Haiku provides an opportunity to work with several important elements of poetry: visual imagery, pleasing sounds, line breaks, symbolism, and form. Because a haiku is short--only seventeen syllables--the writer has the opportunity to hone it to a highly polished state.

A form of Japanese poetry, haiku has existed for hundreds of years. A haiku consists of three unrhymed lines, the first having five syllables; the second, seven; and the third, five. Getting the content to fit the form can be a major challenge in any poem; because a haiku is so short, that challenge becomes both enjoyable and attainable.

Requirements of a Haiku

Simply distributing seventeen syllables in a 5-7-5 pattern over three lines does not necessarily make a haiku, especially a good one. In addition to the syllable pattern, a haiku should have nature as its subject matter, and it should capture one moment in time. Very often the description of nature in a haiku poem implies a broader truth about life in general.

Tips for Making Your Haiku Powerful

• To ensure that you describe one moment in time, use a photograph for your inspiration. Many calendars have nature scenes that would make excellent subject matter.

• Spend some time thinking about the scene you're describing. Does it suggest a broader truth?

• In order to make the most of your seventeen syllables, use nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs that are packed with meaning. Spend a minimum of syllables on articles, prepositions, and "to be" verbs. (Don't carry this to the extreme so that your poem sounds like a telegram with words omitted.)

• Try to use words with sounds that reinforce your meaning. For example, words with short i's and t's might sound like raindrops; words with sh's might sound like wind or rushing water.

• Try to have your lines break at the end of a phrase.

• Have no more than two sentences in your haiku; one might be even better. Having one sentence per line is likely to make your haiku sound choppy--and is likely to leave you with too few words that are packed with meaning.

Crafting your content to fit within the seventeen-syllable framework is simultaneously an amusement and a challenge. Success can produce a unique feeling of triumph.

Example of a Haiku

Foamy tides erase
My legacy of footprints.
Was I ever here?

 

Fran Santoro Hamilton's thirty-five years as teacher, writer, and editor have enabled her to distill the English language to its essentials. Fran is the author of Hands-On English , an English handbook that makes grammar visual, and she cosponsors The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration . Fran provides many free resources at www.GrammarAndMore.com.