Creative Writing Poetry Book:
Due ______________________
Directions:
Complete all poetry assignments to make a poetry book. Draw or include and cite
an illustration for each type of poem and make and design a cover page. Also
include a prologue that ties your poems together in a coherent manner. Tell the
readers why these poems are important to you. Make the publishing concept
match the theme of your poems.
1. Write Two “Five W’s” Poems: A “Five W’s” poem is a five-line non-rhyming poem
designed to answer the following questions:
Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Structure:
Line
Line
Line
Line
Line
1
2
3
4
5
–
–
–
–
–
Who or what is the poem about?
What is he/she/it doing?
When does this action take place?
Where does it take place?
Why does it take place?
Example: “The ducks
Glide silently
From morning ‘til night
Across the still pond
Watching their reflections.”
2. Write Six Seasonal Haiku: A haiku is a three-line, unrhymed Japanese poem with
lines of five, seven, and five syllables, respectively.
Poems of this type are usually light and delicate in feeling and are often written
about nature.
Structure: Line 1 – Five Syllables
Line 2 – Seven Syllables
Line 3 – Five Syllables
Examples: “Tiny seed is droppedTender shoots burst from within.
Green arms reach skyward.”
“A trace of color,
Lovely flower’s end is near
Faded blossoms fall.”
3. Write One Quinzaine: The English word “quinzaine” comes from the
French word “quinze,” meaning fifteen. A quinzaine is an unrhymed verse of fifteen
syllables. These syllables are distributed among three lines so that there are seven
syllables in the first line, five in the second line, and three in the third line. The first
line makes a statement. The next two lines ask a question relating to that
statement.
Structure: Line 1 – Seven Syllables
Line 2 – Five Syllables
Line 3 – Three Syllables
Examples:
“Birds fly beneath darkened clouds.
“Snow’s white blanket covers all.
Do they sense the storm?
Will Spring ever break
Approaching?”
Winter’s hold?”
* Ideas taken from
Virtual Prescriptive Learning, http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/31-lyric-poetry.htm and
http://www.poemofquotes.com/articles/elements-of-poetry.php
4. Write Two Acrostic Poems: An acrostic is a piece of poetry in which sets of letters
taken in order form a work or phrase. An acrostic poem is a short verse in which
each letter of the title is used as the initial letter for one line. In a poem of this
kind, the lines need not rhyme.
One of the acrostic poems should be with your name. The other acrostic poem
should be with your favorite sport or hobby.
Example: Swimming
S Splashing
W Water
I In
M My
M Mouth
I Is
N No
G Gulp…Fun!
5. Write One Cinquain: A cinquain is a simple, five-line verse that follows a specific
pattern.
Structure:
Line
Line
1).
Line
Line
Line
1 – One word of two syllables (usually a noun that names the subject).
2 – Four syllables (often two two-syllable adjectives describing the noun in line
3 – Six syllables (often three ‘ing’ words also describing the noun in line 1).
4 – Eight syllables (a phrase or sentence about the noun in line 1).
5 – Two syllables (a word or two that rename the noun in line 1).
Example:
“Earthworm –
Wiggle, slimy,
Creeping, slinking, searching –
Slowpoke!”
6. Write One Diamante: The French word “diamant” means “diamond.”
The French word “diamante” means “set with diamonds or other sparkling decoration.” A
diamante is a poem written in the shape of a diamond. Thus, it progresses from a short
opening line through lines of increasing length to a single long line and back to a short line.
This verse form has several recognized variations.
Structure: Line 1 – Your first name.
Line 2 – Two adjectives that describe you.
Line 3 – Three verbs that tell what you can do.
Line 4 – Four adjectives that tell how you act or feel.
Line 5 – Your name again or your nickname
Example: “Sarah
Curious, athletic
Explore, dance, learn
Confident, easy-going, good-humored, optimistic
Sarah!”
* Ideas taken from
Virtual Prescriptive Learning, http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/31-lyric-poetry.htm and
http://www.poemofquotes.com/articles/elements-of-poetry.php
7. Write a Second Diamante. The most common form of diamante is the seven-line
version. This form is written about two contrasting or opposite subjects and makes
a comparison between them by moving from one two the other.
Structure: Line 1 – One noun that names the first subject of the diamante.
Line 2 – Two adjectives that describe the first subject.
Line 3 – Three ‘ing’ words that are related to the first subject.
Line 4 – Four nouns, the first two related to the first subject named in line 1 and
the second two related to the second subject named in line 7.
