COURSE OUTLINE

AN INTENSIVE TEN-WEEK COURSE OF 19 LESSONS IN 30+ MINUTES A DAY

THE LYRICAL LANGUAGE LAB is a language-level* course designed to help you train your ear for rhythm, rhyme, and lyrical language so that you can use poetic techniques to enhance the musicality and emotional pull of all your writing, whether rhyming or prose.

Most lessons include writing exercise options for both poetry and prose. All lessons encourage the application of concepts to students’ Works-in-Progress (WIPs).

Students in the full interactive course receive language-level feedback on all assignments.

MODULE 1: 
THE ELEMENTS OF POETRY

Module 1 introduces the structure and parts of a poem, builds a common vocabulary for talking about the elements of poetry, and provides opportunities to practice each concept in isolation, all of which combine to build a strong foundation for writing poetry and lyrical prose.

  • 5 lessons – The four major meters (iamb, trochee, anapest, dactyl); varied and mixed meter; scansion (assignments: short rhymed verses)
  • 3 lessons – Other building blocks of poetry: rhythm, rhyme, stanzas, structure (assignments: verse or prose)
  • 3 lessons – The elements of poetry:
    • SOUND DEVICES: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, repetition, refrains, rhyme
    • FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: simile, metaphor, imagery (five senses), personification
    • DICTION: the importance of word choice (assignments: verse or prose)

MODULE 2: 
PRACTICE WITH POETRY
AND PROSE

Module 2 introduces free verse and the voices of poetry and provides opportunities to bring together all the skills and concepts developed in Module 1 through the writing of prose and poems in various styles. The main focus of this section is on practicing lyrical language rather than on “becoming poets.”

  • 2 lessons – Elements of free verse; writing free verse; using free verse as a vehicle to enhance prose (assignments: free verse)
  • 3 lessons – The voices of poetry (lyrical, narrative, dramatic); writing poems or prose in each voice (assignments: verse or prose)

MODULE 3: 
LYRICAL LANGUAGE IN PROSE

Module 3 consists of reading and writing lyrical prose; bringing the elements of poetry to prose writing; how to avoid purple prose; and editing and revision strategies.

  • 3 lessons – Using elements of poetry to elevate the lyricism and rhythm of prose; editing and revision checklist (assignments: prose)
 

*By the term “language-level course,” I mean that we won’t be evaluating story arc, plot, characterization, and other story elements. Rather, the course focuses solely on language and word choices as they relate to the poetic techniques covered in the course. It’s all about the details and punching up your prose!