Before we talk about a different type of poetry, let’s review some of the important things about poems. Poems use very concise language. They don’t have lots of extra words. Poems touch our senses and emotions. Poems can take many different forms.
<class=”wi”> Have you ever heard of haiku poetry? It’s a Japanese form of poetry that is very specific.
Haiku is very old and it has changed many times through the centuries. In the 1600s, a poet named Matsuo Basho wrote this classic haiku:
An old pond!
A frog jumps in —
the sound of water.
The philosophy of haiku is the focus on a brief moment in time; a use of provocative, colorful images; an ability to be read in one breath; and a sense of sudden enlightenment.
You need to remember three things. First, traditional haiku poems are about nature. Usually the subject of a haiku poem is a season, beautiful scenery, or an animal. Next, haiku poems require knowledge of how to count syllables. Remember, a syllable is a word part. The word “write” has one syllable. The word “writing” has two syllables. Finally, haiku poems have only three lines. The first line must have 5 syllables, the second line must have 7 syllables, and the third line must have 5 syllables.
Write a practice haiku and ask yourself these questions:
- 1. Is it about nature?
- 2. Does it have 3 lines?
- 3. Do the lines have 5, then 7, then 5 syllables?
If you answered “YES” to these questions, then you may be perfectly happy with your haiku poem! Now that you know the traditional form of haiku, put your creativity to work — use precise words to paint a beautiful picture of nature.
That’s all there is to it!