Line 5 – Three –ing words that are related to the second subject.
Line 6 – Two adjectives that describe the second subject.
Line 7 – One noun that names the second subject of the diamante.
Example: “Egg
Tiny, blue
Rocking, cracking, exploding
Nest, shell, beak, foot
Squawking, grazing, shivering
Wide-eyed, feathery
Bird.”
8. Write Two Who’s Who Clerihews. The clerihew gets its name from Edmond Clerihew
Bendley (1875-1956), the English writer of detective stories who originated this verse form.
A clerihew is a comical four line poem about a person. This mini-biography consists of two
rhyming couplets, and the first line ends with the person’s name .
Example:
“ “I’m quite surprised,” said Henry Ford,
My greatest feat has been ignored!
The car’s not a big deal, clever man that I am.
I have invented the traffic jam!” ”
9. Your Words Speak to Me. Pick an existing poem or song lyric. Include the
words and attribute them to their author. Write at least one paragraph explaining
why these words have touched your life.
10. Narrative Poetry. Narratives tell a story. Make sure the poem that you write
has all the elements of a plot diagram. Don’t worry about rhyming or meter – tell a
story with the words.
11. Using the Elements. Write a minimum of 3 poems including among them at
least 5 of the following elements. Title each poem and write which elements you
are including.
Alliteration - Two or more words which have the same initial sound.
Assonance - A partial rhyme which has the same internal vowel sounds amongst different words.
Metaphor - A comparison which does not use the words like or as.
Onomatopoeia - Words that sound like their meaning. For example, buzz, moo, pow.
Repetitions - The repetition of the same word throughout the poem to emphasize significance.
Rhyme - The repetition of sounds within different words, either end sound, middle or beginning.
* Ideas taken from
Virtual Prescriptive Learning, http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/31-lyric-poetry.htm and
http://www.poemofquotes.com/articles/elements-of-poetry.php
Rhythm - The flow of words within each meter and stanza.
Simile - A comparison using the words like or as.
Symbol - Something that represents something else through association, resemblance or
convention
Theme - The message, point of view and idea of the poem.
12. A Look at Structure. Write at least one poem focusing on one of the
following poetic structures as described by Madhavi Ghare.
Ballad: This is an old style of writing poetry, which was used to tell stories. A ballad usually has stanzas
made up of either seven or eight or ten lines, and ends with a short four or five line stanza. Each stanza
ends with the same line, which is called ‘a refrain’.
Couplet: Perhaps the most popular type of poetry used, the couplet has stanzas made up of two lines
which rhyme with each other.
Quatrain: This kind of poem has four lines in a stanza, of which the second and fourth lines rhyme with
each other and have a similar syllable structure.
Cinquain: This is another unique type of poetry style. As the name suggests, it is made up of five lines.
The first line is just one word, which is often the title of the poem. The second line has two words which
describe the first line. The third line has three words, and is mostly the action part of the poem. The
fourth line is four words describing the feelings. And the fifth line, again, has just one word which is the
title of the poem.
Iambic Pentameter: This is a very complicated style of writing poetry, but was often used by classical
poets. This style uses the syllable stresses to create the musical sound. There is one short sounding
syllable followed by one long sounding syllable, at the end of each of the five stanzas in a row.
Sonnet: This type of poem contains fourteen lines and follows conventional structures of rhyme.
Free Verse: This is a method of writing poetry, which does not essentially follow any structure or style.
There is no fixed meter and no structure regarding rhyme and lines in each stanza. This kind of poetry is
quite popular with modern poets.
Epic: This poem is usually a long and descriptive one which tells a story. Epics usually are longer than
most poems and may even take up a book. Example: Homer’s ‘Iliad’.
Limerick: This is a very witty and often vulgar kind of a poem, which is quite short. This poem has five
lines in a stanza. The first, second and fifth line have the same metrical structure and they rhyme with
each other. They contain seven to ten syllables each. The second and fourth lines have the same
metrical structure and rhyme with each other. These contain five to seven syllables.
13. One Lyric Poem. Lyric Poetry consists of a poem that expresses the
thoughts and feelings of the poet. The term lyric is now commonly referred
to as the words to a song. Lyric poetry does not tell a story which portrays
characters and actions. The lyric poet addresses the reader directly,
portraying his or her own feeling, state of mind, and perceptions.
* Ideas taken from
Virtual Prescriptive Learning, http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/31-lyric-poetry.htm and
http://www.poemofquotes.com/articles/elements-of-poetry.php