CLASSIC JAPANESE HAIKU POETRY
apparently ... (articles on'haiku' and 'haiku in English' at Wikipedia are very helpful)
- 17 Japanese syllables (on) in a terse, non-rhyming format; typically, the poems do not have a title
- often evokes a transient moment in nature, or a seasonal reference (kigo)
- may include a kireji (cutting- or break-word) underlying the relation, often dissonant, between the human and natural worlds
- ideas may be arranged in a 7-,5-,7- syllable grouping, but the poem is frequently written in one line (often vertically)
- developed during the 17th century from a linked verse-introduction format known as hokku; the derived term haiku came into use only after 1900.
- the four greatest creators of Japanese haiku are generally taken to be:
Matsuo Basho, late 17th century, and subsequently, Yosa Buson, (eighteenth century), Kayaboshi Issa (1763-1828) and Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902).
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| Basho's final haiku, 1694 |
- haiku gatherings and haiku contests persist as a major part of Japanese cultural life
TRANSLATED JAPANESE HAIKU
- 17 on (Japanese syllables), a rule not always followed, is only occasionally translated into similar numeric lengths in translation
- the 7-, 5-, 7- groupings are often highlighted, each occupying a line in a 3-line rhymeless verse
- however, the translator may choose to honour the meaning, rather than the syllable count; often, the English can usually be expressed in fewer syllables than the Japanese original
e.g. "The Old Pond", Matsuo Basho
An ancient pool
A frog jumps in --
The sound of water.
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here, the translator chose
to format his English renderings
In FOUR lines! |
HAIKU in ENGLISH (the Wikipedia interpretation, quite useful, can be found HERE.
- in translation, 'hokku' poems first appeared in English-language literary reviews after 1877
- the "first fully realized haiku in English" was created by Ezra Pound who reduced a 30-line projected piece to 3 short lines in his 1913 creation "In a Station of the Metro"
- inspired by its relation to Eastern culture, and Zen in particular, haiku became a form of terse but poignant poetry exploited by the 'beat poets' of the 1950s/60s like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, later by Richard Wright and others
THE CLASSIC 5+7+5, 17-SYLLABLE ENGLISH HAIKU
WIKIPEDIA: "While early translators of Japanese haiku into English did not consistently follow a 5–7–5 pattern, the ... format gained traction in the mid-20th century, promoted by scholars ..., who believed that mirroring the traditional Japanese structure would honor and preserve the essence of haiku in English translation."
The simplicity of this concept led to the widespread use of this form in the educational English-speaking context.
WIKIPEDIA:"Cor van den Heuvel writes, the 5-7-5 form is “now mostly written by schoolchildren as an exercise to learn how to count syllables, by beginners who know little about the true essence of haiku, or by those who just like to have a strict form with which to practice.” The authors may have slightly extended this "misunderstanding" with the publication of "Seventeen haiku verses: a tribute to Dr Zaret's editorship", J Nucl Cardiol 2003: 10, 344.
LIMERICKS about HAIKU POEMS
LIGHTER HAIKU VARIANT: Senryu
This terse Japanese format evolved, as did its more serious and better-known cousin, from hokku, a brief introduction to a longer poem known as a renga. The poetic format, senryu, is named for the pen-name, Karai Senryu, of the inventive poet whose writing sparked the development of this genre in the 18th century.
Senryu poetry thus followed the development of haiku (known at that time only by the name hokku) the latter specifically under the aegis of the esteemed and prolific Matsuo Basho, by a century.
Senryu shares a number of physical characteristics with haiku, nominally employing 17 'on' (Japanese syllables) in a three-line, 7-5-7 distribution. The theme of senryu however, takes a lighter and more humorous tone, dealing primarily with human nature and man's foibles, often with a satiric viewpoint, rather than with the mysteries and delights of Nature.
SPOOF VARIANT: Palinku, by Giorgio Coniglio
Please refer to the post of August 17, 2020..
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| an example |
Scouring this blogsite
Keen readers may encounter
Eighty palinku.
TODAY'S SENRYU: "REVERSE"
(3 terse lines; each reverses) --
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