haiku
Seventeen-syllable poem
A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines with a fixed syllable pattern: five syllables, then seven, then five.
Traditional haiku evoke nature or seasons through brief, vivid imagery.
The form has been widely adopted in English, though some argue the syllable count matters less than the spirit of compression and observation: An old silent pond / A frog jumps into the pond / Splash! Silence again.
Opening stanza of renga
Flower on fruit tree
- cherryRed stone fruit
- frogTailless leaping amphibian
- pondSmall still body
- moonlightReflected solar radiance, nocturnal
autumn · spring · cicada · crow · rain · dewdrop · willow · plum
Meditative calm
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- presenceState of being somewhere
- momentBrief period of time
awareness · insight · tranquility · simplicity · observation · reflection · solitude · silence
Unit of pronunciation
- conciseBriefly and clearly stated
- succinctExpressed with minimal words
- pithyConcise and forceful
- terseBrief to bluntness
compact · sparse · economical · compressed · elliptical · distilled · clipped · condensed
Recoiling metal spiral
- summerYear's warmest season
- autumnPost-summer cooling period
- winterYear's coldest quarter
- snowmeltLiquefied winter precipitation
cicada · equinox · solstice · monsoon · thaw · migration · hibernation · typhoon
Vivid descriptive language
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
- cuttingDividing via sharp edge
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
enjambment · cadence · volta · pivot · resonance · allusion · connotation · ambiguity
hokku
Opening stanza of renga
blossom
Flower on fruit tree
moonlight · autumn · spring · cicada · crow · rain · dewdrop · willow · plum · bamboo
zen
Meditative calm
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- presenceState of being somewhere
moment · awareness · insight · tranquility · simplicity · observation · reflection · solitude · silence · epiphany
syllable
Unit of pronunciation
terse · compact · sparse · economical · compressed · elliptical · distilled · clipped · condensed · snapshot
spring
Recoiling metal spiral
snowmelt · cicada · equinox · solstice · monsoon · thaw · migration · hibernation · typhoon · frost
imagery
Vivid descriptive language
- juxtapositionAdjacent contrasting placement
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
- cuttingDividing via sharp edge
pause · enjambment · cadence · volta · pivot · resonance · allusion · connotation · ambiguity · epiphany
- PoemsThe Raven, Ozymandias, Invictus, Paradise Lost, Beowulf
- poetrypoem, poems, poetry, verse, verses
- poetry termspoetry, rhyme, verse, rhythm, meter
- lyric poemslyric poetry, sonnet, ode, odes, sonnets
- Poetic Formssonnet, villanelle, sestina, ballade, rondeau
- poeticsrhyme, versification, poetic form, stanza, meter
haikuprose
Unversified language
novel · stream of consciousness · tome · War and Peace · essay
haikupurple prose
Overly elaborate, emotional writing
maximalism · verbosity · grandiloquence · bombast · prolixity
- haiku poetryShort Japanese verse form
- modern haikuBrief, imagistic three-line poem
- Japanese haikuThree-line, seventeen-syllable verse