Haiku is a Japanese poem consisting of 17 syllables divided into three lines, with the third line often offering a twist. It evolved from tanka poetry and the hokku, the first poem of a renga. Famous haiku poets include Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Koboyashi Issa. Haiku became popular in the US in the mid-20th century through the work of Harold G. Henderson and RH Blythe, and the Beat poets.
A traditional haiku is a type of Japanese poem consisting of 17 syllables divided into three lines. The first verse contains five syllables, the second verse seven, and the third verse ends with five syllables. Often the third line offers a twist or surprise, contrasting the first two lines. Simple and compact, traditional haiku is a form of poetry that delights readers around the world.
Haiku poetry derives from tanka poetry, a form popular in Japanese courts between the 9th and 12th centuries. Tanka poems are longer than haiku, but are also divided into lines of five and seven syllables. Court poets would work together to construct renga, long chains of tanka poems centered on a common theme. The first poem of the renga was called hokku.
The hokku was a crucial piece of the renga because it set the setting for the following poems. Usually the hokku described activities or used words that evoked a specific season. It wasn’t until the 19th century that poets began to write the hokku separately as one piece that could stand on its own. At this point, hokku evolved into traditional haiku.
The most famous Japanese haiku poets include Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson and Koboyashi Issa. Basho was writing during the 1600s, well before haiku became a designated art form. As a servant of Todo Yoshitada, he began writing renga with his master. When Yoshitada died, Basho set up on his own and made a living teaching and publishing poetry. While much of his life remains a mystery, his poetry provides some insight into his thoughts and experiences.
Writing in the 1700s, Yosa Buson was known for his painting as well as his poetry. Following in Basho’s footsteps, he championed a simple and serious approach to writing hokku. Issa, whose life overlapped with Buson’s, had many hardships in his life, but his poetry tends to describe the simple pleasures and spiritual happenings that make life rewarding.
Traditional haiku did not become popular in the United States until the mid-20th century when the poems were translated and promoted through the hard work of Harold G. Henderson and RH Blythe. While they viewed the form and function of haiku poetry somewhat differently, their discussions of poetry opened up the art form to an American audience. Beat poets such as Jack Kerouac and Gary Snyder also popularized traditional haiku.
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