Rock Pickle Publishing|Creative Writing Rhetoric

Rock Pickle Publishing

Creative Writing Rhetoric

Mastering rhetoric, the use of specialized symbols to communicate, is fundamental for succeeding in any discourse community because communication fails without a shared understanding of specific terms. Certain terms apply only to certain disciplines just as similar terms denote different meanings for different communities. Therefore, members of specific discourse communities must understand the rhetoric of their group for effective communication to occur. For example, iambic pentameter is a form of meter with five pairs of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable used primarily in poetry circles. If creative writers are unfamiliar with iambic pentameter, communication with other poets will fail. Also, the term contraction means a combining of two words to shorten such as shall not into shan't for the literary community ("Contraction" Creative). However, in the medical community, a contraction is the shortening of a muscle ("Contraction" Merriam). Personally, I hope my health care provider understands the latter definition as opposed to just the first.

I decided to become a writer as soon as I learned to read and write. Beginning creative writers must acquire a vocabulary of terms from alliteration to metaphor as well as understand and utilize the concepts. This comprehension is essential for beginning creative writers to further learn about the genre from more experienced writers. Without a mutual understanding of terms, communication is rendered ineffective. When I first considered the idea of a career in creative writing, I was aware of a specialized rhetoric used by the creative writing community but did not yet know the precise language. To begin with, I was unaware that writers starting in the creative writing genre must forget incorrect or narrow definitions previously learned. For example, I was taught that a simile compares two things using like or as and that a metaphor is a simile without using like or as. Appropriate for elementary school children because of their simplicity, these definitions are nonetheless incomplete. And, although these narrow meanings form the basis for the full definitions of simile and metaphor, advanced creative writers must know and understand the comprehensive definitions to fully participate in the creative writing discourse community.

On the contrary, defined by the creative writing community, similes and metaphors are more than just simple comparisons but figurative comparisons of two unlike things (Ernst). Unlike is the key word in this more thorough definition. "The sun is as hot as fire" is an example of an ineffective simile because sun, hot, and fire are too closely alike. "...but I don't want to be laid aside, like baggage to be called for when all is over" (Tolkien 35) is a simile because of the surprising association of being left behind to setting aside luggage until needed. The unlikely relationship of metaphors is implied without the use of like or as and may be simple or extended ("Metaphor"). "I feel under the weather" is an instance of a simple metaphor linking feeling ill to standing in nasty weather without further exploring the association. To give another example, Tolkien uses an extended metaphor throughout The Lord of the Rings epic novel by comprehensively comparing war to chess:

                              The board is set, and the pieces are moving. One piece that
                              I greatly desire to find is Faramir...But the enemy has the
                              move, and he is about to open his full game. And pawns are
                              likely to see as much of it as any... (Tolkien 18)

Although Tolkien could have explicitly written as a simple metaphor that war is a game of chess he chose to extend the metaphor to all aspects of chess and war. For example, "the board is set" stands for both sides being ready for the fight while "the pieces are moving" refers to armies moving about the battlefield. Returning to my point about the simple definition of metaphor as comparing two things without using like or as, Tolkien begins by equating war to chess. However, as I have learned through my participation in the creative writing community, Tolkien moves beyond this simple relationship into a figurative comparison of two unlike things: war and chess. Without this comprehension of specific creative writing rhetoric, I would neither understand nor be able to discuss the metaphor with other members of the creative writing discourse community.

Furthermore, although the aspect of grammar, specifically termed lexis and syntax, is relatively consistent among different branches of composition, exclusive terms apply only to specific genres. For example, when I first decided on a career in creative writing, I knew the community used a specialized rhetoric but was unacquainted with the specific terms. To expand on my naivety, I knew writers used the terms vocabulary and sentences but was unaware of the technical terms for these concepts. As soon as I began taking writing classes, specifically creative writing classes, I learned that lexis is vocabulary and syntax the arrangement of words into clauses and clauses into sentences. I also quickly learned the importance of the term prose. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, prose is a form of writing without emphasis on rhyme or meter ("Prose"). In other words, prose is the technical term for texts that are not poetry. Without this knowledge of terms specific to the creative writing community, I would have been confused when teachers began discussing the lexis and syntax areas of grammar and referring to writing as prose.

In addition, I learned that creative writers utilize writing styles such as poetry and fiction prose that are usually not used in academic writing. I also discovered the full definitions of these genres that I did not know as a child. For example, I thought the only types of writing were nonfiction and fiction and understood the difference as real and imaginary. My understanding of the difference between nonfiction and fiction was highly simplified but basically accurate. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, nonfiction is writing that portrays factual events and people ("Nonfiction") while fiction a narrative that depicts imaginary events and characters ("Fiction").

