haiku

Haiku is a traditional style of Japanese poetry in which 17 syllables are written in three lines, with the first line containing five syllables, the second line containing seven, and the third line containing five.

The word haiku is also commonly used to refer to a poem written in this way. The plural is haiku, though it’s common to see people casually refer to haikus.

For example:

Haiku are poems. (five syllables)
Haiku always have three lines (seven syllables)
They often don’t rhyme. (five syllables)

Traditional Japanese haiku often use natural subjects or imagery. This often involves using specific words that represent the seasons.

However, for English speakers, haiku has become a popular style of poetry that can be about anything. Many people use haiku as a form for creating funny, entertaining, or absurd poems, using the 5-7-5 syllable format as a kind of challenge or guiding principle.

The form of poetry we call haiku was developed in the 1600s, but it wasn’t called haiku until later. The earliest records of the word haiku in English come from the 1890s. In Japanese, hai means “amusement” and ku means “verse.”

The format was first used in the opening lines of much longer oral poems known as renga. It was developed in the 1600s by Matsuo Basho, who is considered a master of haiku. Many Japanese poets used his poems as a standard for haiku poetry in the following centuries. By the 1800s, haiku had become a separate form of poetry.

Most Japanese haiku can’t keep the traditional 5-7-5 structure when translated into English, such as this translation of a haiku by Basho:

The old pond!
A frog jumps in—
the sound of water

In fact, many haiku do not follow the 5-7-5 structure even in written Japanese because the Japanese language doesn’t count syllables the same way English does. Still, most English speakers follow the 5-7-5 structure. This structure is often thought to add to the beauty, humor, or silliness of the poem.

Japanese haiku usually have a kigo, a word or phrase that is directly connected to a season in Japanese culture. Over the years, Japanese translators have compiled lists of hundreds of kigo used in haiku and their traditional meanings in Japanese culture.

Haiku is rooted in Japanese culture but has become popular in many cultures. Traditional Japanese haiku are often about nature, but haiku can be about any topic.

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Accidentally
I drank from the cup, the glass
That had the spider
#haiku

— Kenton Oliver 🇨🇦 (@ataraxypoetry) August 11, 2020

Words do not behave / As neatly as we might like. / That's English for you.#GrammarDay #haiku

— Karen "The Dark Angel of Editing" Conlin (@GramrgednAngel) March 2, 2017

• Japan
• poetry
• Matsuo Basho
• renga
• nature
• syllable

Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that often uses imagery based on:

A. outer space
B. nature and the seasons
C. religion
D. Japanese warriors