Zen and The Art of Haiku

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Library Assistant David shares the beauty and complexity of haiku

It is probable that while at school, you may have been encouraged by your English teacher to attempt to write a haiku. They may have told you that this accessible form of Japanese poetry contains seventeen syllables - three lines of five, seven, five, respectively. While there is an element of truth to these simple guidelines, the reality is far more complex. The purpose of this very brief article is to try and enhance the reader’s experience of haiku and perhaps encourage those with an interest, to attempt to write haiku themselves or even enter one of the numerous competitions, both local and international.

Haiku became a recognized form of poetry in Japan in 1679, when the most well-known of haiku poets, Matsuo Basho, utilised it as a means of expressing the principles of Zen Buddhism. This philosophy emphasizes the transient nature of existence. Basho expresses this insight in a poem written while visiting a long-forgotten battlefield:

blades of summer grass

all that is left

of warriors’ dreams

In terms of structure, we can see that there are three lines. However, there are fewer than seventeen syllables. The original idea of seventeen syllables is based on Japanese sound units called, on. Theseare far shorter than English syllables. The word haiku for example, contains two syllables in English and three sound units in Japanese, (ha-i-ku). Therefore, the use of seventeen syllables does not equate to the brevity of haiku in Japanese. As a rule, the fewest number of syllables to convey meaning, in one to four lines, would be most true to the original form. However, even seventeen syllables can be a challenge, as John Cooper Clarke wryly demonstrates:

to freeze the moment

in seventeen syllables

is very diffic

It should also be noted that in haiku there are no capitals at the beginnings of each line, or punctuation, or rhyme as is common in western poetry. However, there are some rules to follow when writing haiku in English, particularly if you would like your poetry to be considered for competition or publication. The most important of these is that there should always be two parts to the poem. In simple terms, this might be called the fragment and the phrase. This division is to create a clear distinction between images and avoid run-on lines.

Apart from the complexities of structure there are several other important factors that are necessary in creating haiku, these include: an acceptance that all things are fleeting, the observation and respect of nature, awareness in the moment, an open mind, simple beauty and a positive attitude – all of which are aspects of Zen Buddhist philosophy.

If you are interested in reading or writing haiku or would like to find out more about the subject, we have numerous books in the collection for further reading. Here are a few examples: