE ARTS 1208
CREATIVE WRITING
CONTENTS
I.
READING FICTION AND POETRY ....................................
2
Short Story Fundamentals ...................................................
3
Poetry Fundamentals............................................................. 13
II.
WRITING THE SHORT STORY............................................ 23
Inspiration ................................................................................ 23
Technique.................................................................................. 26
Style............................................................................................ 32
Process....................................................................................... 33
III.
WRITING THE POEM ............................................................ 36
Inspiration ................................................................................ 37
Technique.................................................................................. 37
Style............................................................................................ 39
Form ........................................................................................... 40
GLOSSARY................................................................................ 46
Author:
Editor:
Illustrator:
Carol L. Thoma
Alan Christopherson, M.S.
Alpha Omega Graphics
804 N. 2nd Ave. E., Rock Rapids, IA 51246-1759
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LANGUAGE ARTS 1208
CREATIVE WRITING
The world of fiction and poetry is a reflection of the world in which we live, work, play, and worship.
Although the events in a short story or a novel are not true in the sense that they actually happened, they
are patterned after life as the author knows it. His characters behave as real people might behave in their
situation. Poetry, too, reflects the world as the poet sees it; it stirs in the reader emotions similar to those
the poet feels and paints with words the vision that the poet sees.
By reading fiction and poetry, a student increases his understanding of people both in his own time
and culture and in societies and times other than his own. Stories and poems written by other students
can often provide as many insights as the works of professional writers. Each person has something to say.
Each person has a view of God and man, a sense of right and wrong, and a conception of the meaning of
life.
You may have read that each person has a story within him—his own. Viewed from different perspectives, the experience accumulated by every person can form the basis for many stories and many poems.
Creative writing is more than a constructive outlet for your emotions and a source of entertainment for
your reader. It can also be a means of sharing your Christian view of the world with others. Equally important, creative writing exercises your skill with words and provides you with an insight into the fiction and
poetry of professional writers that you could gain in no other way.
In this LIFEPAC® you will study the elements of the short story and of poetry as they relate respectively to a particular story and to specific poems. You will then study the techniques for writing both short
stories and poetry. In Section II you will learn to write descriptively, to develop an ear for dialogue, and to
connect the separate elements of your narrative into a story that is more than the sum of its parts. Section
III will provide you with the skills needed to link the sound of words with the images that they project
into the reader’s mind. Both sections provide the opportunity to use the acquired skills in your own writing. You will write both a short story and a poem, types of creative writing that will be uniquely your own,
and yet not just your own; for they will be a reflection of universal truths.
OBJECTIVES
Read these objectives. The objectives tell you what you will be able to do when you have successfully completed this LIFEPAC.
When you have completed this LIFEPAC, you should be able to:
1. Explain the interrelationship of plot, setting, characterization, and theme.
2. Distinguish between imagery and sound patterns in poetry.
3. Identify specific poetic devices in particular poems.
4. Write descriptive scenes and character sketches using your own experience as inspiration.
5. Write a dialogue between two or more characters.
6. Distinguish between description and narration.
7. Outline a plot.
8. Invent three characters and write a character sketch of each.
9. Write a short story.
10. Develop your own figures of speech.
11. Use specific poetic devices.
12. List the distinguishing characteristics of the sonnet and of other fixed forms.
13. Write two poems based on your own experience and observations.
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Survey the LIFEPAC. Ask yourself some questions about this study. Write your questions here.
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I. READING FICTION AND POETRY
Although the distinction between prose and poetry can be compared with the difference between
speech and song, fiction is more closely related to poetry than are other such prose forms as the essay and
the report. Both fiction and poetry are emotional experiences; both are products of the imagination.
Although the concern of the fiction writer or the poet is not with fact, his work reflects his experience. Each
life is unique, yet each repeats the timeless pattern of birth, love, and death. Each person experiences the
same needs—for God, for food, for warmth, and for companionship. Such universal experiences—experiences common to all people—form the basis of both fiction and poetry.
Fiction is a prose account of significant events in the lives of imaginary characters, human or nonhuman. The two most common forms of fiction are the novel and the short story. In a novel the narrative
involves a series of incidents that may affect many of the lives of many characters. In a short story the
focus is on one central person and one major situation. Plot, characterization, setting, and theme are concentrated into a few pages.
Poetry, like fiction, may tell a story or it may simply describe or react to a single experience. Poetry has
been written about man’s relationship with God, about love for other people, about death, about the smell
of a rose, about the song of a nightingale, and so forth. Poetry can be written about almost any subject, but
it is always an intense emotional reaction demanding an equally intense emotional response from the
reader. Poetry can be humorous, but the humor is a response to the situation.
This section is concerned with the elements that distinguish the short story and the poem from other
forms of literature. By studying this section you will acquire a better understanding of both genre, or
types. Your study will help you to appreciate the Biblical and secular works that are your literary heritage,
and it will provide a foundation for the technical writing skills that you will learn in the later sections of
this LIFEPAC.
