HAIKU

 What Is a Haiku?

Haiku is a form of short poetry originally from Japan. Haiku originated as an opening part of a larger Japanese poem, known as a Renga . These haiku that were written as an opening stanza were known as Hokku and eventually writers began to write them as their own stand-alone poems. Haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shikhi at the end of the 19th century. 

In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed as a single line while haiku in English often appear as three lines. A haiku is considered to be more than a type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper, like the very nature of existence. It should leave the reader with a strong feeling or impression . Let’s seethe some examples of English Haikus and their formats.

Format of English Haiku :

"Haiku" in English is a term sometimes loosely applied to any short, impressionistic poem, but there are certain characteristics that are commonly associated with the genre:

The structure of a  haiku is always the same, including the following features:

• There are only three lines, totaling 17 syllables.

• The first line is 5 syllables.

• The second line is 7 syllables.

• The third line is 5 syllables like the first.

• Punctuation and capitalization are up to the poet, and need not follow the rigid rules used in structuring sentences.

• A haiku does not have to rhyme, in fact usually it does not rhyme at all.

• It can include the repetition of words or sounds

Although many modern poets don't follow the 5-7-5 pattern, you will still come across a few who remain true to the original form. 

Examples of Haiku :

●“The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō 

 An old silent pond

A frog jumps into the pond—

Splash! Silence again

●“A World of Dew” by Kobayashi Issa

A world of dew,

And within every dewdrop

A world of struggle.

●Joyce Clement “Birds Punctuate the Days”

Period

One blue egg all summer long

Now gone

●Ravi Shankar “Lines on a Skull”

life’s little, our heads

sad. Redeemed and wasting clay

this chance. Be of use.

●Sonia Sanchez “Haiku [for you]”

love between us is

speech and breath. loving you is

a long river running.

Tips for writing Haiku :

• a focus on nature or the seasons. 

• a division into two asymmetrical sections that juxtaposes two subjects (e.g. something natural and something human-made, two unexpectedly similar things, etc.)

• a contemplative or wistful tone and an impressionistic brevity .

• "Telegram style” syntax; no superfluous words.

• an emphasis on imagery over               exposition.

• avoidance of metaphor and similes.

• non-rhyming lines .

• Some additional traits are especially associated with English-language haiku (as opposed to Japanese-language haiku):

• a three-line format with 17 syllables arranged in a 5–7–5 pattern; or about 10 to 14 syllables, which more nearly approximates the duration of a Japanese haiku with the second line usually the longest. Some poets want their haiku to be expressed in one breath 

• little or no punctuation or capitalization, except that cuts are sometimes marked with dashes or ellipses and proper nouns are usually capitalized.

(Note: None of poems we present belong to us. We present an organised record and analysis of them. All copyrights are reserved to the original author and we are not using plagiarized work. The originality of writes are verified to the fullest extent we can.)

This form of poetry is famous and attracts attention of readers because of its short form. Haiku are just of 17 syllables or less . The lines doesn't run into each other. They also posses a challenge to convey vivid messages through just 17 syllables. It is almost writen on nature based themes but one can olso write on different themes.

So dear reader, lift up your pens, and pen down an awesome Haiku!!

Cheers!!

Written by: Shreya 

( member of TeamPoeTreeForest)