Unit Four: Japanese Haiku

You will find that analyzing Japanese haiku is different from analyzing the story as we have done. Though significant evidence supports the concept that all creativity stems from the same place, there is also no mistaking the impact a culture can have on works of art. In some ways, Japanese culture is highly simplified, in other ways impossibly complicated. Haiku represents this, simple as it is on the outside and complex as it is beneath the surface.

Always search, when reading a haiku, for the surface level amusement that most haiku seek. Do you laugh? Do you cry? Do you scratch your head?

Then look beyond, for each successful haiku has layers on layers of depth, like the earth. The first interpretive device you can take to the reading of a haiku is a kigo, which is a word that connotes a season. There are online dictionaries of these words, but most of the season words are intuitive. A cherry blossom connotes spring because that's when cherry blossoms bloom. Pumpkin connotes fall because that's when pumpkins become ripe enough to eat.

Next, search for tension, contradiction, or opposition. The haiku largely functions by placing objects of the world side by side. Many times these items paradoxically seem distant; but something unites them. In there somewhere is a place for analysis. Notice that this interpretative device is also found in literature the world over.

The last one we'll talk about (there are indeed many more) is nature, especially as it relates to huminity. Note where and how you see nature, base a few analytical questions on this aspect of each poem.




Assignment #1: Read all of Basho's haiku listed on this website. Select two to analyze in depth. Each analysis should be at least one whole page in length. Achieve structure in your essay--do not let yourself wander around among literary interpretations. Focus your essay in a clear and effective way.

Assignment #2: Write twelve haiku. Demonstrate an element of each of the levels of depth discussed above. Have a seasonal word (does not have to be a standard season word--popcorn, for instance, might by your seasonal word for winter because you watch many movies when it gets cold), tension or opposition, and nature (and you can stretch this one to fit your imagination as well). It is best if you write these haiku over a long period of time, for instance, one haiku a day for twelve days. It is a much better learning experience, and you will be able to attempt many times what is often referred to as the "haiku moment," when all things come together into your three-line poem. Note: You do not have to use the 5-7-5 syllable pattern commonly associated with Japanese haiku. Use the three-line structure, but have as many or few syllables as you wish.