SECTION OBJECTIVES
Review these objectives. When you have completed this section, you should be able to:
1. Explain the interrelationship of plot, setting, characterization, and theme.
2. Distinguish between imagery and sound patterns in poetry.
3. Identify specific poetic devices in particular poems.
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VOCABULARY
Study these words to enhance your learning success in this section.
atmosphere
crisis
fastidious
aural
dominant foot
tone
Note: All vocabulary words in this LIFEPAC appear in boldface print the first time they are used. If you are unsure of the meaning when you are reading, study the definitions given.
SHORT STORY FUNDAMENTALS
Fiction involves relationships. What happens to the people in a story is less important
than their reaction to the events and the effect of this reaction on their relationships with
one another. Whether the event is a natural disaster or a move from the farm to a city, its
significance is in its effect on the people and their effect on one another.
A story, then, must have characters. Something must happen to the characters—they
cannot be exactly the same people at the beginning of the story as at the end of it. A character sketch is not a story. Since events do not occur in a vacuum and since the society in
which people live governs their lives to a remarkable extent, the story must have a background, or setting. This setting helps the reader to visualize the characters and their
actions.
The most abstract and probably the most misunderstood element of the short story is
theme. A theme is the concept or idea that underlies a story and gives it universal meaning. Theme is not synonymous with moral, however. A story may teach a lesson, as the
Biblical account of Abraham and Isaac, but most modern short stories do not. Their themes
are comments on life, not advice on how to live it.
➸
Not all short stories are fiction. Read the true story found in Genesis 22:1–9 and try to
discover the theme. Then complete the following activities.
1.1
a. What is the setting of the story? _______________________________________________________________
b. How much do you learn from the story about the physical appearance of the land?____________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.2
a. Who are the two main characters?______________________________________________________________
b. What do you know about them from the story (do not use any other Biblical passages as reference)? __________________________________________________________________________________________
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1.3
Number these incidents 1 through 7 to indicate their chronological order in the story.
a. __________ An angel appears to Abraham.
b. __________ Isaac asks where the ram is.
c. __________ God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
d. __________ Abraham sees a ram in the thicket.
e. __________ Abraham sets out with Isaac for Moriah.
f. __________ Abraham binds Isaac and lays him on the altar.
g. __________ Abraham makes an altar.
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1.4
Could the events of the plot have occurred in any other order? ___________________________________
1.5
Describe the effects of the incident on Abraham. _________________________________________________
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1.6
Without telling what happened in the story, briefly state its essence or theme. __________________
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The following short story, “Three Small Miracles,” explores the relationships of three
characters: a teenage girl, her older brother, and their younger sister. The young people
have been left alone in their home while their parents attend a church conference in another town. The protagonist, Kelly, has been given an assignment she does not want to complete. The situation is ordinary enough, but it tests Kelly’s sense of responsibility, her honesty, and her love for her family.
Three Small Miracles
Beyond the yellow ruffled curtains Kelly could see the bare branches of two elm
trees, thin black arms framing the seeming emptiness of the winter sky. If she
pulled the curtains closed, shutting out the bleakness, she would be trapped again
in the too familiar, brightly colored bedroom, its floral bedspread and dainty white
dressing table straight out of a mail-order catalogue.
She closed her eyes and lay back on her bed. The view out her window was of no
more use to her than the English book that lay face down on her desk. Nothing was
going to inspire her to write a poem. Nothing. Her parents had chosen this weekend,
of all weekends, to leave her and Robbie in charge of the house. True, he and Evelyn
were leaving her alone, but the room was almost too quiet. She might as well be
downstairs with the blaring radio and the barking dog. She could get as much
accomplished.
Sighing, she got up from the bed. All right, she thought, frowning at her reflection
in the dressing table mirror. It’s your own fault. What are you going to do about it?
She picked up a brush, furiously snapping the brush through her auburn hair
until it stood out from her head in a frizzy, electric-charged cloud.
“Ludicrous,” she said, addressing her reflection. “A comic spectacle.”
“Who are you talking to?”
Kelly jumped, startled, and turned around. Her nine-year-old sister, Evelyn, was
standing in the doorway.
“Did you ever hear of knocking?” demanded Kelly, smoothing back the wild hair
with one hand and holding up the brush with the other.
Evelyn looked up at Kelly, her lower lip trembling and her eyes threatening tears.
“You usually let me come in.”
“I’m sorry,” Kelly said. “You just startled me, that’s all.”
“Oh.” Evelyn flounced over to the bed, sitting down on it and smiling as she
smoothed her dress. “Can I stay?”
“Why not? It won’t make any difference.”
“What do you mean? What are you trying to do?”
“Write a poem,” Kelly said. She looked at the little girl, sitting so primly in her
spotlessly clean dress, her white anklets neatly folded and unwrinkled. Evelyn had
been blessed with their mother’s smooth brown hair and blue eyes. The perfect child,
Kelly thought. If only she had an intellect to match her curiosity.
“Why?” asked Evelyn.
Kelly sighed, flopping the hairbrush onto the dressing table. It landed with a loud
clunk.
“Uhmmm,” Evelyn said, rubbing her right index finger against her left one and
raising her eyebrows.
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5
Kelly picked up the brush and set it carefully back into place. “It’s all right. It didn’t damage the paint.”
