Sarita Beekie
Ms. Peifer
10 IB - Hour 5
26 April 2009
LRJ #2 - Haikus and Senryus
The significance of nature in haikus is to take an ordinary, everyday event, and make it beautiful. In Kobayashi Issa's haiku:
"A morning-glory vine
All blossoming has thatched
this hut of mine"
Issa uses the blossoming of morning-glory vines to illustrate the pleasant feeling of Spring and rebirth.
Although senryus and haikus have identical structure and are both prominent forms of Japanese poetry, the mood and tone of each form are quite different. Senryus are whimsical, and are basically jokes about the foibles of human nature in the form of poetry. Like this senryu by Senryū Karai (by which senryus are named after):
"The robber,
when I catch,
my own son."
Haikus are more reflective and can often have subliminal messaging. In Hatsuo Basho's haiku:
"On the withered branch
A crow has settled--
autumn nightfall."
The "withered branch" could represent an elderly person and the crow (which are divine messengers and the collector of souls in Japanese culture) is coming to collect this person's soul. "Autumn nightfall" can be a representation of the darkness, but also of the comfort in death.
Senryu
All across Japan
I've been searching for a man
From the ninja's clan.
Haiku
I, the butterfly,
Can feel my life's order die.
Now I'm forced to fly.
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1 comment:
Great explanation of the difference between haiku and senryu! The haiku and senryu you created are also fantastic!
When using haiku and senryu, keep in mind that they are like the word moose; they don't have a plural form. "I wrote one haiku" is also the same as "I wrote 1300 haiku".
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