Until I joined the writing community, I had no idea that both the genres of nonfiction and fiction could be further broken down into more specific categories. Nonfiction is grouped into numerous subgenres such as research, argument, and creative nonfiction. Academic authors mainly employ nonfiction prose styles like research and argument that are rarely used in creative writing. In research papers, writers investigate and assert theories and facts. Argument essays are similar to research papers in the presentation of information but also choose a position of an issue, usually pertaining to morals, ethics, and policies, on which to side. Finally, creative nonfiction is a blossoming branch of nonfiction that employs personal stories expressed through creative writing to discuss academic subjects. To offer an example, this essay on the rhetoric of the creative writing community is creative nonfiction because of my use of personal stories to deal with the importance of understanding the language specific to creative writing.

In the same way, fiction is separated into the more specific categories of fiction prose and poetry. Fiction prose is a genre that includes short stories and novels. As I previously discussed, learning the definition of the term prose is important in understanding the category of fiction prose. Therefore, put simply, fiction prose is any make-believe writing that is not poetry. Without the knowledge of the words fiction and prose, I would have been confused when teachers talked about short stories and novels as fiction prose. Moreover, to expand on learning the full definitions, as a child I though that writing only had to rhyme at the end of each line to be considered a poem. Conversely, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, poetry is a form of literature with emphasis on form: lexis, syntax, rhyme, meter, and line ("Poetry"). Once I joined the creative writing discourse community, I learned that poetry is much more complicated than just rhyming.

As a matter of fact, poetry is a branch of creative writing that uses many genre specific terms. Whereas most nonfiction writers are not consciously concerned with the sounds of writing, poets emphasize the form of their poems, which includes lexis, syntax, rhyme, meter, and line ("Poetry"). Line is an element used only in poetry and is the most fundamental in creating sound and form. In English prose, sentences and paragraphs run from left to right until coming to the margin. Prose writers do not choose where to break a line because prose automatically returns to the left regardless of the content of the line. In the following example from The Gutenberg Elegies by Sven Birkerts, the paragraph is separated into lines only when the word comes to the edge of the allotted page:

                              It was as a frustrated but also cocksure (and Hemingway-besotted)
                              young writer that I went to hear Anthony Burgess tell of his
                              experiences. And when I smirked at his descriptions of a book
                              reviewer's life, it was because I was sure that things far greater
                              than mere literary journalism lay in store for me. (Birkerts 50)

In poetry, however, line breaks are intentionally placed. Unlike prose where meaning is derived from the words only, the placement of a line break in a poem can give meaning to or change meaning of individual parts or the entire poem. Line breaks can also slow down or speed up the reading of the poem by dividing sentences, phrases, and even words. Likewise, where paragraphs are employed to distinguish separate ideas in prose, stanzas are used in poetry. Stanzas may or may not signal a change in idea but alter the flow of the poem as well. Therefore, my original definition of poetry falls extremely short even with the limited example of only two elements of poetry, line and stanza.

Nevertheless, rhyme is a common element of poetry used to create a certain rhythm with words. Rhyme is the repetition of the terminal sound of a word ("Rhyme"). But, this element of poetry is not as easy as words rhyming at the end of lines. For example, perfect rhymes consist of the exact consonance of the end sound such as fickle and pickle or cupid and stupid. Half rhymes occur when only the final consonant sounds are the same but the initial vowel sounds differ like noun and noon or shield and child ("Rhyme"). Placement of rhymes appears at the end of lines as end rhymes or in the middle of lines as internal rhymes. "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is an excellent example of a poem with both end and internal rhymes:

                              One upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
                              Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
                              While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
                              As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
                              Tis some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door -
                              Only this and nothing more.' (Poe 217)

As I learned after becoming a member of the creative writing community, rhyme is a much more complicated poetic element than I originally thought.

Another element of rhyme commonly used in poetry is rhyme scheme. Rhyme schemes are the patterns of rhyme used within a poem. Elaborating on my childhood definition of poetry as just rhyming, I also thought that only every two lines needed to rhyme such as demonstrated in the following example:

                              I know a girl called Mary
                              Her best friend is named Carrie
                              They like to plant new flowers
                              And sit in their garden for hours

