in which i defend haiku's worth
Sep. 16th, 2005 01:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhyllFirst off, i have to say that haiku is often misunderstood.
Three line poems of 5-7-5 syllables are not, strictly speaking, haiku. I enjoy many of them, and many of them are witty and interesting, but they are often more properly called senryu than haiku. Senyru is usually absurd, and is more about human nature - and particularly somewhat unflattering accounts of human nature - than is haiku.
Now, on to haikus...
For a start, the 5-7-5 syllable structure is not necessary. It does offer some discipline to the form, but it is also acceptable to simply write in a short-long-short format. Haikus should generally be only as long as can be said in a breath. One of my favourite haikus, that I found in an anthology of anti-war poems, is simply:
"Sandcastles
becoming
sand."
Of course, some people might argue that this was just a short poem, but I think it fills all the criteria for 'haikuness'.
Secondly, haikus are meant to convey something that has happened to you at a particular time and place. This means that the content of a haiku should generally centre around a single moment. I find the idea of 'thisness' captures this well. Japanese haikus usually include a 'season word' that indicates the time of year in which a haiku is set - reference to a full moon, for example, would show that a haiku was set in autumn. While there are some terms that instantly indicate the time of year in English - reference to holidays such as Christmas or Easter, for example - generally English haikus must make do in other ways. In the haiku above most of us would guess that it was set in summer, for example.
Tied to the idea of haikus as being set in a very specific time and place is the linkage of haikus to nature. There are several billion haikus out there referring to the beauty of cherry blossoms, for example. In a modern context, one could argue that haikus could perhaps refer not only to 'nature' (as we usually see it), but also to the environment that surrounds us. They should, however, focus outwards, not inwards.
Haikus may refer to human presence, but they should not delve into human feelings. This does not mean that they can't be emotive, however. A poem by Buson shows how this might work:
"I feel a sudden chill-
in our bedroom, my dead wife's comb
underfoot."
The 'sudden chill' here can be taken literally, so this haiku still falls within the general guidelines, even though one can infer a different sort of chill.
While there are a lot of other guidelines that some feel are important to haiku, these are the basics, and quite enough to make writing a haiku challenging and interesting.
*giggles*
Apparently, I can't write on nonfiction topics without sounding incredibly stuffy. Ah well. I hope you get the idea.
And also, I still love 'haiku-like' poems, so keep posting them!
(I will give you treats.)
Three line poems of 5-7-5 syllables are not, strictly speaking, haiku. I enjoy many of them, and many of them are witty and interesting, but they are often more properly called senryu than haiku. Senyru is usually absurd, and is more about human nature - and particularly somewhat unflattering accounts of human nature - than is haiku.
Now, on to haikus...
For a start, the 5-7-5 syllable structure is not necessary. It does offer some discipline to the form, but it is also acceptable to simply write in a short-long-short format. Haikus should generally be only as long as can be said in a breath. One of my favourite haikus, that I found in an anthology of anti-war poems, is simply:
"Sandcastles
becoming
sand."
Of course, some people might argue that this was just a short poem, but I think it fills all the criteria for 'haikuness'.
Secondly, haikus are meant to convey something that has happened to you at a particular time and place. This means that the content of a haiku should generally centre around a single moment. I find the idea of 'thisness' captures this well. Japanese haikus usually include a 'season word' that indicates the time of year in which a haiku is set - reference to a full moon, for example, would show that a haiku was set in autumn. While there are some terms that instantly indicate the time of year in English - reference to holidays such as Christmas or Easter, for example - generally English haikus must make do in other ways. In the haiku above most of us would guess that it was set in summer, for example.
Tied to the idea of haikus as being set in a very specific time and place is the linkage of haikus to nature. There are several billion haikus out there referring to the beauty of cherry blossoms, for example. In a modern context, one could argue that haikus could perhaps refer not only to 'nature' (as we usually see it), but also to the environment that surrounds us. They should, however, focus outwards, not inwards.
Haikus may refer to human presence, but they should not delve into human feelings. This does not mean that they can't be emotive, however. A poem by Buson shows how this might work:
"I feel a sudden chill-
in our bedroom, my dead wife's comb
underfoot."
The 'sudden chill' here can be taken literally, so this haiku still falls within the general guidelines, even though one can infer a different sort of chill.
While there are a lot of other guidelines that some feel are important to haiku, these are the basics, and quite enough to make writing a haiku challenging and interesting.
*giggles*
Apparently, I can't write on nonfiction topics without sounding incredibly stuffy. Ah well. I hope you get the idea.
And also, I still love 'haiku-like' poems, so keep posting them!
(I will give you treats.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2005-09-16 06:10 am (UTC)First, they should be taken at face value, and then not taken at face value- but they should be written in such a way that the literal meaning is not the only meaning one can infer from the poem.
As far as I always knew, haiku were originally defined as a poem of a certain number of syllables which also fit the criteria you talked about. All the ones I've ever read from Heian sources (have you read 'The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon', Sky? It's really good!) do fit the 5-7-5 scheme, and while it seems petty to reduce poetry appreciation to counting syllables, counting syllable does seem to have been a part of the discipline.
To remove the syllable factor from them blurs the line between haiku and other poetic forms of the time and place, in my opinion.
no subject
on 2005-09-16 06:29 am (UTC)Where are my my treats?
no subject
on 2005-09-18 04:55 am (UTC)Soon.
*looks shifty*
no subject
on 2005-09-16 08:19 am (UTC)puzzle, where if you get it
wrong, it is still kool.
I never try to
do the thing with the seasons.
Takes too many words.
Also, takes too much
brain. Hope this seems witty and
smart enough to count,
seeing as it does
not comply with any of
the things you just said.
Wish I was better,
to delight and astound you.
Poetry is hard.
:(
no subject
on 2005-09-18 04:52 am (UTC)Plus, how could you be emoticon-sad when you are the coolest linguist i know?
no subject
on 2005-09-18 09:15 am (UTC)Gee, what a compliment.
;)
no subject
on 2005-09-19 10:40 am (UTC)I'd be very flattered, but I suspect I'm the only linguist you know (only not-in-the-linguistics-closet linguist, anyway). Oh, heck. I'll be flattered, anyway. :D
[note the happy emoticon]