Poetry Pages - the Haiku

By Kate Marquam

  In this column, each time I will cover a form of poetry.  I will explain first the parameters of the form, then some of the history behind it.  I will also provide famous poems in the chosen form as examples, and sometimes poems in that style that I have written.   This week, I chose a very popular style of poetry; haiku.  Pretty much everyone has heard of this form.  It’s just a three-lined verse with a 5-7-5 syllable count, right?  This is correct to a certain degree.  However, there is much, much more to this form than you would think. 

  As the haiku is a Japanese poetry type, it seems reasonable to start by explaining the difference between English haiku and Japanese haiku.  The 5-7-5 format was originally written for Japanese syllables, or kana.  Comparing Japanese and English syllables is like comparing apples to oranges; they just aren’t the same thing.  So you have to understand that unless you write and speak Japanese, you probably have only seen our English adaption.  Of course, haiku originally written in Japanese can be translated into English, but you have to keep in mind that a certain amount will be lost in the translation.  But don’t let this hold you back from enjoying a wonderful form.

  The haiku form has changed through the ages- in fact, the name “haiku” wasn’t used until around the end of the 19^th century!  Japanese poetry during the 9th through 12th centuries was in a form called a tanka.  The tanka has a syllable count of 5-7-5 in the first stanza and 7-7 in the second.  Soon, people started playing a game called renga.  Renga was played amongst large groups, and was especially popular with the monks.  A person would start a poem by writing the first verse (5-7-5.)  Then they would hand it over to the next person, who would then conclude their verse with the second stanza (7-7.)  Then whoever was next in line would start a new verse (5-7-5.)  And so, the cycle continued.  HUGE renga chains in this form could be constructed.  Well, people started leaving off the concluding stanza (7-7.)  Sometimes they would write in chains, but many times they would write just a single verse.  And thus, the 5-7-5 haiku was born.

  A haiku doesn’t always have to be strictly 5-7-5, though that is the most common English translation.  It just has to be under  17 syllables.  Here is an example of a haiku written by Basho, one of the three fathers of the haiku form.  Keep in mind that this has been translated from Japanese.

  “The old pond;
A frog jumps in -
The sound of the water.”

  It says a lot in just a few words, doesn’t it?  I have written many haiku, here is one of my favorites.

 “warmth slowly fading
as green leaves turn brown and crisp
fall is in the air”

  As you can see, this one has the traditional 5-7-5 syllable count, but it doesn’t have to.  In fact, it doesn’t even have to be divided into three lines!  Here is an example by Basho where there are two lines instead of three.

  “An elephant's eyes smile-
Mountain cherry blossoms.”

  This has to be one of my favorite poems of his.  There is so much meaning packed onto just two lines.  You see, that’s the beauty of the haiku form; brevity.  A true haiku master can leave you wondering what the true meaning of their poem is long after you are finished reading it.  What do you think he meant by it?

  I hope I have left you with a better understanding of the haiku form.  We’ll be discussing another form next time.