Today I want to share Haiku with you because, in my opinion, it’s
one of the lovelier forms of poetry.
Haiku is defined by Britannica as, “unrhymed
Japanese poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5,
7, and 5 syllables respectively.”
Here are some facts that I uncovered about Haiku. The Haiku form was refined by Basho in the 17th
Century from the hokku element of the
poetic form renga, an early Japanese
poem. Renga is a linked-verse poem, a form in which two or more poets
supply alternating sections of a poem.
The hokku is the initial
stanza of a renga. It sets the time of day, season and dominant
features of the landscape for the renga. The hokku did not become known as Haiku until
the late 19th Century after it had been refined by masters like
Basho, Buson and Issa. (See sources
below for more on the history of Haiku.)
Haiku is written in three lines and each line has a
specific number of syllables, 5-7-5. While
early themes were nature, animals or the seasons, you can now write Haiku on any
subject.
To write a Haiku, find inspiration in anything you
like. Take a walk, use a picture or a
memory and make a few notes. Now simply
write two or three lines describing your subject. Edit your lines by focusing on an emotion or images
based on your senses; sight, taste, touch, smell or hearing. Finally work on the syllable count, first
line 5, second line 7 and third line 5. (See
sources below for more on writing Haiku.)
Below are some examples from early Japanese masters of
Haiku:
Basho
None is traveling
Here along this way but I
This autumn evening
Temple bells die out
The fragrant blossoms remain
A perfect evening!
Kyoshi
Crimson must be running
Through the trunk of
This plum tree
Born as a spider
No choice but to spin
His spider web
Now here is a Haiku I created:
Graceful deep green leaves
Teardrops shimmer in the sun
Shade the woven trunk.
This was truly joyful to create. I have a Ficus tree sitting in front of my
desk at work. It has a beautiful,
graceful woven trunk and the leaves are a lovely deep green. This was the perfect subject for my first
Haiku. I hope you like it and that this minimal
presentation on the Haiku has given you a bit of inspiration to try it for
yourself. Even if you are just inspired
to go read some Haiku, I guarantee you’ll be pleased with the effort.
If you do give writing Haiku a try, please share in the
comments. I’d enjoy hearing from my
readers.
Source information:
Creative Writing Now
Britannica.com
Haiku World
Poetry Power
No comments:
Post a Comment