Haiku and Syllabics
Everybody knows the form of a haiku, three lines including a certain number of syllables — five, seven, and another five. But, there is more the haiku has to offer than what the reader sees on the surface. The haiku is described as “a way of seeing, a sort of frame or threshold” (217). This tells the reader that the strict number of syllables is more than just a random number, it has purpose to help the reader “see”. The original form was invented by Matsuo Basho in the 1600’s and it was created as a way to express the scattered life he had as a traveler. He continues to write in this form until the end of his life, I found it particularly interesting that the short lines and syllables was compared to the shortness of breath. This shows that the number of syllables actually have a really powerful effect on the reader, being able to describe such a specific feeling in an abstract way. Another important aspect included in a haiku like the use of seasonal references to help put the poem into some sort of time frame. All the things that make up the haiku are there for the purpose to “use the commonplace to escape the common place” (217). Meaning, the true purpose of the form is to take ordinary things and describe them in an interesting way to think about that boring thing in a different light helping you see the beauty in it, creating an escape.
The pure syllabic form, or verse was created in twentieth-century english poetry. This form includes one writing with freedom, with no stress of meter. This forms creators are Robert Bridges,Elizabeth Daryush, and Marianne Moore. The form became popular during this time due to the rebellious movement agains the traditional meters of the time bringing back the love of the formal poetry design. This form creates a medium for the “metrical poets seeking freedom and free verse poets seeking stricter forms . . . meet in the middle ground of the syllables subtle but countable presents” (27). There are many types of syllabics, one is to write in a single repeated measure. Another is to write in 5 syllable lines in threes, called normative syllabic verse. Another type is the quantitative syllabic verse where one writes in repeated stanzas in varied line-lengths. Although there are many types of the form, writing in the form is not easy. Being able to use different syllable patterns can be difficult to pin-point as some words are not easy to know wether or not it has one or two syllables. Another difficulty is the use of different syllables in a repeating pattern, it is described as “since counting each syllable equally flattens the natural stresses and tends to dim the import of the words” (26). Even though there is the freedom for one to pick their own syllable pattern, having a pattern in general can result in a loss of natural flow in the words. I think this can be compared to rhyme schemes in other poetry forms. One has to keep the pattern of ABAB they chose by rhyming the first and third line together, this can mean that the word that rhymes with the first line the most can not have as much meaning other then it rhymes — causing the poem to loose its flow. The same can happen when writing a syllabic poem. I think the poem “The Fish” by Marianne Moore shows the freedom that is present in this form. The poem is formatted in an interesting way, it’s stanzas starting with a one word line and followed by a longer line, which is then followed by three even longer lines. The overall stanza looks different then traditional stanzas that tend to stick to lines with similar lengths. There is still a pattern held as all the stanzas follow this pattern, but the patten itself is different than what readers see in most poems, making the overall poem more interesting to read.
Chu, Jean Hyung Yul “Haiku”. Holley, Margaret “Syllabics: Sweeter Melodies”. An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Eds. Anne Finch and Kathrine Varnes. Ann Arbor: U. of Michigan Press, 2002.
