I read somewhere that the 5-7-5 rule is not hard and fast, just a common form. But I could be wrong. I'm too busy (for once) to actually look it up lol.
I've seen 3-5-3. Those are hard. I dunno. An American would say, of course 5-10-5 is a haiku format, I just invented it. But Japanese are a little more constrained to coloring within the lines.
Here's the Bass Haiku rule: if you set out to write a 5-10-5 haiku, it's legitimate, but if you just wrote something that turned out to be 5-10-5, it's not.
If you want to get technical, it looks like it's three metrical phrases, in one vertical line rather than three lines, and 5-7-5 ons, which are like syllables, but not the same. It also should contain a kigo, or seasonal reference.
So we've apparently already Americanized it just by putting it into our language (by virtue of using our crass "syllable" system).
well, I still don't know what ons are, but apparently you can have more than one on per syllable, so a haiku might have fewer syllables than 5-7-5.
I learned about haikus from third graders, back in my church-going days. That's probably not the best source for learning the fine details and the cultural implications of the form, but it was fun. Little kids can be really good at this.
The 5-7-5 pattern is appealing, in the way that certain sizes (cigarette pack, cell phone) just feel right, or like those magic ratios that architects know about, like the 5:3 picture window. And a well-constructed haiku can have a very fluid feel. I suspect that smooth flow and ons are related.
Probably doesn't mean anything, but 3-5-3 and 5-7-5 are all prime numbers and the total number of words is also prime. 11-13-11 are primes but they add up to a non-prime, but 17-19-17 works. We could call it a bassku. With 53 words, there's plenty of opportunity to get that seasonal reference in.
29-31-29 also works. I think 89 is prime. We can call this a happinessku.
Comments
is 5-10-5 a valid
format for haiku?
Here's the Bass Haiku rule: if you set out to write a 5-10-5 haiku, it's legitimate, but if you just wrote something that turned out to be 5-10-5, it's not.
So we've apparently already Americanized it just by putting it into our language (by virtue of using our crass "syllable" system).
how are ons like syllables,
how do they differ?
No matter what, I think we're going to have to Americanize the layout. I don't think the vertical line thing is gonna work for us.
the Japanese language but
here's a link for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onji
I learned about haikus from third graders, back in my church-going days. That's probably not the best source for learning the fine details and the cultural implications of the form, but it was fun. Little kids can be really good at this.
The 5-7-5 pattern is appealing, in the way that certain sizes (cigarette pack, cell phone) just feel right, or like those magic ratios that architects know about, like the 5:3 picture window. And a well-constructed haiku can have a very fluid feel. I suspect that smooth flow and ons are related.
Probably doesn't mean anything, but 3-5-3 and 5-7-5 are all prime numbers and the total number of words is also prime. 11-13-11 are primes but they add up to a non-prime, but 17-19-17 works. We could call it a bassku. With 53 words, there's plenty of opportunity to get that seasonal reference in.
29-31-29 also works. I think 89 is prime. We can call this a happinessku.