We've already had several threads started on Haiku, and some excellent samples of the form. I thought it was time I got around to starting one which gives a little more detail.
Haiku is Japanese, as are many forms of short poem, and don't translate exactly to English. Japanese syllables are shorter than English syllables and a slight stress at the end of a single syllable in English could equate to two syllables in Japanese. The basic syllabic count is 5, 7, 5 and when you are new to the form, it is good to try for that count as it disciplines the writing muscles, and helps the rhyme schemer solidify so the form becomes more like second nature. However, as there is always 'discussion' on the form in English, some saying that 3, 5, 3 is equivalent to the Japanese; don't get caught up by the count. Also, there is the Classic form, which maintains a strict syllabic count, which in English is 5, 7 5 and the Modern form, which aims for brevity regardless of whether the syllabic count is exact or not.
The aim is to be concise, use simple language, to capture a 'moment', a 'breath' and is written over three lines. If you have 5, 8, 4 (or 3, 5, 2) that's also fine - the beat is what makes it work. Incidentally, it was the 'beat generation' which brought Haiku to the notice of English writers and readers.
The primary aim of a haiku, in the strict sense of the form, is to reflect something you've experienced about nature and include a seasonal reference. They should not include metaphor or simile and should not be personal, something from within; but rather something which has happened outside you but caused a response in you through your senses.
There is much more to be said about haiku - ironic considering it is such a short form - but I'll add more here over time. Some technical things about the form:
*they don't have titles,
*as little punctuation as possible
*one line, first or last, sets the season or time, usually with a reference such as 'falling leaves' rather than Autumn basically setting the scene
*the other two lines create the 'story'.
Think of it as a little play; or as a 'little moment' or a breath or more properly and succinctly: the essence of a moment - that is a good way to 'know' what haiku is.
The following are from John Bird's 'Getting Started with Haiku' - John Bird is a well-known Aussie haiku writer.
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Some Short Definitions of Haiku in English
[There is no agreed definition. Many argue it is futile to seek one. However, reading the following selection of short definitions may be useful until you are ready to decide what 'haiku' means to you ...jb]
The Haiku Society of America:
'1) An unrhymed Japanese poem recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived, in which Nature is linked to human nature. It usually consists of seventeen onji.
2) A foreign adaptation of 1, usually written in three lines totalling fewer than seventeen syllables.'
Dhugal J. Lindsay's
'Short poem of rhythmical structure, between 7 and 17 syllables in length. It contains a reference to a seasonal or otherwise natural entity, is concrete, and illuminates some aspect of the Existence of one or more of the elements or entities within the poem.'
Harold G. Henderson
'Primarily it is a poem; and being a poem it is intended to express and evoke emotion... haiku is a very short poem... more concerned with human emotions than with human acts, and natural phenomena are used to reflect human emotion.'
From New Zealand. A workshop held July, 2000, in Picton, New Zealand, and led by Jim Kacian of the World Haiku Association, arrived at the following:
'Haiku is a poetic form of Japanese origin now written world wide; examples of which contain a core of poetic truth; distilled from experience deeply felt and keenly perceived, as characterised by brevity, immediacy, juxtaposition of two images, resonance; and typically written in 1 to 17 syllables.'
From Tinywords.
'Haiku are extremely short poems written in 17 syllables or fewer, often (but not necessarily) arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each. Haiku make use of concrete imagery, not abstractions, and are often (though not always) concerned with the natural world.
Some people insist that each haiku contain a "kigo," or word indicating the season, although others relax this rule.
Many haiku writers insist on a break, or caesura, after the first or second line. This should set up tension (comparison, contrast, or a surprising association) between the haiku's images.'
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For such a short form, there is a lot to writing them - and there should be a lot to their impact as well. That is the main thing to aim for: impact.
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