“Why are you writing a poem?” persisted Evelyn.
“Because it’s required,” Kelly said. “It’s my English assignment. It’s due tomorrow.
First period.”
“Oh,” Evelyn said.
Oh, Kelly thought. Yes, it’s that simple. Of course.
“I know a poem.” Evelyn said.
“A poem?”
“Yes. I don’t mean nursery rhymes and baby stuff. Robbie taught it to me.”
“That’s nice,” Kelly said. Robbie! she thought. Why hadn’t she realized it before?
He was a genius at English, and he had been in the same class only a year before.
He could help her if anyone could.
“Don’t you want to hear my poem?” asked Evelyn pathetically.
Kelly glanced at the clock, an absurd little French provincial miniature with red
rosette trim and pedestal legs. It read seven forty-two: she had forgotten to wind it
again. “What time is it?” she asked.
With a brisk movement like a soldier’s salute Evelyn produced the wristwatch
that she had received for Christmas the year before and had not once misplaced or
forgotten to wind. “Twelve fourteen,” she announced.
“No wonder I’m hungry,” Kelly said. “Let’s go downstairs.”
“But the poem—”
“Oh, all right. Let’s hear it.”
Evelyn beamed and stood up, her posture perfect and her hands behind her back,
looking, Kelly thought, like Amy in Little Women. She suppressed a smile.
Evelyn began a monotone recitation. “‘The little toy dog is covered with dust—”’
“‘—but sturdy and staunch he stands,”’ interrupted Kelly. “Eugene Field.”
“How did you know?”
“I just knew.”
“But it’s a beautiful poem.”
“Heart-rending,” Kelly said tartly. She felt a stab of remorse and took her sister’s
hand, smiling.
Evelyn snatched her hand away. “I’m not six.”
“Of course not,” Kelly said. “Evie, I’m sorry. I’ll listen to your poem.”
“You don’t have to. You have more important things to do.” Evelyn left, closing the
door behind her. Kelly heard the soft thud of another door closing. Evelyn had gone
to her room.
Kelly picked up her English book and smoothed the pages, debating whether to
reread the chapter on prosody, and decided to talk to Robbie instead. She went
downstairs.
Robbie, seventeen and smug in his temporary role as head of the household,
smiled up at her from his easy chair. His completed calculus assignment lay on a
table beside him. “Did you decide to make lunch?” he asked.
“Did I what?”
“Decide to make lunch,” repeated Robbie. “It is noon, you know. Past noon, in fact.”
“I’ll make a can of soup.”
“Why don’t you make some sandwiches to go with it?”
“On one condition,” Kelly said.
“What condition?”
“That you help me with my homework.”
“What? Help you? You’re supposed to be an honor student.”
Kelly looked down at the calculus assignment, avoiding her brother’s eyes. “I have
to write a poem. “
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“You don’t have to,” Robbie said. “If you can’t, you can’t. I’m certainly not going to
write it for you.”
“I’m not asking you to. I just thought you might give me a little advice. An idea to
work with or something.”
“Don’t you remember what the teacher told you?”
“No. I only remember one thing she said.”
“Which was?”
“‘Let your subconscious emotions spill out onto the paper.”’
Robbie laughed. “For a teacher like that you want to produce a poem?”
“It’s an assignment. I have to do it.”
“One F isn’t going to spoil your average.”
“That’s not the point. I’ll know I failed.”
“Pride,” Robbie said, smiling angelically, “is a mortal sin.”
“You’re so perfect!” Kelly turned away abruptly, nearly tripping over Orphan, the
dog, as she stormed out of the room. At the other end of the house, the phone began
ringing furiously. Robbie leaned back in his chair, making no move to answer the
phone, and Evelyn was nowhere in sight.
Kelly made a breathless rush to the kitchen but picked up the receiver just as the
party at the other end hung up. “Oh, I give up,” muttered Kelly, slamming down the
receiver. She considered kicking the table leg but thought better of it and hugged
Orphan instead, stroking him and burying her face in his orange fur. We’re a pair of
Orphan Annies, she thought. The phone rang again and she got up to answer it.
“Hamilton residence,” she said. “No, I’m sorry, they’re out at the moment.... No, sir,
a church conference.... Yes, I’ll take a message.” She put down the telephone and
found a pencil and paper, hastily scratching a message. “Yes, sir, I’ll tell him....
Thank you.... Goodbye.” She hung up.
“Who was that?” asked Robbie as she re-entered the family room.
She tossed him the notepad. “Someone for Dad from the office. Read it yourself.”
“I would if I could decipher it.” Robbie said. “Why don’t you turn in that note and
claim it’s a poem? Your teacher will never know the difference.”
Kelly glared. “Why don’t you go play football?”
“Can’t,” Robbie said. “I’m babysitting. Speaking of babies, where’s Evelyn?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I hurt her feelings. She’s probably still up there pouting.”
“I’ll go check on her,” Robbie said.
“Thanks.” Kelly returned to the kitchen, deciding to reward Robbie’s unexpected
magnanimity by making him tuna sandwiches instead of peanut butter. The telephone rang again and she picked it up.
“Hamil—oh, hello, Leah. Did you try to call earlier? ... I thought so.... No, not
tonight. It’s Sunday. My parents wouldn’t approve. Besides, I still have that poem to
write.... You have? Let me hear it.... That’s priceless! I love it. I wish I had your gift....
No. I appreciate your generosity, but you know I can’t do that. It’s no better than
copying Keats like Sally Jacobs said she was going to do.... Really, Leah. I’d rather
have the F. Okay. See you tomorrow.... Oh, that would be great. If you’re with me
when I tell them they won’t be so upset.... Thanks again. See you.... Bye.”
“Good show,” Robbie said as she turned around. “Now let’s see you handle this as
well.” He handed her a piece of her own stationery bearing a message carefully written in a round, childish hand. “Dear Kelly,” the note read. “I have decided to run
away sense I am to much trouble. I’ve gone to find Mommy and Daddy. Love Evelyn.”
“Oh, no,” Kelly said, looking wildly from the note to her brother and back again.
“She can’t. She’ll freeze. Did she take her coat? What’s missing? How did she get
out?”
“Through the window,” Robbie said. “She tied her sheets together. I don’t know if
she took a coat, but her closet was open, so I guess she did.”
“She doesn’t keep her coat in her room. It would be in the coat closet.” Kelly ran
upstairs, throwing open a hall closet and grabbing three coats. She tossed one to
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Robbie. “Here. Let’s go. You go left and I’ll go right. No, wait. The yard is muddy. I’ll
check it first for tracks.”
She pulled on her coat, grabbing Evelyn’s from where it had fallen on the floor,
and ran outside, leaving the door open for Robbie. The tracks led clearly northward.
Half-running, she followed them up the sidewalk until she reached the street corner. The street had been cleaned and she could see no more tracks in any direction.
She strained her eyes to see footprints on the other sidewalks but there were none.
She must have gone straight, Kelly thought. She’s not tricky. She won’t be thinking at all about where she’s going. She’ll be walking head down, with tears on her
face. Oh, God, please help her. Please forgive me....
She felt a touch on her shoulder and turned around. Robbie had come up behind
her. His hand slipped into hers and they walked in silence, looking both directions
for the small, familiar figure. They had gone about three blocks when they spotted
her huddled beneath a leafless oak. Evelyn did not move as they ran toward her.
Kelly knelt beside her, smoothing her hair from her face. “Evie!”
Evelyn blinked and slipped wordlessly into Kelly’s arms. “Thank God!” Kelly
whispered. “Oh, thank you, Lord, Thank you!”
“Here,” Robbie said, snatching the little coat from Kelly’s arm. “Put this on. You’re
absolutely blue.”
He helped Evelyn put on the coat, buttoning it for her because her fingers were
too stiff. “There,” he said, smiling. “Good as new.”
Evelyn looked up at him eagerly. “Could we have a pizza?”
“I’ll tell you what,” Robbie said. “I’ll take you to a nice, warm pizza parlor and we’ll
leave Kelly all by herself so she can write her poem.”
“No,” Kelly said. “I’ll think of a poem, and if I don’t, it doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter,” Robbie said. “I was wrong.”
Kelly smiled. The poem was forming in her mind. “I’ll call it ‘Three Small
Miracles,”’ she said, and laughed at her brother’s blank expression.
by Carol L. Thoma
➸
Answer these questions.
1.7
a. How old is Kelly?_______________________________________________________________________________
b. How do you know? _____________________________________________________________________________
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1.8
a. Who is Leah?___________________________________________________________________________________
b. What is her role in the story? __________________________________________________________________
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1.9
What are the three small miracles? _______________________________________________________________
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Plot. A plot is the action framework of a story, the “what happens.” The incidents that
form a plot are not random; they must fit together and follow one another in a logical order,
leading to a conclusion that seems inevitable to the reader. The situation of the protagonist
is first stated and then complicated through internal conflict, external conflict, or both. The
tension increases until it reaches a crisis, or turning point, at which the protagonist is
forced to take action or to reach a decision. The climax, or high point, follows. The climax
results from the action taken during the crisis. Following the climax is the resolution or
denouement, the final outcome of the action.
The distinction among the three terms can be made clearly by a reader who understands the order in which they must occur: crisis, climax, denouement. Crisis involves an
action or a decision; climax reveals whether the protagonist’s effort will succeed; denouement ties up the loose ends of the plot.
In “Three Small Miracles” Kelly’s situation is revealed in the second paragraph: she has
been assigned to write a poem, and she has failed to produce one. Her problem is complicated by her parents’ absence, the noise downstairs, and her own attitude. Conflicts arise
between Kelly and both her sister and brother, but the primary conflict is internal—her
resentment and self-doubt conflict with her sense of duty and her pride. The pride in turn
conflicts with her love for her sister. This conflict of values precipitates the crisis of the
story.
➸
Complete these activities.
