Republished by Blog Post Promoter
“a silent serenity;
isolated calm above.
the maddening herd below.”
~ CALM HAIKU, by Lawrence R. Spencer ~
* Haiku, unrhymed poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
The Japanese haiku and the English language haiku have several critical differences. In Japanese the haiku is composed of 17 sound units divided into three parts – one with 5 units, one with 7 units and another with 5 units. Since sound units are much shorter than English syllables, it has been found that following the Japanese example results in a much longer poem often filled up to make the count with unnecessary words.
The Japanese write their haiku in one line, in order to see clearly the parts of the haiku. In English each part is given a line. This allows the reader time to form an image in the mind before the eyes go back to the left margin for more words. The line breaks also act as a type of punctuation. The kigo, or season word, is a vital part of the Japanese haiku, but in English it is often ignored and not well understood. Therefore, a great number of English haiku do not have a season word and yet are considered to be haiku. The Japanese, because of their longer history of reading haiku, understand that there are two parts to the poem. In English these are called the phrase and fragment. One line is the fragment and the other two lines combine grammatically to become the phrase. Without this combining the two lines together the haiku will sound ‘choppy’ as the voice drops at the end of each line. (WikiHow.com)
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
A Haiku (in the English language) is a short poem which uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition. It is a development of the Japanese haiku poetic form in the English language. Some of the more common practices in English include: use of three lines of up to 17 syllables; most commonly, 5, 7, 5. Haiku uses an economy of words to paint a multi-tiered painting, without “telling all”.
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Drawing by Maurits Cornelis Escher (17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972). Haiku by Lawrence R. Spencer
M. C. Escher was a Dutch graphic artist. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. These feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations.
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