However, I learned upon joining the creative writing community that rhyme schemes are infinitely created depending upon the imagination of the author ("Rhyme Scheme"). Through my participation in the community, I also discovered how rhyme schemes are labelled and identified. To explain, each line is assigned a letter to indicate the rhyming word. If lines one and two rhyme, both are labelled "a" just as lines three and four are labelled "b" and so forth. Common schemes are identified by their pattern of letters. The abovementioned four lines are referred to as an aabb scheme. Some patterns are so frequently used that the schemes are given names. For example, a Shakespearean or Elizabethan sonnet follows a rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg and an Italian or Petrachan sonnet follows a rhyme scheme of abbaabbacdecde or abbaabbacdcdcd. In the following excerpt of "Look in Thy Glass," Shakespeare uses an Elizabethan sonnet rhyme scheme with lines one and three rhyming and so on:

                              a     Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
                              b     Now is the time that face should form another;
                              a     Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
                              b     Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.
                              c     For where is she so fair whose uneared womb
                              d     Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
                              c     Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
                              d     Of his self-love, to stop posterity? (Shakespeare 56)

Without the knowledge of rhyme schemes, I would be unable to identify "Look in Thy Glass" as an Elizabethan sonnet.

In addition to rhyme, meter creates rhythm within poetry. Meter, which I discovered is much more complicated than rhymes and rhyme schemes, is the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables into units called feet ("Metre"). After joining the creative writing discourse community, I learned that six forms of meter are used in English poetry: iambs, trochees, anapests, dactyls, prosodies, and spondees. Like rhyme schemes, I also learned how meter is labelled and identified, which is important in understanding how English poems are constructed. To explain, stressed syllables are denoted by a / and unstressed syllables by a - or u. Also like rhyme schemes, knowledge of the specialized symbols used in creative writing is the first step in participating in the discourse community.

After learning the symbols labelling meter, I studied the six specific forms of English meter. Many English poems are written with iambic feet because the meter most closely resembles everyday English speech. Iambic feet or iambs consist of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable such as in the Shakespearean line "Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?" (Shakespeare 57) Shall, com, thee, a, and mer's are all unstressed syllables while I, pare, to, Sum, and day are all stressed:

u / u / u / u / u /
Shall I | compare | thee to | a Sum | mer's day? (Shakespeare 57)

Trochaic feet or trochees are the exact opposite of iambs. In each foot, a stressed syllable is followed by and unstressed syllable. Pondered and dancing are examples of trochaic feet because the first syllable of each word is accented while the second is not. Many English writers begin lines of poetry with a trochaic foot to move emphasis to the first syllable of the line. In the following examples, the opening line of "Two Tramps in Mud Time" by Frost begins with a trochee while the first and fourth feet of "Love Is" by Kosur are both trochees:

                                  /    u   u      /      u       /         u      /
                              Out of | the mud | two stran | gers came... (Frost 505)
                                   /   u      u         /        u       /        /     u
                              Love is | your bright, | blue eyes, | infused... (Kosur 28)

Unlike iambic and trochaic feet, anapestic and dactylic feet consist of three syllables each. Three syllables in the place of two speed up the flow of the line. Anapests are two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable and are often used in narrative poetry. For example, the first two lines from "Tears, Idle Tears" by Tennyson begin with a trochee and an iamb followed by two anapests:

                                 /      u   u      /       u    u      /        u      u        /
                              Tears, i | dle tears, | I know not | what they mean,
                                   /      u       u       /       u    u     /      u     u    /
                              Tears from | the depth | of some di | vine despair... (Tennyson 372)

Dactyls, on the other hand, are the exact opposite with a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. Most English poetry containing dactyls ultimately end with another foot because two unstressed syllables together tend to sound and feel incomplete. As an example, three dactylic feet precede a single trochaic foot in the following sentence:

/ u u / u u / u u / u
Decrease the | light of the | lamp in the | tower.

The final two feet are frequently disputed in practice because two equally stressed syllables rarely occur in regular speech. Ignoring practical arguments and concentrating on theory, however, pyrrhic feet or prosodies are two unstressed syllables while spondaic feet or spondees are two stressed syllables. Commonly found in lines of iambic and trochaic feet, spondaic feet emphasize certain phrases, especially commands. In the subsequent variation of the previous example, the sentence begins with a spondee, continues with a trochee and a pyrrhic and then two dactyls, and ends with a trochee:

Because of the essential part the element plays in poetry and therefore in the specialized rhetoric of the creative writing community, beginning creative writers quickly become familiar with different forms of meter. Although not all poets compose in metered verse, most creative writers can recognize and identify meter due to the emphasis placed upon the element by the discourse community. Learning the complexities of meter not only allows creative writers to successfully communicate with other members of the group but also to strengthen their own ability to play with word sounds. In fact, I would be unable to distinguish strong syllable patterns from weak if I did not understand the six dominant forms of English meter.

