Haiku
Seventeen-syllable verse
A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines with a traditional syllable pattern of 5-7-5.
Haiku typically capture a moment in nature or evoke a season, often with an unexpected turn.
In English, the term covers both strict adherence to the syllable count and looser interpretations that preserve the form's brevity and imagistic quality: She spent the morning writing haiku about autumn leaves.
Unit of pronunciation
- 5-7-5Haiku syllable count
- tercetThree-line verse unit
- brevityShortness of expression
- verseMetered poetic passage
stanza · couplet · line break · meter · structure · compact · minimalist · unrhymed
Meditative Buddhist school
- wabi-sabiAesthetic valuing transience, incompleteness
- hokkuOpening stanza of renga
- tankaClassical Japanese verse form
- senryuWitty Japanese three-liner
Japanese · traditional · master · anthology · aware
Yearly division or series
- cherry blossomOrnamental Prunus flower
- autumnPost-summer cooling period
- moonNatural planetary satellite
- frogTailless leaping amphibian
pond · snow · cicada · bamboo · plum · maple · dewdrop · sparrow
Brief period of time
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- simplicityLack of complexity
insight · observation · transience · epiphany · presence · mindfulness · impermanence · solitude
Mental picture creator
- KerouacBeat Generation novelist
- WesternOf Euro-American civilization
- English-languageOf the Anglo tongue
- modernOf recent times
experimental · urban · free-form · adaptation · global · translation · workshop · prompt
syllable
Unit of pronunciation
verse · stanza · couplet · line break · meter · structure · compact · minimalist · unrhymed · juxtaposition
Zen
Meditative Buddhist school
- wabi-sabiAesthetic valuing transience, incompleteness
- hokkuOpening stanza of renga
- tankaClassical Japanese verse form
senryu · Japanese · traditional · master · anthology · aware
season
Yearly division or series
- cherry blossomOrnamental Prunus flower
- autumnPost-summer cooling period
- moonNatural planetary satellite
frog · pond · snow · cicada · bamboo · plum · maple · dewdrop · sparrow · crow
moment
Brief period of time
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
simplicity · insight · observation · transience · epiphany · presence · mindfulness · impermanence · solitude · quietude
imagist
Mental picture creator
- KerouacBeat Generation novelist
- WesternOf Euro-American civilization
- English-languageOf the Anglo tongue
modern · experimental · urban · free-form · adaptation · global · translation · workshop · prompt · daily
- world literatureworld literature, French novels, American literature, Russian novels, Japanese fiction
Haikuepic poem
Extended heroic narrative verse
epic · sonnet · long poem · Paradise Lost · The Divine Comedy
Haikusonnet
Fourteen-line metered poem
limerick · Petrarchan sonnet · Shakespearean sonnet · ballad · ode
Haikumaximalism
More-is-more aesthetic philosophy
epic · verbosity · purple prose · grandiloquence · elaboration
- haiku poetryShort Japanese verse form
- modern haikuBrief, imagistic three-line poem
- Japanese haikuThree-line, seventeen-syllable verse