HAIKU

Old Pond by Basho

uruike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto
English translation:
Old pond
a frog jumps
the sound of water

Features
It contains three lines
It has five moras (syllables) in the
first line, seven in the second and
five in the last line.
It contains 17 syllables in total.
A Haiku poem does not rhyme.

Features
Haiku poems frequently have a kigo
or seasonal reference.
Haiku poems are usually about
nature or natural phenomenon.
The poem has two juxtaposed
subjects that are divided into two
contrasting parts.
In English, this division between two
parts can be shown by a colon or
dash.

Structures
A haiku poem has three lines
The first and last lines have five
moras, while the middle line has
seven.
The pattern in Japanese genre is 5-75.
The moras is another name of a
sound unit, which is like a syllable,
but it is different from a syllable

fu-ru-i-ke ya (5)
ka-wa-zu to-bi-ko-mu (7)
mi-zu no o-to (5)
Translated:
old pond
a frog leaps in
waters sound

Rhythm & Rhyme

Haikus usually does not emphasize
the importance of musical quality.
For example in the Old Pond, the
brief first line bluntly sets the scene
a melodic sound to "pond" urges one
to linger, even without the ellipsis.

Language Use
Old Pond literally says that there is
an old pond, that a frog jumps into it,
and that the sound of water is heard.
The Old Pond is made up of two
parts through the use of the cutting
word, ya: the old pond and a frog
jumps in --/ the sound of the water.

Language Use
The tension is thus created by the
collocation of these two parts: the sharp
contrast between the static image of an
old pond, evocative of stillness and
loneliness, and the lively image of an
energetic animal that jumps into the pond
and makes the water sound.
This tension leaves something for readers
to ponder, furnishing both meaning and
imagery for themselves

Themes
Haiku usually consist of themes that
are strongly related to nature
For example in the Old Pond by
Basho:
-pond , frog and water is the
representation of nature and give a
strong impression about spring.