To further label, meter is termed depending upon the number of feet in a line. Mono means one. Therefore, monometer poetry, though rare in English, is a line of a single foot. Dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, are lines of two, three, and four feet. Most commonly used is pentameter or lines of five feet. "Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?" (Shakespeare 57) is an example of a line written in pentameter: "Shall I | compare | thee to | a Sum | mer's day?" Other less frequently used meters include hexameter or Alexandrine with six feet, heptameter with seven feet, and octameter with eight feet ("Metre").

When rhyme and meter are combined in a single poem, the form is known as rhymed metered verse. Shakespearean sonnets, such as the abovementioned "Look in Thy Glass," are written in rhymed iambic pentameter. "Look in Thy Glass" contains an obvious rhyme scheme of ababcdcd and five iambic feet per line. Free verse is poetry without rhyme or meter. Many modern poets such as e.e.cummings and May Swenson composed in free verse. Poetry with meter but not rhyme is referred to as blank verse. For instance, Hamlet by Shakespeare is written in iambic pentameter blank verse with a slight variation on the fifth foot:

Finally, dialogue, conversations between characters, is primarily a creative writing specific term usually not found in nonfiction writing. Therefore, beginning creative writers must learn to effectively write using dialogue when composing fiction. For the most part, verbal interaction among individuals is limited to works of fiction such as short stories and novels. The only instance in which dialogue is found in nonfiction prose is when citing direct quotations. Written in quotation marks, dialogue may be speech between two or more characters, one person talking out loud, or even the thoughts of individuals. As an example, Professor Dumbledore speaks to Harry and Ron in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling:

                              "I seem to remember telling you both that I would
                              have to expel you if you broke any more school
                              rules," said Dumbledore... "Which goes to show that
                              the best of us must sometimes eat our words,"
                              Dumbledore went on, smiling. (Rowling 330-331)

As opposed the nonfiction essays, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a fiction novel. Hence, dialogue is used frequently throughout the book but is an element not commonly found in nonfiction writing.

Learning the rhetoric of the creative writing community is essential for becoming a member and participating in the community. Members of the specialized community must understand creative writing rhetoric for effective communication to occur. For example, peer review is integral to the writing process. Creative writers often form peer groups with other creative writers to discuss, edit, and proof their work. The goal of peer review is to strengthen and improve compositions. However, a problem arises when a writer does not understand the suggestions of a peer reviewer. For example, if I give a poem to a colleague and receive the comments:

                              Extend the metaphor in line two.
                              Fix extra syllable in fifth foot of line seven.
                              Rhyme scheme unclear in stanza three.

I need to know and understand what is meant by the specific creative writing terms extend, metaphor, line, syllable, foot, rhyme scheme, and stanza. If I do not comprehend the specialized creative writing language, I will be unable to use the peer suggestions to improve my writing. When the rhetoric of any discourse community is not mastered, communication of ideas and feedback is rendered ineffective. If the specialized language of creative writing is not mutually understood, the goal of peer review will not be reached because the suggestions given by creative writing peers will not be effectively communicated. Creative writers must learn and use the same vocabulary for profitable peer review.

Furthermore in regards to peer revision, even the symbols for grammatical revision are important among writers. In order to successfully communicate with other members of the field, creative writers must also understand the symbols for corrections from peers. For the most part, revision symbols are standardized. But, if a writer cannot interpret the corrections of a peer editor, then the suggestions are lost in translation, literally. Common symbols include a period in a circle (.) indicating a need for a period, a comma in an arrow /,\ for a comma, a number sign # for a space insertion, and SP for incorrect spelling. Many books that contain addition abbreviations are available as guides for grammar, style, citation, and revision such as MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Sixth Edition by Joseph Gibaldi and The Brief Penguin Handbook (MLA Update) by Lester Faigley, both of which I use and recommend for the beginning writer. Following are examples of an erroneous line, a line with correction symbols, and the corrected line:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, book 3 of the Harry Potter
Series is my favrite book by J.K.rowling I have read the novel 5 times.

                              ital                                      num               ital
                              Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, book 3 of the Harry Potter
                               /                    SP                      #        runon                         num
                              Series is my favrite book by J.K.rowling I have read the novel 5 times.
                                      /,\                                      =        (.)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, book three of the Harry Potter
series, is my favourite book by J. K. Rowling. I have read the novel five times.

By following the revision suggestions from a peer, I am able to fix my erroneous first line into the corrected third version. However, if I do not understand the used correction symbols such as /,\ and SP, I will not be able to make the necessary changes for an improved composition.

