Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 5094
Location: Scotland
Some rules of haiku
Some rules of Haiku – by a Gaijin haijin
1. Wise woman say: Rules are for the guidance of the wise and the obedience of the foolish. Equally wise woman say: Rules may well be for the guidance of the wise and the obedience of the foolish, but they’re there for a reason.
2. Haiku is a Japanese poetry form. The fact that we do not write it in Japanese takes us at least one step away from it’s purest form. It could be argued that since it is no longer in Japanese it is no longer haiku.
3. The classic haiku is a seventeen-syllable poem, arranged in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables respectively. There are other forms, but this one is perhaps the most beautiful to work with.
4. Here is an important fact: 17 syllables of English contains 30% more information than 17 syllables of Japanese. If you ignore that, however many of the other rules of haiku you adhere to, you have taken a further step from its classic form. Don’t let that stop you, if that is what you want to do. There are a couple of exciting paths to take, when faced by this particular challenge. Firstly you could find a way of economising on the information whilst still using the seventeen syllables – this will test your word-power, involve you in a search perhaps for longer words whilst maintaining the simplicity of the form (not easy). Alternatively you can shorten the syllable-length of the poem. Seventeen less 30% is roughly twelve, which means you can play around with, say, a 3-6-3 or 3-5-4 format. If you do the latter, be prepared to face the fact that some will say you have moved away from classic haiku; lesser haijin (like me) argue this point incessantly, while greater haijin just get on and write.
4. Haiku has its origins in Zen Buddhism, and there is a way to approach it. It is grounded in the observation of the poet – by which I mean it is to do with your senses, rather than your mind. In producing a haiku therefore, observation, thought, action, and result are one. Having “a neat idea for a haiku” takes us another step away from it – stay in the realm of “no thought” if you can.
5. Ideally, the observation has to be of something natural, preferably to do with the four seasons.
6. The sensory images can be from any of the senses. Sight and sound are the most commonly-referred to, but don’t forget you have others to play with, or to be worked upon.
7. These sensory images are then used to convey to the reader, a momentary mood or emotion. It is to be subtle in doing this, conveying it to the reader without any directly personal reference. Using a haiku form to say “I am sad because my girlfriend left me” takes one a further step away from the form.
8. There are two parts to the haiku. Firstly, the initial and second lines should be connected by both imagery and grammar. The last line should be a separate image, and usually it should refer more directly to the transient mood or emotion (subtly! subtly!).
9. If possible, avoid articles (“a” and “the”) and conjunctions (“and”, “but”, etc,).
10. You ought not to need punctuation, because the form and structure will regulate what you would otherwise have punctuated.
11. Having said all this, there is nothing to stop you taking the idea of a 5-7-5 structure, and using it for whatever purpose you like. You can write a long poem based on that whole verse-structure. There have been times when I have been told I have written very bad haiku but a splendid poem.
12. What do I consider to be a perfect haiku? I answer “Is perfection possible?” I will give an example below. It is basically one of ghost’s, but tweaked to illustrate a point.
summer's sun shines hot
on flowers brightly blazing
forget-me-nots fade
What has this got? Seasonal reference, natural observation, grammatical flow of first to second line, imagery flow from first to second line, simplicity… The third line is still a sensory observation, but with brilliant subtlety brings in the emotion surrounding fading memory. What a gem!
Please, please, please feel free to argue with all of the above, and above all to have a time of fulfilment writing haiku. Better still, let the haiku write you!
Mb
xx
_________________ all posted material (c) Marie Marshall, unless otherwise stated.
Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:04 am
Violets-On-The-Sea
Joined: 06 Nov 2005
Posts: 115
Location: England
thank you that's very good!
Violets
Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:53 pm
Mairi bheag
Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 5094
Location: Scotland
My pleasure, violets.
Mb
xx
_________________ all posted material (c) Marie Marshall, unless otherwise stated.
Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:16 pm
dRED1
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 836
Location: Lost in the sea of souls .... South Pacific
Thanks for this MB it's really informative
Sun Feb 26, 2006 11:51 am
Mairi bheag
Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 5094
Location: Scotland
quote:Originally posted by Ravenhairedgal:
Thanks for this MB it's really informative
You're very welcome Rhg!
Mb
xx
_________________ all posted material (c) Marie Marshall, unless otherwise stated.
Sun Feb 26, 2006 11:54 am
Toots
Joined: 05 May 2006
Posts: 6
Ahem! I read your text repeatedly, which proves that I am no one to write about something that is not contrived in my brain. Having said that, I must admit further to doing a little creative work on my own. I am positive that I am flying in the face of traditional Haiku, perhaps so much that I will not be able to call my idea that. And, there is always the very real possibility that my new idea is not new, nor mine. We shall see...
Just for fun, I suggest the following:
A short poem, 3 lines. 13 syllables in 4-5-4 format. Now comes the fun part:
Line 1, 4 syllables: the first two words must rhyme. The last word must NOT rhyme with the first two.
Line 2, 5 syllables: the first word must rhyme with the last word of line 1. It cannot rhyme with any other word in this line, nor any other word in the poem. The last two words must rhyme with each other, but not with any words elsewhere in the poem.
Line 3, 4 syllables: the first word must rhyme with the last word of line 2. It cannot rhyme with any other word in this line, nor any other word in the poem. The last two words must rhyme with each other AND with the first two words of line 1.
Line 2 is a continuation or clarification of line 1. Line 3 tells the outcome of the first two lines' interaction. No conjunctions, no articles. Any subject is ok. No punctuation. Use as many words per line as you like, but no altering the syllables and pattern.
And that is how I spent my morning...LOL..When you get a chance, please tell me what you think. Oh, btw.. my mels horoscope for the day:
"Why reinvent the wheel, especially when someone you admire has a clear blueprint for success? If you keep your eyes peeled, you'll see that the right teacher is already in your life. You just have to be ready."
I didn't read it until I had already done this little exercise and posted this. hahahahaha on me!
Best-
Toni
Fri May 05, 2006 6:11 pm
Mairi bheag
Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 5094
Location: Scotland
((((((((((Toots))))))))))
Toni, welcome to mels, sister, and I am honoured to be here to pick up your first post.
1. It's ingenious!
2. You should get out more!
Mb
xx
_________________ all posted material (c) Marie Marshall, unless otherwise stated.
Fri May 05, 2006 7:13 pm
Toots
Joined: 05 May 2006
Posts: 6
Thanks for reading my long post. Here is an example of the poem. I forgot to post that when I posted the "rules' of conduct..lol
singing wings fly
high mountain bells tell
well wish brings spring
thanks again. Maybe I'll call it "Haiku for the Cerebrally Oriented" LOLOL...nah. Unnatural Haiku is good enough
You're too kind..
Fri May 05, 2006 7:24 pm
Mairi bheag
Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 5094
Location: Scotland
No, no, no - this goes well beyond the concept of "un-natural haiku" (
as explained on www.allpoetry.com - for the uninitiated
). This is something beautifully contrived, bearing only a formal likeness to haiku, and having a whole set of rules of its own. Run with it, see how far you get.
Mb
xx
_________________ all posted material (c) Marie Marshall, unless otherwise stated.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum