Hi shah,
Thanks for posting this!
I think what you've copied is something I can grasp, something that helps me
let the others things I've picked up slip and slide into place. What's said
kind of offers a feel for the things, a way of appreciating them.
Bob
>From: c s shah <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Pennine Poetry Works <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: NEW Haiku (Bob)[3]
>Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 20:18:04 +0530
>
>With presumably no objection from Gerald, I post his views on Haiku.
>
>I had written to him:
>"Haiku is a three line, unrhymed verse with each line following a strict
>syllable count. Lines one and three have 5 syllables. Line two has
>seven. Usually the theme is about nature."
>
>And Gerald had replied:
>
>This dictionary definition is misleading.
>
>In Japanese, a haiku consists of 17 "onji". Early translators equated
>Japanese "onji" with English "syllables" and created the myth of the
>5-7-5 western haiku. English syllables vary in length and most haikuists
>consider that 17 syllables is too long.
>
>A better working definition of haiku is
>"Haiku is an unrhymed Japanese verse form that records the essence of a
>moment keenly perceived, in which nature is linked to human nature.
>Haiku is written about common experiences and natural objects.
>They use simple language and usually no metaphors or similes.
>Haiku traditionally contains two contrasting images.
>One suggests time and place.
>The other is a strong, temporary observation.
>Together they form a new image - which is left for the reader to
>discern.
>In Western literature these poems are often arranged in three lines of
>5-7-5 syllables, leading to the erroneous belief that haiku is merely a
>seventeen-syllable poem. Seventeen Japanese syllables (or, more strictly
>onji "sounds") approximates only to around twelve English syllables
>and so most haikuists regard 17 syllables as a maximum, and not a
>requirement.
>
>More important than syllable-count is the inclusion of a "season word"
>(kigo) and a "cutting word" (kireji) that marks a pause.
>
>For more information see
>http://www.nhi.clara.net/hk.htm
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