1.10
Outline the plot of “Three Small Miracles.” You may use Activity 1.3 as a model if you wish.
a. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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b. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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c. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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d. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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e. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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f. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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g. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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h. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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i. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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j. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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k. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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l. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
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1.11
At what point in the story does
a. the crisis occur?_________________________________________________________________________________
b. the climax occur? _______________________________________________________________________________
c. the denouement occur? __________________________________________________________________________
1.12
How might the story have been different if Kelly had talked to Leah before her sister came into
her room? _________________________________________________________________________________________
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1.13
Which do you think is more important, the action of the story or its effect upon Kelly? __________
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Setting. In stories revolving around a conflict between man and nature, setting plays
a particularly crucial role, but even a commonplace setting helps to establish the mood or
atmosphere of a story. Setting is like the stage set of a play, helping the reader to visualize the action of the characters. Setting also helps to shape both the action and the characters. How a person makes his living, how he solves his problems, and even what problems
he encounters depend to some extent upon his cultural background and the time and place
in which he lives.
Setting is more important to “Three Small Miracles” than it may seem upon a first reading. Even two hundred years ago girls were not expected to attend school. Upper class children would not have been left in the house alone; working-class teenagers would have spent
their time in factories or fields. Sundays were literally days of rest. Kelly’s story, then, could
not have taken place in any century but the twentieth.
Place is equally important. Although the town in which “Three Small Miracles” takes
place is unnamed, details of the setting suggest that the location is New England or perhaps the Midwestern United States. Except for the sketch of Kelly’s bedroom, the furnishings are left undescribed, but a reader familiar with two-story houses has little difficulty
envisioning either the furniture or the action. He may also have a picture of the house in
his mind—white frame with a little lawn and two elm trees in the front yard, perhaps with
a flower garden reduced to sticks and mud by the wintry weather.
Setting involves more than time and place. Family background is equally important as
a determiner of character traits. The values of Kelly’s parents, for example, the emphasis
they place on church activities, affect Kelly directly. They are part of the invisible background that helps to make the story credible and the characters seem real. Even the dog is
part of the setting, more a prop than a character. He adds to the confusion downstairs, but
more importantly he reveals the softer, more vulnerable part of Kelly’s nature. His whimsical name provides a hint that the family shares a sense of the ridiculous.
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➸
Answer these questions.
1.14
What details of the setting show that the story takes place during the twentieth century?
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1.15
What details emphasize the time of year? ________________________________________________________
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1.16
In what ways does the setting contribute to the atmosphere of the story? ________________________
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Characterization. Fiction is not life and the characters in a short story are not real
people, but they must seem real to the reader if he is to believe and to enjoy the story. To
make imaginary characters seem real, a writer gives them traits appropriate to their particular ages and temperaments.
The characters in “Three Small Miracles” are distinct individuals. Although she is only
nine, Evelyn is fastidious, calm, and well organized. She is babyish enough to pout, however, and she cannot spell. Her reaction to stress is that of a typical child: she runs away.
Kelly, on the other hand, functions best under stress; she copes with large problems but
flounders under small ones. She is intelligent but absentminded, somewhat untidy, and
more emotional than either her brother or her sister. Robbie shares characteristics with
both his sisters, but his attitude is uniquely his own.
All three characters are revealed through action and dialogue, but the reader is not
allowed to enter into the thoughts of the flat characters, Evelyn and Robbie. Kelly, on the
other hand, is a round character, fully developed, and the reader frequently knows what is
happening in her mind. Although Robbie is a flat character, he is dynamic; like Kelly, he is
changed by the events in the story. Evelyn, however, is static, and her character remains
unchanged.
➸
Answer these questions. Refer to the story as necessary.
1.17
What personality or character flaws do you find in Kelly? ________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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1.18
What are her character strengths and how are her strengths revealed? __________________________
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➸
1.19
Complete these activities.
Write a check mark beside the character traits that are applicable to Robbie and a zero beside
those that are not.
a. __________ hot-tempered
b. __________ intelligent
c.
__________ lazy
d. __________ considerate
e. __________ Christian
f.
__________ cheerful
g. __________ nonchalant
1.20
Using your answers to Activity 1.18 and anything else that you know about Robbie’s character,
try to explain his seemingly un-Christian indifference toward Kelly’s problem. __________________
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Theme. Every work of fiction is a commentary on humanity, and the central point that
the author makes in this commentary is his theme. The theme is seldom directly stated and
must be inferred by the reader from the elements of the story, in particular from the central conflict and the denouement.
Students frequently are required to state the theme of a story in a complete sentence.
The reason for this practice is that a sentence is less ambiguous than a word or phrase.
John Galsworthy’s short story “Quality” deals with the concept of quality, but the view of
neither the author nor the characters is inherent in that single word. By the same token, a
student who believes that the theme of “Three Small Miracles” is love has not specified
what type of love he is referring to, whether that love can be, or needs to be, requited or
even whether the author feels that love is all-important or secondary to something else.
A more precise and clearer statement of the theme can be given in a sentence. “Love is
more important and more enduring than day-to-day responsibilities” would be acceptable.
Another reader, of course, might have a different view of the theme, but most readers would
agree that the story centers around love and responsibility.
➸
Complete this activity.
