Haiku: Jewels on words I

Koi are one of the products of the Japanese culture that we all appreciate deeply. Our beautiful fish connect us to nature. We are emotionally attached to our fish in the same way as to our dogs and cats. Another jewel from the Japanese crown that does much the same thing is Haiku, a form of short poetry filled with nature and human emotion.

Composition in haiku is critical to the fastidious Japanese and conforms to a 5-7-5 tone pattern. Unfortunately for us English speakers the inflection and feeling of haiku written in Japanese does not always translate well. Without going into how in its native language, “n” is a tone unto itself, words like “ya” and “kana” are used as punctuation and a special construction technique called “internal comparison” implies several depths of meaning in the same poem, let us concentrate on haiku as it is treated in English.

The objectives of haiku are to make a connection with some particular event, and/or with some aspect of nature other than purely human. It may be described as "a record of a moment of emotion in which human nature is somehow linked to all nature." Of course, co-operation is required. The reader must consciously try to put himself in the poet's place -see what he sees, hear what he hears, etc., and so feel what he feels. This is one of the reasons why haiku-reading has been called an art in itself.

As a general rule a classical Japanese haiku:

1.) consist of 17 Japanese syllables (5 -7-5)

2.) contains at least some reference to nature (other than human nature)

3.) refers to a particular event (i.e., it is not a generalization)

4.) presents that even as happening now -not in the past.

None of these "general rules" is followed a full 100% of the time although very nearly so. The one most frequently broken is rule 1.

Haiku In English

Rule 1: As mentioned above, the strict 5-7-5 form is often adjusted to fit requirements of flow, clarity and aesthetics. In a recent English haiku contest conducted by Japan Airlines, of the 100 top poems 13 were other than 5-7-5 including the 3rd place winner.

It may be safely be said that most American writers of haiku today do use at least an approximation of the 5-7-5 syllable count. But they also employ the devices of stress and rhythm, traditional in English poetry. Few, if any have an absolutely fixed pattern of rhythm. They do, however insist that their poems must "sound right." Even the necessity for three lines has been questioned and poets who do use three lines have not agreed on what is the most desirable arrangement. Another question of form in which haiku written in English cannot possibly follow their classical Japanese prototypes is in the use of verbal punctuation marks, for which we have no exact equivalent.

A few poets prefer to write without using any punctuation marks whatever, with pauses indicated only by the ending of lines; others feel this is an unbearable restriction. The question of who is right (possibly both are) will have to be decided by the poets themselves. It does seem, however that the resources of the English language should be thoroughly investigated and used wherever appropriate.

For example, duration could be expressed by a series of dots, and Hackett's "hawk" haiku.

Searching on the wind, the hawk's cry . . . , is the shape of its beak.

An other question of form has to do with rhyme. There is no rhyme in classical Japanese haiku. Indeed there hardly could be. In a language in which every syllable ends in a short vowel or an "n" sound, rhyme would soon become intolerably monotonous. In English, rhyming has a long history in poetry. However, in haiku rhymes tend to trivialize the emotional aspects of the writing and are not considered appropriate.

Rule 2: Nature, or some aspect of nature, is an integral part of any classical Japanese haiku. So it is for most American haiku. There is, however a marked difference between the two in the use of season-words, which is practically universal in classical haiku. [Season-words or phrases are metaphorical clues to the time of the year in which the haiku is set. i.e. “the change of clothes” implies that the poem takes place in the summer.] American writers can be divided into those who are against their use, those who are for it, and those (apparently the vast majority) who know nothing whatever about it. Season-words are so closely tied to deep threads in the Japanese culture. It seems that using corresponding Western icons such as snow, falling leaves or beating your rugs might be more appropriate if the writer is interested in including these hints.

Clement Hoyt, a former editor of American Haiku and quite a number of other poets, has proposed that season words be suggested in English haiku by the whole tone of the poem, rather than by conventional season-words. As an example, he feels that the following, by J. M. Dunsmore:

Each fugitive wave

flings free, sprawls, sighs -is sucked back

to a restless grave.

suggests a bleak November, and, more specifically, either at nightfall or at night.

Rules 3 and 4: The classical general rule 3 -that haiku convey the emotions aroused by one particular event, and are never generalizations -is followed in most American haiku. There are, however, a quite large number of variations from general rule 4 -that the event be presented as now -not in the past. Some of these variations are apparent rather than real. For example, in James W. Dyer's:

That dead tree's branches

I, that clump of weeds, and all

Flowered that summer.

the verb is in the past tense, but the whole feeling of the poem -the emotion -is now.

Conclusions: First, there is as yet no complete unanimity among American poets (or editors) as to what constitutes haiku in English -how it differs from other poems which may be equally short. In other words, English haiku is still in its infancy. When we compare it to the Japanese tradition of over 800 years.

Second, there is increasing agreement on certain basic points. The vast majority of haiku in English does treat nature, or some aspect of nature, as an integral part of the poem. Most express an emotion aroused by some one particular event and try to convey it to the reader as simply as possible.

Third, the majority of American poets do not seem to be familiar with the techniques developed by the Japanese haiku-masters. It is not suggested that these techniques must be adopted, but does seem obvious that some knowledge of them would be useful, at the very least, as suggestions for developing their own technique. Even so, one should not use this as an excuse to not try his hand at writing his own haiku.

Next month we will look at writing haiku in English.

Sources: http://www.taoismandpoetry.org/school2.htm http://www.vcnet.toyama.toyama.jp/~nabe/Haiku.htm

Ed: Personally I read and write (haltingly at best) haiku and have started slipping in one here or there when I have space. Barbels hopes that everyone who sees this newsletter will feel inspired to write some haiku of your own. If you do, then send me your offerings and I’ll try to work some into the newsletter. a