haiku
What is Haiku? Definition, Usage, and Literary Examples
Haiku Definition
The haiku (hi-COO) is a form of Japanese poetry that originated in the 17th century. The haiku consists of three lines and has a syllabic count of 17.
The word haiku was first used in English in 1902. The meaning is as the same in English as it is in Japanese. Haiku is both singular and plural, meaning you can read one haiku or several haiku.
Elements of the Haiku
The haiku has a set form. Each haiku must consist of exactly three lines, and each line must adhere to a strict syllabic count where the first and third lines contain five syllables and the second line contains seven syllables. It isn’t necessary for these lines to rhyme, though they can.
It’s important to remember that when you read translated haiku, the syllabic count may end up different from the form’s specifications. This is because the number of syllables per word may differ in the translated language vs. in the original.
Content and Style of a Haiku
The haiku form tends to describe nature and natural phenomenon, such as clouds obscuring the moon. It also frequently contains a kigo, a reference to a season, which can be either a word or a phrase.
Haiku also often contain a kireji, or a “cutting word.” This serves the same purpose as a volta in a sonnet; it cuts across the trajectory of the poem, offering either a shift in perspective or subject matter or a resolution and sense of closure.
Haiku tend to be written with a wistful or contemplative tone and eschew figurative language such as metaphor and simile in favor of an impressionistic or naturalistic description of the world. Additionally, because of their strict line and syllabic count, haiku are known for their sparseness. There are no superfluous or unnecessary words in haiku.
Examples of Haiku in Literature
1. Bashō, “Old Pond”
Perhaps the most famous haiku in the world was written in 1686 by Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō:
An old pond!
A frog jumps in--
the sound of water.
Of course, this poem doesn’t appear to contain the required syllabic measurement because it’s been translated from the original Japanese into English, which have too varied a syllabic count.
2. Sonia Sanchez, 14 haiku
Sanchez wrote a series of linked haiku in honor of Emmett Till, a black child who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 when a white woman accused him of whistling at her. Sanchez’s poem contains 14 haiku, one for each year of Till’s life. These are the first two haiku:
1.
Your limbs buried
in northern muscle carry
their own heartbeat
2.
Mississippi…
alert with
conjugated pain
The astute reader will notice that neither of these opening haiku contain the precise syllabic count required by the form. Sanchez’s first haiku has a syllabic count of four-seven-four, and her second has the syllabic count of four-three-five. Sanchez made an artistic decision to deviate from the strict requirements. This choice shows the brutality and wrongness of Till’s murder and echoes his absence from the world by leaving her poem empty of the expected number of syllables. This modern American haiku also deviates from the traditional haiku subject matter of nature and the natural world.
3. Ron Padgett, “Haiku”
Padgett is an American poet who has written many haiku. Perhaps his best-known haiku is titled “Haiku”:
First: five syllables
Second: seven syllables
Third: five syllables
This clever poem is a kind of meta-haiku. The poem’s form is a haiku and its subject matter is the definition of the form.
Another of Padgett’s haiku, which also shares the title “Haiku,” contains useful advice for life:
First, calm down.
Next, stay that way
for the rest of your life.
While neither of these poems adhere to the traditional subject matter of the haiku by describing the natural world, nor do they contain a kigo (reference to the season) or a kireji (“cutting word”), they do follow the haiku form’s required syllabic count.
Further Resources on Haiku
The Academy of American Poets has a useful brief overview of haiku.
The Academy of American Poets also published this interesting exploration of “The Haiga: Haiku, Calligraphy, and Painting,” which explores the history of the haiku and how it has influenced visual art.
The Tofugu website provides a wonderful and comprehensive deep dive into haiku.