1.21
Write your own version of the theme of “Three Small Miracles.”__________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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POETRY FUNDAMENTALS
The appearance of poetry on a page and its sound as it is read aloud distinguish it from
prose. Poetry reveals universal experience not through the actions of a character but
through selected images projected by the poet into the reader’s mind. Fiction requires a
series of incidents to arrive at a climax; but poetry can be based on a single experience,
physical or mental, real or imagined. Neither action nor dialogue is required.
Although poetry, like fiction, must have a theme the other elements of short story writing are not requisites of poetry. Plot, character, and setting are elements of many poems,
particularly ballads and epics, but none is essential to poetry.
The appeal of poetry is primarily emotional, not intellectual. A poet is not making a
point so much as sharing his view of the world or of one particular aspect of life. Robert
Burns might have had considerable difficulty in writing a short story about a louse crawling on a lady’s bonnet, but his poem on the subject has delighted many readers. The poem
succeeds because Burns knew how to make an image work for him by creating pictures in
the reader’s mind without diverting his attention from the sound of the words. The sound,
in turn, reinforces both the meaning and the tone of the poem.
“O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!”
Any good poet is aware as he writes of the literal meaning of his words, their connotations, the images they project, and their sound as they are read aloud. He increases the
power of his words through such figures of speech as simile, metaphor, irony, hyperbole, and
metonymy. In addition, he combines his chosen words with sound effects such as alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia, and fits the whole into a framework of meter and rhyme
to produce the desired emotional reaction.
13
“For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.
➸
Read the poem and answer the questions.
Ars Poetica
A poem should be palpable and mute
As a globed fruit,
Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb,
Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown—
A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.
A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs,
Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,
Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
Memory by memory the mind–
A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.
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A poem should be equal to:
Not true.
For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.
For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea–
A poem should not mean
But be.1
1.22
Define the following terms:
a. palpable _______________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
b. globed _________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.23
What is a casement?_______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.24
Why might a casement ledge be “sleeve-worn”? ___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.25
What is meant by the following?
a. “a poem should be wordless as the flight of birds”? ___________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
b. “dumb as old medallions to the thumb”? ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.26
What is the meaning of the title, “Ars Poetica”?___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.27
What is the theme of the poem?___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Imagery. Emotions are a response to sensory experience. To elicit a desired emotional
response from a reader, a poet must re-create a sensory experience with words. To do this
re-creation he uses concrete images that can be imagined by the reader. Anything that can
be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or felt is a potential poetic image.
An examination of the book of Psalms, one of several books of poetry in the Bible, shows
that it is filled with images, particularly those associated with war and with nature. As in
much good poetry, the vividness of the images is enhanced through the frequent use of figurative language or figures of speech.
1 “Ars Poetica” by Archibald MacLeish reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company from New & Collected Poems 1917-1976 Copyright © 1976 by
Archibald MacLeish.
15
Compare the familiar Twenty-Third Psalm with this fragment of a poem by
Wordsworth:
The Rainbow comes and goes,
And lovely is the Rose,
The Moon doth with delight
Look round her when the heavens are bare,
Waters on a starry night
Are beautiful and fair.
The Wordsworth poem, although it involves images not far removed from the “still
waters” and “green pastures” of the Psalm, fails to generate a similar emotional response.
Perhaps the comparison is unfair, if we consider that David was inspired by God in his poetry and that his psalm was a hymn of praise. At least part of the difference, however, is due
to competence. Wordsworth’s lines are, for the most part, meant to be taken literally; the
fragment contains only one figure of speech. The Psalm, by contrast, is composed almost
entirely of figurative language. It cannot be taken literally. Any reader knows that the
Psalmist was not a sheep. The reader also sees, however, the points of comparison between
the man and the sheep: the Lord takes care of His people as a shepherd takes care of his
flock.
The two most common figures of speech, simile, and metaphor, are based upon the comparison of two unlike things to emphasize some common characteristic. A simile uses a
term of comparison, usually like or as, but a metaphor directly states that one thing is
another. “The Lord is my shepherd” is a metaphor, and the first four verses of the Psalm are
an extension of that metaphor. The rod and staff of verse four, for example, support the
shepherd image.
The figure of speech in the Wordsworth fragment is a different type. In the lines, “the
moon doth with delight / look round her when the heavens are bare,” the moon is presented as a living thing with the ability to see and to feel an emotion, delight. This technique,
personification, is fairly common, particularly in secular poetry.
A related figure of speech is apostrophe used when something other than God or a living person is addressed. The book of Isaiah, which is not poetry but which contains many
figures of speech, is filled with apostrophes: to the heavens, to the mountains, to Zion, to
the people of Israel. Isaiah’s speeches to Jacob are also apostrophes. Other examples of
apostrophe are William Blake’s line, “Tiger! Tiger! burning bright,” and Edmund Waller’s
“Go, lovely Rose.”
Irony is another type of figurative language, less common in the Bible than elsewhere.
Because irony means the opposite of what it says, it must be detected if a reader is to
understand a poem. Sometimes an entire poem is ironic; a poet pretends to believe something in order to expose the pretended belief to ridicule.
Other forms of irony include paradox, a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true, at least in terms of the poem; hyperbole, or overstatement, in which the truth is
greatly exaggerated; and understatement, which means more than it says.
