Economy of Word Usage in Haiku
This article briefly discusses the economical usage of words in haiku.
If you are familiar with haiku, you might know that economical usage of words plays an important role in this kind of poetry. A moment needs to be described by the poet in not more than 17 syllables.
Of course, there is still some confusion whether haiku written in English should have 17 syllables. But this article is not about that.
Now, when you have 17 syllables to work with, you don’t really have a lot of words to spend. Haiku in English is often but not always written in the form of 5-7-5, i.e., five syllables in the first and third lines and seven in the second.
Projecting a moment into the eyes of the reader using 17 syllables or less is a challenge indeed. It is also part of the fun of composing this form of poetry. Generally, a haiku also contains a seasonal reference called kigo and a cutting word called kireji. These features must also be taken into account while composing it.
Composing a haiku requires a disciplined use of words. It must reflect the essence of the moment without revealing everything about it, thus providing the reader an opportunity to use his/her imagination too.
Tough call, you say? Well that’s what makes it so challenging to compose a great or even a good haiku.
By the way, the plural of haiku is haiku, although some use the term ‘haikus’. The thing is, haiku originated in Japan and in the Japanese language, nouns do not posses separate singular and plural forms. So the term haiku can be used as a singular or a plural noun. ‘Haikus’ is generally not used.
Do you wish to read more about this form of poetry? Follow the links below to do so
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku_in_English
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku
If you wish to read a few of my haiku, click on the following links
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