Although the language is fairly sizeable and complex, the specialized rhetoric of the creative writing community remains fairly constant over time and place. Traditional poetry terms such as iambic pentameter and sonnet as applied by past British poets like William Shakespeare and John Donne are still used by modern American creative writers like Robert Frost and Wallace Stevens. However, as new forms of poetry and prose are created, so too are new terms. Around the turn of the twentieth century, poets abandoned the traditional notion of rhyme and meter for a new form of poetry called free verse. Thus, the term free verse was added to the creative writing rhetoric while the concepts of rhyme and meter remained as well. Moreover, as new technologies like the Internet are developed and expanded, new revision symbols are invented. Thus, creative writers must not only understand the current specialized rhetoric but also be open to learning additional terms as the language increases.

However, such constancy of terms allows the language of the creative writing community to become pretty commonplace among creative writers, which is important for effective communication to occur between members of the specialized discourse community. Learning the language of the creative writing community is fairly simple and accessible because the terms associated with creative writing are taught and utilized in creative writing classes at the university and sometimes even high school level. Interested students can also read books on the different branches of creative writing like poetry and prose. Furthermore, because the rhetoric of creative writing is the same across the board, all members of the discourse community can communicate with each other once the specialized language is learned.

To conclude, learning the specialized language of creative writing is necessary for participation in the community. Mastering the rhetoric is fundamental for succeeding in the creative writing discourse community because communication fails without a shared understanding of specific terms. As I discussed and described, many creative writing terms such as metaphor, rhyme, and meter are foreign to beginning creative writers. However, as new writers learn and begin to understand the terms, they become parts of the community. This mutual understanding of terms is essential for beginning creative writers to further learn about the genre from more experienced writers as well. Only through mutual understanding of rhetoric does the creative writing community flourish and grow.

Works Cited

Alfred, Lord Tennyson. "Tears, Idle Tears." Oscar Williams. Immortal Poems of the English Language. New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1952.

Birkerts, Sven. The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age. New York, NY: Fawcett Columbine, 1994.

"Contraction." Creative Writing for Teens. 2005. About, Inc. 14 Feb. 2005. <http://teenwriting.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-contraction.htm>

"Contraction." Merriam-Webster Online. 2005. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. 14 Feb. 2005. <http://www.merriamwebster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=contraction>

Ernest Ament. "A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples." Kentucky Classics. Compiler Ross Scaife. Division of Classic. J. Francis and Ross Scaife. 22 Dec. 2004. University of Kentucky. 4 Feb. 2005. <http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/rhetoric.html>

Faigley, Lester. The Brief Penguin Handbook (MLA Update). New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2003.

"Fiction." Oxford English Dictionary. 2005. Oxford University Press. 29 Apr. 2005. <http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50084316?query_type=word&queryword=fiction&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=nccM-MxzpT3-6427&hilite=50084316>

Frost Robert. "Two Tramps in Mud Time." Oscar Williams. Immortal Poems of the English Language. New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1952.

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Sixth Edition. New York, NY: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003.

Kosur, Heather Marie. "Love Is." Twilight Street Poetry. El Paso, IL: Rock Pickle Publishing, 2004.

"Metaphor." Creative Writing for Teens. 2005. About, Inc. 15 Feb. 2005. <http://teenwriting.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-metaphor.htm>

"Metre." Creative Writing for Teens. 2005. About, Inc. 17 Feb. 2005. <http://teenwriting.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-metre.htm>

"Nonfiction." Oxford English Dictionary. 2005. Oxford University Press. 29 Apr. 2005. <http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00326351?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=nonfiction&first=1&max_to_show=10>

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Raven." The Oxford Book of American Verse. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1950.

"Poetry." Oxford English Dictionary. 2005. Oxford University Press. 16 Feb. 2005. <http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50182459?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=poetry&first=1&max_to_show=10>

"Prose." Oxford English Dictionary. 2005. Oxford University Press. 29 Apr. 2005. <http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50190428?query_type=word&queryword=prose&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=YhOP-HN3loQ-5715&hilite=50190428>

"Rhyme." Creative Writing for Teens. 2005. About, Inc. 16 Feb. 2005. <http://teenwriting.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-rhyme.htm>

"Rhyme Scheme." Creative Writing for Teens. 2005. About, Inc. 17 Feb. 2005. <http://teenwriting.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-rhymescheme.htm>

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc., 1999.

Shakespeare, William. "Look in Thy Glass." Oscar Williams. Immortal Poems of the English Language. New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1952.

Shakespeare, William. "Shall I Compare Thee." Oscar Williams. Immortal Poems of the English Language. New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1952.

Shakespeare, William. "To Be, or Not to Be." Oscar Williams. Immortal Poems of the English Language. New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1952.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1955.

Written by Heather Marie Kosur
Wednesday 11 May 2005
© 2005 Rock Pickle Publishing