Metonymy is figurative language of another sort. Relying on associations, it substitutes
something closely related for the thing actually meant. Thus the phrase “from cradle to
grave” actually means “from birth to death.” A particular type of metonymy, synechdoche,
associates part of a thing with the whole or the whole with a part. An example is the familiar expression, “she gave her hand (in marriage).”
16
➸
Look up the following references in your Bible. Copy each verse and list any figures of
speech.
1.28
Psalm 115:6
a. verse __________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.29
b. figures of speech_______________________________________________________________________________
Psalm 103:15
a. verse __________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.30
b. figures of speech_______________________________________________________________________________
Psalm 91:4
a. verse __________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.31
b. figures of speech_______________________________________________________________________________
Psalm 58:4
a. verse __________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.32
b. figures of speech_______________________________________________________________________________
Psalm 91:6
a. verse __________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
b. figures of speech_______________________________________________________________________________
Sound patterns. Imagery appeals to all the senses, particularly to sight, as word pictures are transferred from the mind of the poet to the mind of the reader through the medium of words. The reader, however, does not have to rely entirely on his imagination to
appreciate poetry. Poetry is meant to be read aloud, and its sound patterns enhance the
imagery and reinforce both the tone and the atmosphere of the poem. Often a word or
phrase is in itself a form of aural imagery. In addition, sound patterns can tie related ideas
or images to one another or can emphasize significant ideas through repetition. Repeated
sound patterns distinguish poetry from prose. These patterns and their appropriateness to
theme, imagery, atmosphere, and tone make good poetry memorable.
The sound patterns most commonly associated with poetry are meter and rhyme.
Neither meter nor rhyme is essential, however, and free verse is not prose despite the lack
of these peculiarly poetic elements.
The rhythm of metered poetry is predictable and consistent, measurable in units called
feet. A foot in English poetry usually consists of one stressed, or accented, syllable and one
or more unaccented syllables. A poet is not confined to the use of his dominant foot; he
can, and does alter his meter occasionally for emphasis or simply to avoid monotony.
The most common feet in English poetry are the iamb, the trochee, the anapest, and the
dactyl. A two-syllable foot accented on the second syllable is an iamb. The word ă lárm, for
example, is a natural iamb. The reverse of an iamb is a trochee. An example is pí oŭs, a twosyllable word accented on the first rather than the second syllable. Like iambs and
17
trochees, anapests and dactyls are mirror images. Each has three syllables, but the anapest
is accented on the final syllable and the dactyl on the first. The word sŭ pĕr séde is one of
the rare natural anapests in English. Natural dactyls, for example the word món ŭ mĕnt,
are much more common.
Of the four meters, the iamb is by far the most common in English poetry. Dactylic verse
is least used, either because it is associated with nursery rhymes and nonsense verses or
because its jiggling rhythm makes it unsuitable for serious poetry.
In addition to choosing an appropriate foot, a writer of metered verse must decide how
many feet to use per line. The following chart shows the line lengths most commonly used
in English poetry.
monometer
dimeter
trimeter
tetrameter
pentameter
hexameter
heptameter
octameter
one foot
two feet
three feet
four feet
five feet
six feet
seven feet
eight feet
Both the very short lines and the very long ones are rare. The majority of poems are
written in pentameter or tetrameter, but trimeter is also fairly common. Poets frequently
alternate line lengths, for example, pentameter and trimeter.
Study the following examples to become more familiar with common metrical combinations.
iambic trimeter:
iambic pentameter:
trochaic tetrameter:
anapestic tetrameter:
dactylic dimeter:
ŏf prán / cĭng pó / ĕt ry
Thăt thén / I˘ scórn / tŏ chánge / my̆ státe / wĭth kings
Once ŭ / pón ă / míd nĭght / dréar y
Nŏt ă créa / tŭre wăs stír / rin̆g n̆ot é / vĕn ă móuse
híg glĕ dy̆ / píg glĕ dy̆
➸
Complete this activity.
1.33
Label each line according to meter and line length.
a. The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold ____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
b. So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went_________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
c. Time will not be ours forever__________________________________________________________________
Metered poetry is frequently, but not always, rhymed. Rhymes are of two types, true
rhyme and slant rhyme. The correspondence of final sounds is exact in true rhyme but not
in slant rhyme. Balloon and lagoon are true rhymes. Balloon and gallon, despite the shared
l sound, are not. The vowel sound of the final syllable and the position of the stressed syllable prevent the rhyme from being exact.
Rhyme occurs most frequently at the ends of lines, although words within a line may
rhyme. Other techniques used to emphasize similar concepts through similar sounds are
alliteration, assonance, and consonance. All three techniques are based on a correspondence
of sound. Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds or consonant sounds in
18
accented syllables, the m’s in MacLeish’s line, “memory by memory the mind” illustrate
alliteration. Alliteration also possible with initial vowel sounds. Assonance is a repetition
of vowel sounds that are followed by different consonants; the words “cat” and “cap” illustrate assonance. Consonance is the repetition of the final consonant sounds of accented syllables; the vowels that precede the consonants differ. The use of assonance and/or consonance at the end of lines is usually what distinguishes slant rhyme from true rhyme.
