What is haiku? Many people think it is simply a short three-line poem of 5-7-5 syllables. But please forget this definition! It leads to things like:
that song was poppin
hari ini tdr gk ya?
Sorting the bedroom
–Haiku Robot
or
Haikus are easy
but sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator
-anonymous
What is a haiku, really? Haiku is a very short form of poetry (originally Japanese) that aims to convey the essence of a moment. It uses simple, direct, concrete (often sensory) language to describe what is observed and experienced in that moment (present tense), while at the same time, a haiku can also imply something more. Haiku are often associated with nature, but they can be inspired by other types of experience as well. Traditional haiku contains three main elements:
– a kigo (seasonal reference)
– a kireji (cutting word, symbol, or pause, that divides the haiku into two juxtaposed parts)
– 17 on (17 Japanese sound units), with the poem usually broken into three phrases of 5-7-5 on (written in Japanese as one or two vertical lines)
Today, haiku are written all over the world in many different languages, including English (the word “haiku” is both singular and plural).
The 17 Japanese on sounds do not actually correspond to English syllables (for example, the word “on” itself, which English-speakers would view as a single syllable, comprises two on). Translating a Japanese haiku into 17 English syllables actually makes the haiku longer than it was meant to be. For example, a famous haiku by the 17th century Japanese poet Basho was originally written using 17 on, but it is translated (in this case, by William J. Higginson):
old pond…
a frog leaps in
water’s sound
To translate it into 17 English syllables would make it too cumbersome, moving away from the original intent of the poem. Here’s an example (from the Wikipedia haiku page):
at the age old pond
a frog leaps into water
a deep resonance
It’s the simplicity and directness of the first translation (and the original haiku) that catches the reader’s attention and leaves the reader room to see the moment for him or herself. In fact, it’s haiku’s simplicity ─its ability to focus the reader in on a precise, concrete “a-ha” moment─ that makes it so appealing to many haiku-lovers. Simplicity keeps the moment fresh. Any added decoration, metaphor or explanation entangles the reader; gives you so much that there is nothing to stop and think about. The simple wording engages your imagination. You pause and hear the sound of the water as the frog’s body breaks the surface. But the simply written haiku can also imply emotion and allude to deeper meaning. The “old pond,” for example, can be read as a reference to Basho, himself, an old poet still moved by the world around him (undoubtedly, there are also other references that we, as 21st century English-speaking poets, will not get) .
So, the idea that English haiku should be written in 17 syllables is not actually correct, and throwing a bunch of words together into three lines of 5-7-5 syllables (even if they are poetically written, rather than generated by a robot) does not make those lines a haiku. To be a “real” haiku, a poem has to have some or all of the elements mentioned above (seasonal reference, simplicity, and also a juxtaposition or a space between images that suggests something deeper). In other words, “That song was poppin” is not a haiku.
Here are a few haiku I’ve come across recently that I really like (my favorite haiku are always changing):
evening walk
the faded leash
I can’t throw out
-John Soules
abandoned farm
still there, the scents
in the barn
–George Swede
graveside
forming one shadow
with my sister
-Tom Painting
solo hike─
slowly catching up
with myself
-Annette Makino
You’ll notice that none of them have 5-7-5 syllables. But yes, all of them are haiku.
I hope this post doesn’t sound like an anti-5-7-5 rant. Like many people, I grew up thinking English haiku had to be written as three lines of 5-7-5 syllables (you’ll find many haiku written this way in my earlier blog posts), and I wasn’t really conscious of the other elements of good haiku, other than the seasonal reference. I wrote and read haiku intuitively, I guess (with mixed results). I still write this way, but I’ve also been making an effort to think more about haiku, how it works, and what makes a good haiku (which leads to more re-writing), and I’ve come across an awful lot of writing that calls itself haiku, but is not. This pseudo-haiku is sometimes interesting writing forced to fit the 5-7-5 format (often with the first sentence ending in the middle of the second line), or even good poetry with intriguing metaphors, but it’s not haiku. The main point I want to make here is that haiku is about more than syllable count (I’m talking to you, Haiku Robot, children’s book publishers of stories written in so-called “haiku” format, companies that hold “haiku” slogan contests to advertise new products, and anyone who leaves comments on haiku blogs complaining that the haiku is not real haiku because the syllable count isn’t right).
Okay, maybe this is an anti-5-7-5 rant.
Anyway, if you want to learn more about haiku, here are some good websites and blog posts to check out:
Haiku on Wikipedia (good explanation of haiku and the issues around syllable count)
Graceguts, the website of haiku poet, Michael Dylan Welch (contains examples of haiku, articles, and links to other resources)
Haiku checklist (helpful for thinking about and revising your own haiku)
Haiku journey of poet Ferris Gilli (many good insights into how to write haiku)
How to write bad haiku (a fun post that looks at what makes a haiku “bad” or “good”)
Kireji and kigo (cutting word & seasonal reference)
wild ink 