We are looking for good haiku to publish in the daily newsletter. Please visit http://www.poetstrain.com/poetry-submission.php to submit an original haiku after you have read this page.

About Haiku:

Haiku This form of poetry originated in Japan during the 16th century, when poets collectively worked on non-rhyming poems (called haikai-rengas) by adding stanzas of 17 (three lines of five, seven, and five) syllables, or 14 (two lines of seven) syllables.

The word “haiku” comes from “hokku”, the first verse of a haikai-renga poem.

Here are the elements of a traditional haiku:

1. Structure: Three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables.

2. Absence of metaphor and does not use poetic devices such as metaphor.

3. All haiku is theme-specific, always referring to some aspect of nature such as a season, an animal, or the weather.

The goal of a Haiku is most commonly seen as an attempt to capture the beauty of a moment with vivid imagery.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2006 at 8:25 am and is filed under Lessons On Forms Of Poetry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.