IV. Popular Literature: Outcomes

IV.
Popular Literature
Outcomes:
At the end of the unit, the students must have:
1. described the different kinds of popular literature and its specific types;
2. discussed literary expressions of popular culture using social, economic and
political lenses;
3. constructed an in-depth analysis of how popular culture is presented and
portrayed in literature; and
4. developed creativity in creating a sample literary work.
Learning Output 1: POETRY

Poetry- the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting
pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.
A. Spoken Word
Expert Advice on Writing Spoken Word Poetry (With Examples)
Think of spoken word poetry as performance art using words. As with traditional
poetry (that is meant to be read rather than heard), it is full of word play and poetic
devices, but goes a step beyond into aspects of phonaesthetics, or the aesthetics of sound.
The poet then becomes a performer, choosing tone and timing as part of the poem's
appeal.
As a "catch-all" term for any poem that's read aloud, spoken work poetry is the
more formal term for Slam poetry or Jazz poetry. Although seemingly a new poetic form,
spoken word poetry began in Africa long ago during prehistoric times, with hunting
poetry, along with elegiac court poetry that was commonly performed in the empires of
the Nile, Niger and Volta river valleys.
In its modern form, spoken word poetry attracts a wide audience, who enjoy the
performance aspect of sharing one's writing and hearing what others have to say. With
that in mind, if you're interested in writing it and are unsure how to begin, try these tips.
Start with a line to draw your audience in

Poetry needs a hook just like an essay. Think of it as your best chance of catching
the attention of your audience—right at the very beginning—and then playing off of that
hook throughout the rest of the piece. It might be something as simple as a statement for
comedic effect or it could be deeply personal, but be sure that it connects with the overall
theme of your poem.
For example, let's say you're writing a poem about the things we all have in
common that make us human. You might start with a line like, "I know all your secrets"
to hook your audience, and then continue with a poem that focuses on the things we try to
hide about ourselves that others have felt, too.
Tell a story
While a spoken word poem doesn't have to follow the same plot pyramid as a
novel (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution), it should tell a
story. It might be a story about an experience you've had that altered your outlook or
made you realize something important. It could be a story about a song you heard or an
encounter that left you inspired, hurt, or changed.
You can, however, adapt the plot pyramid to fit spoken word poetry if you
choose. This is especially true if you plan to use the poem to tell a story about your
childhood, or maybe something strange that happened to you when you visited a certain
place. Keep in mind that the exposition should be kept to a minimum and the focus of the
poem should be on the climax and resolution, as these are the most dramatic parts of the
plot pyramid and spoken word poetry is indeed dramatic.
Use intense imagery

Spoken word is known for its use of intense imagery. Sometimes, poets use it to
shock their audience. At other times, the imagery is what breathes life into the poem and
makes it memorable, long after the performance has ended.
As you can see in the examples of spoken word poetry included in this article, the
poets aren't afraid to use imagery that incorporates a lot of metaphor and symbolism, and
this imagery is often repeated multiple times to give the poem momentum.
Read it out loud

You can't have true spoken word poetry without reading it aloud, so after you've
begun a draft of your poem, it's important to read through it aloud as you fine tune it.
You'll find that some words flow better than others in this context, and maybe even some
words that you end up get tongue-tied over that seemed perfect on paper but just don't
translate well when spoken aloud. You'll never find these better, replacement words and
passages until you practice reading them out loud, multiple times.
Adapt it for performance

After deciding on the best words to use, the final stage of writing your spoken
word poem is to adapt it for performance. Perhaps there's a part of the poem that has
more effect if it's read quickly and staccato? Or maybe a part of it that you want to slow
down, so that your audience focuses on each word carefully and thoughtfully?
This stage is so important because this is where your poem will evolve from
words on a page to a performance piece. For example, consider this wonderful spoken
word piece by Anis Mojgani. Notice how he changes his tempo, tone, and vocal volume
at various points to build a dramatic effect.
Reference:
Expert Advice on Writing Spoken Word Poetry (With Examples)
https://www.servicescape.com/blog/expert-advice-on-writing-spoken-word-poetry-with-
examples. Retrieved November 27, 2020
Examples:
1. https://www.wattpad.com/396517692-spoken-word-poetry-tagalog-walang-tayo
2.Pasensiya Na (spoken word poetry): https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rVoRkBRfIBY
B. FREE VERSE
Definition of Free Verse
Free verse is here defined as a poem with no set meter or verse that mimics
natural speech patterns. Free verse poems can be short or long, contain sporadic rhymes
or none at all, and be conveyed in spoken or written mediums. Because a free verse poem
isn’t tied to any specific form, poets generally have more room to experiment with
structure than they would with other styles.
Critics argue that since they contain no regular rhyme and meter, free verse poems
are just glorified prose. But those who write or appreciate free verse feel that free
verse has its own tools beyond meter or rhyme—like punctuation, line break, and
vocabulary—that makes it just as legitimate of a poetic form as other styles.
Example #1: A Noiseless Patient Spider (By Walt Whitman)

“A noiseless patient spider,
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space…
Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.”
In this poem, only a simple metaphor is used to mesmerize readers without

employing regular rhyme scheme or rhythm. We can see normal pauses in the poem
unlike the typical limitations of metrical feet.
Example #2: Come Slowly, Eden (By Emily Dickinson)

“Come slowly, Eden
Lips unused to thee.
Bashful, sip thy jasmines,
As the fainting bee,
Reaching late his flower,
Round her chamber hums,
Counts his nectars—alights,
And is lost in balms!”
Emily Dickinson is famous as the mother of American English free verse. This
poem does not have consistent metrical patterns, musical patterns, or rhyme. Rather,
following the rhythm of natural speech, it gives an artistic expression to the ideas it
contains.
Features of Free Verse

 Free verse poems have no regular meter or rhythm.
 They do not follow a proper rhyme scheme; these poems do not have any set
rules.
 This type of poem is based on normal pauses and natural rhythmical phrases, as
compared to the artificial constraints of normal poetry.
 It is also called vers libre, which is a French word meaning “free verse.”
Function of Free Verse

Free verse is commonly used in contemporary poetry. Some poets have taken this
technique as a freedom from rhythm and rhyme, because it changes people’s minds
whimsically.
The best thing about free verse is that poets can imagine the forms of any sound
through intonations instead of meters. Free verse gives a greater freedom for choosing
words, and conveying their meanings to the audience. Since it depends upon patterned
elements like sounds, phrases, sentences, and words, it is free of artificiality of a typical
poetic expression.
Learning Output 2. PROSE
A. Short stories
Short story, brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and that
usually deals with only a few characters.
The short story is usually concerned with a single effect conveyed in only one or a
few significant episodes or scenes. The form encourages economy of setting, concise
narrative, and the omission of a complex plot; character is disclosed in action and
dramatic encounter but is seldom fully developed. Despite its relatively limited scope,
though, a short story is often judged by its ability to provide a “complete” or satisfying
treatment of its characters and subject.
B. Essays
An essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an argument or narrative
based on evidence, analysis and interpretation.
There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of
an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However,
most academic essays share the same goal: They aim to persuade readers of a position or
perspective through informed arguments.
To write an essay, there are three main stages:
1. Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.

2. Writing: Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in
the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
3. Revision: Check the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of
your essay.
Activity:
Choose an activity you want to give as an output on this lesson. Free verse, Essay
or short stories should be submitted through the MVLE, while Spoken word poetry
through the FB Page created for this purpose. Use #SpokenWordPoetry.
Note: All composition should be original work.

IV. Popular Literature: Outcomes

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IV.

Learning Output 1: POETRY

Start with a line to draw your audience in

Use intense imagery

Read it out loud

Adapt it for performance

Example #1: A Noiseless Patient Spider (By Walt Whitman)

In this poem, only a simple metaphor is used to mesmerize readers without

Example #2: Come Slowly, Eden (By Emily Dickinson)

Features of Free Verse

Function of Free Verse

Learning Output 2. PROSE

To write an essay, there are three main stages:

1. Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.

Note: All composition should be original work.

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