The long & the short of the "5-7-5" misunderstanding…

A LITTLE ABOUT HAIKU

“The term syllable is an inaccurate way of describing the actual metrical units of Japanese poetry.” —Haruo Shirane, in his introduction to Kōji Kawamoto’s The Poetics of Japanese Verse (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 2000)

“I don’t think counting 5,7,5 syllables is necessary or desirable. To reflect the natural world, and the season, is to reflect what is.” —Gary Snyder

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In English and other languages, haiku has mistakenly been taught as having 5-7-5 syllables, but that’s not an accurate interpretation of the form. Without going into an in-depth linguistics lesson, it breaks down like this: Japanese haiku counts sounds, which have been misinterpreted in English as syllables (as most Japanese dialects, including standard use *moraic language, rather than a syllabic one). For example, the word “haiku” is two syllables in English (hi-ku), but three sounds in Japanese (ha-i-ku). This isn’t how “haiku” is said in Japanese, but it is how its sounds are counted. Similarly, consider “Tokyo.” Most Westerners pronounce it as “toe-key-oh,” but that’s incorrect. It’s actually pronounced as “toe-kyo.” YET it counts as “toe-oh-kyo-oh”—four sounds.

Yeah, this is the non-in-depth version.

It's not difficult to understand how some confusion could arise .

There are an endless supply of examples. But, you get the point. Somewhere along the way, the syllable - slash - sound misconstruing turned into the urban legend of haiku, and to this day is still a big social media controversy.

That's not to say that a 5-7-5 haiku is not possible to write, but there are technical rules of haiku which need to be met to be a "real" haiku, and sometimes adhering to the 5-7-5 line-count can result in superfluous words which can be removed to make a tighter and more effective poem.

So, just what is a haiku?

In his book, How to Haiku, Jim Kacian defines haiku as "a brief poem which records an experience of a moment of revelation into the nature of the world in an effort to share it with others."

“Traditional haiku describe an event in nature, but modern haiku may describe indoor events and scenes or man-made objects." (Dinae Kampf, Pen & the Pad)

The style of haiku, and Japanese short-verse collectively, has been modified many times since the mid 1600's, however, the following rules of haiku are essential:

KIRU or KIREJI - the juxtaposition Kiru refers to "cutting" and kireji is the cutting word in a haiku which creates a juxtaposition in the poem. This cut word usually appears at the end of the 2nd or 3rd line. On L2, it may briefly cut the stream of thought, suggesting a parallel between the preceding and following phrases. On L3, it may provide a dignified ending, concluding the verse with a heightened sense of closure, like a surprise ending. The cut directs the poem to an un-obvious conclusion, which is what defines a haiku - the contrast. When building a haiku, it should feel almost as though the writer is describing the same scene in three different ways, and where it ends should be a noticeable contrast to where it begins.

KIGO - a seasonal word A kigo is a seasonal or nature word which lets the reader experience what time of day, week, month, or year it is. Note: without a word alluding to something in nature or a seasonal reference, the poem becomes a senryu, not a haiku. As a rule, a senryu is a haiku about human nature, while a haiku is about Mother Nature.

For Example:

freshly fallen snow— opening a new package of typing paper

(by Nick Avis)

Halloween

Death

takes two Kit-Kats

(by #Piku314)

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A handful of common kigo categories include:

The seasons - each broken down into early, mid & late

Example: "harvest" denotes mid-autumn; "frost" hints of early winter; dog days = mid-July to mid-August

The sky and heavens

Example: "Full Wolf Moon" refers to late-January; "starlight" evokes night; "red skies" can be dawn or dusk; rainbow; flood

The Earth

Example: "bare trees" mean winter; "rain" hints at spring or summer; wildflowers; drought, etc.

Humanity

Example: human actions or interactions in both opposition & concordance with their natural surroundings; napping, sunning, swimming, working, walking, shopping, cooking

Observances

Example: holidays, State & Federal observances, National Days

Animals

Example: frogs (late spring), herons (mid-summer), spider (early fall), snow geese (winter)

Plants

Example: sunflowers (summer), cherry blossoms (spring), maple trees (autumn), holly (winter)

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METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING

The debate over metaphors in haiku can get as heated as the "5-7-5" argument, but the basic rule is that extrinsic - implied - metaphors are the way to go, and the two main reasons for this is because as a haiku rule:

1.) Inanimate objects cannot be anthropomorphize in haiku poetry, so a thing cannot be made to do what it can't do in real life. So, trees can not hear, boots can think, and so on.

and

2.) Overt metaphors and similes hamper the poem's objective of being understated, read as clunky by using unnecessary words. In other words: Kill your darlings. (We're getting to that.)

So how are metaphors and similes similar? A metaphor makes a comparison by stating that one thing is something else, but a simile says that one thing is like or as something else.

Example:

Metaphor: Every day is a winding road.

Simile: Every day is like a winding road.

In his article The Contiguous Image: Mapping Metaphor in Haiku, Matthew M. Cariello explains, “Metaphor is central to all poetry, including haiku... because the metaphor is 'an integral part of our way of understanding the world.'”

For writers looking to figure out how to handle overt metaphor in haiku, a helpful task is to learn how to avoid metaphor in haiku. Learning how to control that also helps with learning how to introduce metaphor (on occasion). Additionally, it's helpful to read a lot of contemporary English-language haiku from the various haiku journals, anthologies, and reliable online sites. Make note of how, when, and where metaphor is used, and whether it's intrinsic and extrinsic. Be equally aware of similes (which are easier to spot because they nearly always require a “like” or “as” comparison word).

KEY TO KU - Kill your darlings

Haiku is about creating dramatic imagery using the fewest words possible. Avoid redundant repetition, and repeating yourself, or saying the same thing over and over. You don't have to say "dark night" - if it's night, we know it's dark. Show the reader why the night is dark... is it stormy? Is it foggy? Is it cloudy? Is there a new moon? Haiku is all about SHOW, DON'T TELL.

For example:

mania

the tulip and I

broken

(by Babs McGrory)

the summer grasses

all that remains

of warriors dreams

(by Matsuo Basho)

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In summation A "real haiku" has nothing to do with 5-7-5.

To be a real haiku, this micro-poem has to take place in the moment, describe a scene happening in the now, allow the reader - without being told - to know know what time of day or year the poem is taking place, and most importantly, have a pivot point creating a juxtaposition - almost like a surprise ending. A haiku is not one 17-syllable sentence split into 3-lines of 5-7-5. In fact, 1-line haiku are a-whole-nother thing entirely. A haiku is a vivid poem conveying how it feels to experience a moment of revelation in the nature of the world.

But that probably wasn't the easiest thing for teachers to convey to a bunch of elementary school kids, thus the legend of 5-7-5 was born.

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WHERE TO FIND EXCEPTIONAL HAIKU

The Haiku Foundation Graceguts Failed Haiku Prune Juice : Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun, & Haiga Cicada’s Cry

Human/Kind Journal Golden Triangle/Golden Haiku