To write a haiku, it is helpful to know what a haiku is. A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry. It is a short poem expressing a thought and contrast. The word “haiku” is both singular and plural. More than one haiku is never referred to as “haikus.”
The origins of haiku
Haiku have been around for hundreds of years, originating from a Japanese game called “haikai no renga.” In this game, a group of professional poets collaboratively wrote a poem. Starting with one poet who initiated the first verse of the poem, one-by-one each poet added a verse until the poem contained 100 verses.
The verses were short, and the first verse (the hokku) usually referenced a season. Each subsequent verse related in some way to the previous verse following the same format, such as number of syllables or word pattern. The first verse spawned the traditional haiku as an independent poem.
A haiku’s structure
The traditional haiku referenced nature or a season and contained only three lines with 17 syllables in a 5-7-5 pattern (five syllables on line 1, seven on line 2 and five on line 3). The Japanese haiku has been mimicked by the English, but over time, the English version of the haiku has been altered to follow a number of different patterns, such as 3-5-3, 2-3-2, and so on. Some haiku writers use free-form and do not follow any type of structure.
Haiku do not generally have titles or rhyme. The goal of a haiku is to draw an image in the reader’s mind of a subject, and then an image of an element of contrast to the subject. The relationship of the images is not always obvious at first; readers must come up with their own conclusions. See the example below:
Darkness of night
In the example above, a 3-4-3 pattern was used, and three separate images drawn. Do you see the relationship between the images? Perhaps “Leaves falling” and “Birds flutter” sound the same, or “Birds flutter” cause “Leaves falling.” Perhaps “Birds flutter” is heard in the “Darkness of night.” Do you see how readers are left to their own conclusions?
Some haiku are written with a colon or a hyphen to separate a new element of contrast. For example:
Early morning dew:
Pink roses open slowly
In morning sunshine.
Tips for writing your own haiku
Here is a simple process to help you write your own haiku
1. Select a pattern.
2. Pick a subject and think of what it brings to mind for you.
3. Avoid adverbs or adjectives except when necessary to draw a distinct picture.
4. Do not just write a long sentence covering three lines.
5. Use present tense.
6. Punctuation or capitalization is not necessary.
By Hillary Davenport
Learn more about Japanese Haiku (with free infographic) at Hillary’s blog.