Writing Focus: Haiku

Haiku is an extremely popular form of poetry. Originally a Japanese poetry form, it was introduced into the English language in the early 20th century and has been an important part of poetry-writing ever since. This week's Writing Focus is going to take a look at these wonderful little poems!

What Is a Haiku?

English haiku poems are poems that comprise of three lines and have a very strict structure in terms of syllables. A haiku usually has seventeen syllables – five in the first and last lines and seven in the middle, longer line. This can sometimes vary, but the accepted universal syllable count for a haiku is seventeen syllables.

As well as the syllable count, many haiku poems are dreamlike and usually talk about nature in some way or form. These are not required elements of a haiku, however.

Tips

As haiku are small and contain very few words, it can be a good idea to skip the description and just write about the nitty-gritty details you want to come across in the poem. Avoiding the likes of conjunctions and abstract nouns will allow you to take full use of the small amount of syllables you have.

Don't worry about a rhyme structure – few haiku actually rhyme, so this is not a required action when writing any haiku poems. However, it may be of benefit to rhyme your haiku and if you think it will work, then go for it!

Many people think that poetry should make sense to everyone, but this isn't the case. Haiku are very dreamlike and personal – they may not make sense to someone else, but if they make sense to you or convey the point you wanted to get across, then don't let worrying about how confusing it is prevent you from posting it!

Prompts

Looking to write some haiku poetry? Check out these prompts to give you a kick-start!

1. Think about a happy memory you have and write a haiku about it
2. Choose your favourite place in the world and describe it in the 17-syllable limit.
3. What can you hear right now and how does it make you feel? Describe this in a haiku.

Haiku can provide an extremely quick and simplistic way of getting your thoughts and feelings out. It is an easy style to wrap your head around and can produce some beautiful pieces of poetry!

Special thanks to silent hearts. and elixir for editing!