Haiku's in Highschool
With just a handful of words, a haiku poet has the power to bring to life an image, share an impression, or illustrate a scene in nature. A memorable haiku poem allows a reader insight into a poet's thoughts by way of a few well-written lines.
A haiku is a style of poem that originated in Japan. Haiku poetry is designed to express a person's insights to the reader in an economical 17 syllables. In a haiku poem there are five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line. A haiku usually doesn't rhyme, but instead launches straight into creating a clear picture of a particular scene.
Unfortunately, there is not one definitive set of directions that will show a writer how to create a haiku poem, however there are many helpful suggestions that can assist in the writing process. For instance, a writer may want to think about a particular scene in nature that made an impression on him or her and then jot down any descriptive words that come to mind. Next, a writer might try to arrange the words in a way that conveys the essence of the nature scene. After the writer decides what words they'd like to use in the poem, they can fit them into the seventeen syllable format of the haiku. If the syllable counting is put off until last, the writer's imagination is free to wander without any constraints.
One of the most famous haiku poets is a man by the name of Matsuo Basho who lived in the seventeenth century. Basho's collection of work includes a great number of poems about nature. This is one of Matsuo Basho's haiku's entitled Winter Garden (translated by Robert Hass).
Winter garden,
the moon thinned to a thread,
insects singing.
Yosa Buson was also a famous poet from Japan who wrote during the mid to late eighteenth century. Buson was thought to be a great admirer of Matsuo Basho's work.
There are a number of projects, assignments, and exercises that will teach high school students about the history and origins of haiku poetry as well as how it's created. These projects will help high school students learn how to explore their creative writing talents as they create their own haiku poetry.
Haiku is an admired form of poetry due mostly to its unique way of conveying a poet's feelings and impressions in so few words. A haiku poet allows a reader a glimpse into his or her imaginative mind.