Another sound effect is onomatopoeia, imagery for the ear. A word that imitates a
sound, such as buzz or clang or whisper, is onomatopoeic.
Poets use repeated rhythm patterns to unify a free verse poem. Repetition of key words
and phrases also produces a unified effect and at the same time emphasizes the words.
Similarly a poet may repeat a pattern with different words, as MacLeish did with “memory by memory” and “twig by twig.”
➸
Read the poem and complete the activities.
The Donkey
When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.
With monstrous head and sickening cry
An ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four-footed things.
19
The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me; I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.
Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet;
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.2
G.K. Chersterton
1.34
What sound effect is used in Line one? ___________________________________________________________
1.35
Name two words that illustrate true rhyme within a line. ________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.36
In the last stanza, what word might be considered an example of onomatopoeia? ________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
➸
1.37
Complete this activity.
On the line before each set of end-of-line rhymes, write S if the rhyme is slant rhyme; write T if
the rhyme is true rhyme. On the line after each set of end rhymes, write the letter of the technique
that best matches the set. A letter may be used only once.
a. __________
“took-look”
__________
a. assonance
b. __________
“struts-frets”
__________
b. consonance
c. __________
“like-night”
__________
c. both assonance and consonance
d. __________
“look-luck”
__________
d. neither assonance nor consonance
e. both alliteration and consonance
Review the material in this section in preparation for the Self Test. The Self Test will check
your mastery of this particular section. The items missed on this Self Test will indicate specific
areas where restudy is needed for mastery.
2 G.K. Chesterton’s “The Donkey” from Stories, Essays, and Poems. An Everyman’s Library Edition. Reprinted by permission of the publisher Dent & Sons and
Miss D. Collins.
20
SELF TEST 1
Answer true or false (each answer, 1 point).
1.01
_________________ The events in a short story follow a natural, logical order.
1.02
_________________ The plot and setting of a story are less important in themselves than in their
effect upon the characters.
1.03
_________________ In the short story, “Three Small Miracles,’’ Kelly demonstrated a lack of
responsibility.
1.04
_________________ A flat character is one to whom nothing significant happens.
1.05
_________________ Crisis is synonymous with conflict.
Match these items (each answer, 2 points).
1.06
___________
plot
a. background
1.07
___________
denouement
b. requires decisive action
1.08
___________
theme
c. main character
1.09
___________
characterizations
d. underlying concept
1.010 ___________
crisis
e. action framework
1.011 ___________
climax
f. internal conflict
1.012 ___________
setting
g. imaginary people made realistic
1.013 ___________
protagonist
h. resolution
i. high point of action
Write the letter of the correct answer on each line (each answer, 2 points).
1.014 In “Three Small Miracles,” the character Evelyn is ___________ .
a. flat and dynamic
b. round and dynamic
c. round and static
d. flat and static
1.015 The climax of “Three Small Miracles” occurs when ___________ .
a. Kelly’s parents left for the weekend
b. Kelly thought of a poem
c. Kelly and Robbie found Evelyn
d. Evelyn ran away
1.016 Poetry and fiction have in common the element of ___________ .
a. theme
b. plot
c. characterization
d. setting
Discuss these terms (this answer, 5 points).
1.017 Distinguish between internal conflict and external conflict._______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
21
Define these terms (each answer, 4 points).
1.018 flat character______________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.019 dynamic character ________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
1.020 atmosphere________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Complete these statements (each answer, 3 points).
1.021 The appeal of poetry is primarily _________________________________________________________________ .
1.022 Poetry reveals universal experience through _______________________________________ projected into
the reader’s mind.
1.023 Incomplete or imperfect rhyme is called __________________________________________________________ .
1.024 The triple meters are a. _________________________________ and b. _________________________________ .
1.025 A line of four feet is called ________________________________________________________________________ .
Match these items (each answer, 2 points).
1.026 ____________
metonymy
a.
God is our refuge and our strength.
1.027 ____________
hyperbole
b.
Put on thy strength, O Zion.
1.028 ____________
simile
c.
Thy dead men shall live.
1.029 ____________
paradox
d.
Hate lifted up his heel.
1.030 ____________
metaphor
e.
This thy statue is like a palm tree.
1.031 ____________
apostrophe
f.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
1.032 ____________
personification
g.
He hath broken me asunder.
h.
The bread of the land.
Write the letter of the correct answer on each line (each answer, 2 points).
1.033 A repeated initial sound is the basis of ___________ .
a. assonance
b. alliteration
c. consonance
d. onomatopoeia
1.034 Murmur, tweet, and whistle are examples of ___________ .
a. anapestic meter
b. onomatopoeia
c. alliteration
d. personification
1.035 “Ars Poetica” was written by ___________ .
a. Robert Burns
b. G.K. Chesterton
c. Archibald MacLeish
d. William Wordsworth
1.036 “When fishes flew” is an example of ___________ .
a. hyperbole
b. simile
c. understatement
d. alliteration
67
Score
84
Adult Check
_______________
___________________
Initial
22
Date