“Haiku:
A Most Delicate (And…Disciplined) Form Of Expression”
08/23/12
To my ever-dearest, and most wonderful friends, and
constantly kind, and loyal readers,
Today, I would very much like for you to consider, “Haiku”,
an historical, and very disciplined poetic art form in Japan, and—now—elsewhere,
as it becomes more popular.
‘Haiku’: A brief overview:
The poetic form known as, Haiku, can be found in
Japan, in 1644, in the works of the poet, Matsuo’, which—in its creation and
development, was first referred to as ‘Hokku’, a three line, open verse
(without rhymes), with a very, specific number of syllables, or, ‘beats’,
assigned to each line; and is presented, as follows:
Line 1, is composed of seven syllables, or beats.
Line 2, is composed of seven syllables, or beats.
Line 3, is again composed of five syllables, or
beats.
Further, ancient Haiku tended to run in a series, or
separate, and discrete cycles.
In traditional Japanese Haiku (whose name was
changed from ‘Hokku’, to ‘Haiku’, sometime in the mid-nineteenth century, by
the well-known, and highly esteemed poet, Masoaka Shiki), the poetic form is
employed to convey impressions, rather than subject nouns.
Also, writers of Haiku are no longer bound by having
to write in series, but may simply compose a single Haiku. On any subject or topic one may wish.
At the end of the first line, or the second, a ‘kieji’,
or, ‘cutting, or chopping word is used to separate the poem into two halves,
which for our purposes may be called adjectival impression, followed by a
resolution of stated, personal effect.
In Japan, and in other Asian cultures, the poetic
use of Haiku is thought of as being one of the purest forms of art, venerated
most highly among its peoples.
And, should the poet desire to further explore
artistic expression, often, the very physical writing of an Haiku using a
bamboo brush, soy ink, and rice paper, to delineate various Japanese ideographs—or
calligraphy—is used to create not just the poem, but to ever strive to make ‘the
most perfect representation of each letter’; this is also considered to be high
art.
The goal of Haiku is one of description, rather than
the direct use of nouns. For example,
should a poet wish to write an Haiku about the rain, he would—in a strict
economy of words—describe—in fact—what rain is like, or, what properties are
described that, to the reader, would automatically infer the notion of, or the
idea of ‘rain’.
The third line in Haiku is a personally experienced
discovery, or impression, or sense of awe or enlightenment that resolves the
poem.
There is a well-established ‘American School’ of
Haiku, which differs from the traditional Japanese form in several, important
ways.
1)
Since the translation of Japanese into
English, or English to Japanese is impossibly difficult (as you may well
imagine), Haiku written by English-speaking peoples, both in America, and
abroad, use a punctuation mark, rather than a word, as the necessary ‘keiji’,
or chopping, or transitional word.
2)
Further, while the American school still
follows a traditional, three-line form, the fixed number of syllables per line
can be changed, as may be needed.
My very dearest friends, should you wish to explore—further—the
craft, and the art of writing Haiku, if you ‘Google Search’ the “American
School Of Haiku”, I hope you will find there listed a link to ‘Haiku
Learning.blog’, which will provide you with a better understanding of, and instructions
on how to author your own Haiku’s!
A successful Haiku is like a very short burst of
impression, and resolution. As it is
written in free verse, no rhyming words are necessary; you can—in your own
consideration—employ such elements or constructs as may be found in the
examination of effect and cause (rather than cause and effect!), words or
phrases that compare or contrast the two parts of the poem.
And while it may seem daunting at first, Haiku
allows one to soar free and ever high, and can successfully unite emotions,
and/or address the elements of the entire, human sensorium, that of taste,
touch, sight, hearing, smell, colors, experiences, music, anything you might
wish to express, all in one Haiku.
But, my dearest friends, please do not think that
your Haiku HAS to be unremittingly serious and dire, full of, ‘sturm und drang
(storm and drive, or ‘stress’). Many
writers and poets compose Haiku that is humorous, light, charming, even; while
still able to poignantly address elements of the human condition.
I submit—for an example—a well-remembered Haiku
composed by a Chinese poet, whose name—of course—I cannot now recall!
Two people.
One umbrella.
The person more loved
Gets less wet!
And that, dear friends, cannot help but make one
smile! J
I am always searching for alternative forms of
expression, meaning, and substance.
And…artistic endeavors—no matter in what field—do make
ably manifest the desire to find fulfillment, with Self, with Man, and with
Nature. Thus, for instance, while I
absolutely have never been able to dance ( being in possession of ‘two left
feet’ doesn’t begin to explain it), as I look very much look like a washing
machine stuck on the ‘spin cycle’, yet, I can, and do enjoy Dance.
Countless aspirations and accomplishments are
successfully self-expressive, and, beautiful; if you can garden, cook, sew,
paint, sing (even if its confined to the shower!), play and instrument, draw,
dance, etc., to me qualifies them as ‘fine art’. Even if you can evidence—only—a true, kind
and caring heart, that, my dearest friends is a gift from God, and a ‘talent’ that rescues, understands, restores, and helps
heal. Although often understated, that, alone, makes you wonderfully special,
and so very necessary considering the current time in which we live.
And while I request that you attempt composing your
own Haiku, and submitting it, or them to the ‘comment section’, below,
actually, I would also very much appreciate your comments on what you enjoy,
are ‘good’ at, or that you think is special.
I
already well-know just how very kind, caring and wonderful you are!
And,
please always know that I love you dearly!
‘Zahc’/Charles
