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A word about haiku - by Michael James

I believe there are a few basic precepts about haiku that are largely overlooked, or just flat out just not taught in most basic literary (poetic) courses. Everyone seems to know that a haiku is supposed to be written in the structure of 5-7-5 syllables per line respectively, but there is much more going on than just a simple syllable constraint. I shall attempt to give a brief overview of the main points about haiku.

First off, the 5-7-5 syllable structure most often cited as being the sole ‘structural rule’ of haiku is based on the original Japanese constraint. However, the Japanese language and more specifically their word structure differ from English in a critical way when it comes to the definition of this structure. In the Japanese language, each sound unit is called an onji as opposed to our syllable. This unit of measure for a word is considerable more concise than what we use to define a syllable (typically only one or two letters make up an onji), thus the 5-7-5 structure will end up being less words that what English would allow. In addition, the Japanese language usually adds their particles onto the word itself, thus further restricting the syllable and ultimately the words used in a haiku.

The common accepted principle behind writing haiku in English is to restrict the syllable usage below the 5-7-5 mark, to preserve the conciseness that a haiku represents.

Observe the difference in the original Japanese and the translation of this haiku by Issa.

.梅の月牛の尻迄見ゆる也

ume no tsuki ushi no shiri made miyuru nari

plum blossom moon
and the rump
of a cow

Notice how in the Japanese version there are essentially 9 words, and in the English translation there are nine words, but the onji count in Japanese totals 17 and the syllable count in English totals only 10. So, as you can see brevity and clarity are more important than a simple rule that wasn’t even designed for our language.

Now I shall address content and image, the real crux of haiku. In the past, haiku have been viewed as nature based poems and that still holds true today, however, the definition of ‘nature’ has been expanded to include practically all of the world we live in. Now the haiku poet is not limited to peony blossoms, cherry blossoms, bamboo and pine. Everything that we come in contact with can be the subject of haiku, from pollution, to condoms, to tin cans to airliners, all of these things permeate our natural world and are thus fair game for haiku.

a yellow bag
over the gas nozzle—
dog-day cicadas

— Peggy Willis Lyles

This still has a nature-based theme to it, but the subject matter is a gas pump, not what one would typically call a natural element.

Additionally, this haiku also says a lot about image. Usually, its good to stick to either one or two solid images in a haiku, the form just isn’t long enough to support more than two. Notice her word choice, every word is simple and clear, seemingly unpoetic, however, the harmony of the images presented, paints a clear picture of a scene. A haiku, unlike other poems, should not be vague or abstract in its use of language, the more concrete terms you use, the better you poem will be. Haiku should take the reader to that instant in time you captured and nothing more, the reader will decide the images he or she sees.

This leads me to the last thing I’ll say about haiku (for now). A haiku is like a snapshot of an instant in time, brief and full of images that are clear and at the same time, new and refreshing based on the comparison made in the poem. Usually when two images are used in a haiku, they are represented in such a way that you wouldn’t normally find when you thought about those images separately. In the earlier haiku by Issa, the moon is compared to the plum blossom and the rump of a cow, not something you would normally associate with one another. In the haiku by Lyles, the gas pump and the cicadas are set together to make a rich scene, where the time of year is know and also the current situation with regards to fuel are set in conjunction, not really a comparison per se, but a rich diverse image none the less.

Haiku is such a rich poetic form that has been evolving for well over ten centuries and its longevity gives testament to the power of this form, so please, before you write a haiku and start counting syllables, take some time and read the old masters and the new ones as well and let the world you live in come alive not only in your mind, but with your words.