Poetry Home Study Course
Study Poetry Writing by Distance Learning
Learn to understand, critique and write poetry.
Develop your ability to write and understand the different types of poetry.
This course provides those interested in poetry with an introductory course into the different elements of poetry and how to write it.
In bringing forth the poet inside
there is no need to stem the tide
This course has a style for me and you
From sonnets to odes and even haiku
Enrol today and find your flavour
Do your creative self a favour Kate Gibson
Whatever you write has sound. People hear your words in their heads, and so the sounds you create can draw people's attention to your message. Poets use a range of musical and figurative devices to achieve their effects. Some of these effects relate to the rhythm and metre of the words. The study of rhythm, stress, and pitch in speech is called prosody. In poetry, the meter (or metre) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse.
The process by which we create a poem may be more important than the actual poem we create. .
Are we born with creativity or is it something that we can teach and develop? In this lesson, we are going to encourage you to think about poetry and the ways in which you write. So this lesson will consist of a string of exercises that will encourage you to think about language, and how you use it. The way you use language in poetry is obviously different to the way that you talk. When talking, just like writing a poem, you use a wide vocabulary, but when writing poetry we tend to use more descriptive and emotive language.
"Stay young by taking inspiration from the young in spirit who remained creatively active all their lives: Goethe completing Faust at 80; Titian painting masterpieces at 98; Toscanini conducting at 85; Justice Holmes writing Supreme Court decisions at 90; Edison busy in his laboratory at 84; and Benjamin Franklin helping to frame the American Constitution at 80."
Author Unknown
Course Duration: 100 hours
Course Structure:
There are 9 lessons in this course -
Lesson 1 – Introduction, Nature and Scope of Poetry, Brief description of the many different types of poetry, Poetic Devices (Rhyme, Assonance, Alliteration, Personification, Onomatopoeia, Imagery, Symbolism, Similie, Metaphor), Styles that tell a Story (Monody, Ballad, Epitaph), Classic Styles (Sonnet, Ode, Haiku), Monorhyme, Trick Poems (Limerick, Tongue Twister, Shape Poem, Palindrome), Styles classified according to Arrangement of Lines (Quatrain Style, Pantoum, Free Verse, Villanelle, Clerihew, Damante, Acrostic Style), Keeping a Notebook, Editing, Terminology.
Lesson 2 – The Work of Other Poets – Shakespeare, Kendall, Betjeman, Angelou, Shelley, Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe.
Lesson 3 – Encourage your Creativity – Exploring Creativity, Understanding your Own Creativity.
Lesson 4 – Developing Different Styles of Poetry A – Some classic styles – Ode, Sonnet, Italian Sonnet, Haiku, Writing Haiku.
Lesson 5 – Developing Differerent Styles of Poetry B – Following the Rules, Quatrain, Pantoum, Acrostic, 21st Century Visual Poetry.
Lesson 6 – Developing Different Styles of Poetry C – Poetry for Story Telling, Developing a Story in Poetry, Planning a Story, Developing your Voice, Ambience, Ending a Story, Epitaph Style, Monody.
Lesson 7 – Developing Different Styles of Poetry D – Styles for Fun and Trickery – Funny Poems, Tongue Twisters, Limericks.
Lesson 8 – Getting Your Work Published – How and Where. Creative Writing Resources, Other Industry Resources, How and Where to Get Published, Self Publishing, Vanity Publishing.
Lesson 9 – The Next Phase – How To Continue to Improve.
What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?
This is an individual module course. The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study.
If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it.
If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course.
If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments.
There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.
Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.
You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.
You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.
What are the Different Types of Poetry?
There are a number of standard styles or formats which poems tend to follow. These include:
Poems Focussed on Telling a Story
Ballad Style
This is a poem that tells a story; which is constructed as a series of stanzas. Each stanza would typically be two or four lines and usually a refrain. Balads often tell stories that are derived from folk lore or historical events.
Monody
This is a poem that laments the death (or cessation of existence) of a person, animal or thing.
Epitaph Style
This is a short poem commemorating the life of a deceased person; usually on a tombstone.
Classic Styles
An Ode
This is a poem that praises or speaks highly of something, some place or someone.
Sonnet
A lyric poem of fourteen lines, which may follow any of a variety of different rhyming schemes. There are a variety of different types of sonnets (eg. Italian sonnet, Shakesperean Sonnet)
Haiku
This is a Japanese style that is made up of standardized numbers of syllables in each line; but where lines do not rhyme. It is also written of focus on nature.
Haiku (also called nature or seasonal haiku) is an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17 syllables in all. Haiku is usually written in the present tense and focuses on nature (seasons).
Monorhyme
This is where all the lines have the same rhyme
Fun & Trick Poems
Tongue Twister
These involve lines that are difficult to pronounce when you speak the line fast.
Limerick Style
This is characterised by humour, rhyme and often nonsense.
Shape Poetry
Lines are written in a way that represents the shape of what you are writing about
Eg. If your subject is a person, the poem is written so that the lines comprise the shape of a person
Palindrome
This is a poem where lines read the same whether read from start to finish or (backwards) from finish to start.
Poems classified according to how lines are constructed & arranged
Quatrain Style
Comprises block of four lines of verse that adhere to a specific rhyming pattern
Pantoum
A pantoum is a poem that joins together a series of quatrains.
Acrostic Style
This is poetry that is constructed in such a way that when the first letter of each line is taken, and those letters compiled together; they will spell one or more words. The words spelt are often the same as the title
Free Verse
Free Verse is irregular. Content is free of traditional rules -free from fixed meter or rhyme.
Villanelle
A Villanelle is a nineteen-line poem consisting of a very specific rhyming scheme (eg. ide, idi, idi, idi, idee).
More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses
Who are our tutors?
Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study. We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives. We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “The School” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.
Sample Course Notes
Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well. We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis. If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.
What learning method should I choose?
We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Enrolment” box above, then “Learning Methods.”
How Long will it take to complete the course?
This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing. We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.
Longer courses will obviously take longer. You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”
What Do Our Students think of us?
If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.
I don’t think this is the right course for me.
If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.
You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.
If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk
Recognition and Accreditation
For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.
Who is ACS Distance Education?
If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”
Why Choose to study with ACS?
- Service –We put the student first; tutors and administration
can be contacted 5 days a week, 50 weeks of the year, by phone or email. - We provide better Learning – we’ve been delivering distance
education for over 3 decades, and we understand how people learn by home study.
Our methods are unique, developed through trial and error always with our focus
squarely on helping you learn. - Up to Date –We are continually revising and updating
courses. We listen to our students feedback and we always improve the course if
a change is identified that will help significantly improve your learning. - More Choice –Graduates need a set of skills that will set
them apart and give them an advantage over competition in the world after
study. We have a wide variety of study choices, and give you lots of options to
choose different paths throughout a course. Doing this has meant an ACS
graduate is always different to other ACS graduates; and that difference has
made our graduates very successful. - No Short Cuts –You can’t take short cuts in learning; and
that is why our courses are often longer than what you find elsewhere. Sure,
anyone can study a short course, quickly sit an exam (while the information is
fresh) and pass; but if you want to really understand something and retain it,
that takes time. - More than just Learning Facts –We understand that success in
the workplace or business requires you to not only learn things, but also build
networks, understand the commercial world, be able to solve problems, communicate
with people, and have an attitude that will function in your chosen industry.
Our courses are designed to develop all of these things.
