Tag: syllables
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An Introduction to Haiku – Compositional Techniques 2
Sense Switching “Sense switching” is a great technique for surprising and delighting the reader. A haiku poet might use it to engage the reader by introducing something unexpected in the poem or to connect two seemingly unrelated events or images. You can do this through careful placement of information across the phrase and fragment. Here,…
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An Introduction to Haiku – Compositional Techniques 1
Haiku can be tough to write, but they’re worth the challenge, and there are a few techniques that can help during composition. Juxtaposition The first technique you can take advantage of—and if you’ve read haiku you’ll have seen it often—is the use of juxtaposition. Jane Reichhold’s “phrase & fragment” theory is one of the most…
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An Introduction to Haiku – Form & Structure: Related Forms
The Haiku’s Siblings Haiku can be defined by a few general rules if we wish. But if we leave out one of the rules, is what we’ve written still haiku? If not, what is it? One of haiku’s close relatives is the senryu, which in modern ELH (English Language Haiku) practice is actually often interchanged…
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An Introduction to Haiku – Form & Structure: kireji & kigo
Cutting Words Another structural feature of the haiku is the kireji, or “cutting word”. In Japanese, kireji is a word used as punctuation, often signifying a question or an emotional subtext. It also signifies a break or pause at the end of a line. In English, cutting words are generally replaced by punctuation like exclamation…
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An Introduction to Haiku – Form & Structure: Syllables
Syllables Traditional Japanese Haiku has a strict form arranged around a total syllable count of seventeen. When translated into English, these verses are often presented in three lines and follow the same pattern of syllables. This sort of structural requirement is one of the aspects of Haiku that differentiates it from free verse poems. Some…
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An Introduction to Haiku – Background
In English language poetry the haiku is typically understood to be a short, three line poem comprised of a set number of syllables, and which usually deals with nature. This is a bare-bones description, and haiku can encompass a lot more, but it’s a starting point. autumn- even the birds and clouds look old Bashō…
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