Part 1: Forms of Poetry--Haiku

5. Haiku
Definition: A haiku is a brief poem that is “traditionally made up of seventeen syllables” (CL 120). It consists of three “unrhyming lines” where the first line is made up five syllables, the second has seven syllables, and the third line has another five syllables (RPO). However, today “many poets vary the syllabic count in their haiku” (Meyer). The subject matter of these poems are usually “an intense emotion or vivid image of nature, which, traditionally, is designed to lead to a spiritual insight” (Meyer). Haiku originated in Japan and were “developed in the mid-16th century…originally of jesting character” (OED).

Examples:

Basho

Furu ike ya
Kawazu tobikomu
Mizu no oto

The old pond
A frog jumps in
The sound of water


Scott Alexander (early 20th century)

By an ancient pond
A bullfrog sits on a rock:
Waiting for Basho


Paul Brown

Yellow autumn leaves
Rustle as I briskly walk
Through deserted lanes.



Works Cited

Darigan, Daniel L., Michael O. Tunnell, and James S. Jacobs. Children’s Literature: Engaging Teachers and Children in Good Books. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2002.

“Haiku.” Meyer Literature: Glossary of Literary Terms. 2 November 2009. http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_f.htm

“Haiku.” Oxford English Dictionary (OED). 2nd edition. 1989.

“Haiku, or Hokku.” Representative Poetry Online (RPO). 2 November 2009. http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/display_rpo/terminology.cfm#lyric

Poems

Alexander, Scott. “By an ancient pond.” “Western Poets Using Haiku.” .Docstoc. 5 November 2009. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4292362/haiku-examples

Basho. “Furu ike ya.” “Famous Haikus.” Haiku Society. 5 November 2009. http://www.haikusociety.com/famoushaikus/

Brown, Paul. “Yellow autumn leaves.” “Haiku Writing: A Lesson for Beginners.” Haiku for Beginners. 5 November 2009. http://www.arttech.ab.ca/pbrown/haiku/lesson1.html