1. COMMUNICATION ARTS MS. MOSELEY 2010
HAIKU POETRY
COMMUNICATION ARTS
MS. MOSELEY 2010

2. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
Most traditional haiku written today have these eight features.

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
1) Haiku has only three lines

4. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
2) Haiku does not rhyme

5. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
3) The subject of the poem is usually something in nature

6. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
4) The whole haiku has a total of 17 syllables

7. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
5) The first line has 5 syllables

8. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
6) The second line has 7 syllables

9. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
7) The third line has 5 syllables

10. CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIKU
8) The haiku creates one clear image, or word picture

11. EXAMPLE
THE SPOTTED FAWN The spots on a fawn, (5) Dots of white on a brown back, (7) Snowflakes on a deer. (5) Bethany Raines

12. EXAMPLE
Canadian geese, (5) A long, ragged V, honking, (7) In the sky above. (5) Teddy Raines

13. EXAMPLE
The angry storm tore The white shawl off the dogwood, Leaving its arms bare. Teddie Raines

14. EXAMPLE
A very strong storm Blew the dogwood petals off And left the tree bare. This has the form of a haiku, but it simply reports what has happened as if it were a part of a newspaper account.

15. EXAMPLE
The angry storm tore The white shawl off the dogwood, Leaving its arms bare. This haiku uses personification and imagery to create a clear word picture of this event in nature.

16. EXAMPLE
The angry storm tore The white shawl off the dogwood, Leaving its arms bare. The storm is given humane features such as the emotion of anger, the dogwood has “arms” and the white flowers of the dogwood are portrayed as a white shawl.

17. EXAMPLE
This haiku takes an ordinary event in nature and states it in a fresh, new way.

18. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
1) Select something in nature that appeals to you. Narrow your subject down to a single specific idea about your subject.
Example: Subject – inchworm
Specific idea – the way an inchworm moves

19. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
2) Write the subject down in noun form, possibly with an adjective or two.
Example: an inchworm

20. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
3) Count the syllables to see if you have enough to meet the five syllable requirement for your first line.
Example /an/inch/worm (3 syllables)

21. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
4) If necessary, add another adjective or a verb that has the number of syllables you still need for the first line.
Example: /a/lit/tle/inch/worm

22. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
5) For the second line, think of something special about your subject.
You might want to use a verb or two to tell the action or a few words to describe what is special about the subject.
Try to use imagery or personification to create a vivid mental picture.
Remember, you need 7 syllables, and your words should NOT rhyme with the first line.

23. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
Add extra modifiers as needed to achieve the desired 7 syllables.
Example: arch/ing and stretch/ing a/long (7)

24. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
6) For the last line, try to give your haiku an effective conclusion by adding an unusual ending to the specific idea you have developed.
Remember, you need 5 syllables and your words should NOT rhyme.
Example: the/miles/of/my/arm

25. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
7) Check your completed haiku to be sure it has all 8 characteristics of a haiku.
A little inchworm,
Arching and stretching along
The miles of my arm.

26. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
8) Decide how you want to punctuate and capitalize the lines of your haiku. Put a period at the end of the last line and commas where they are needed.

27. STEPS FOR WRITING HAIKU
9) If you wish, give your haiku a title.
Remember this: Your haiku does not always have to start with a noun phrase.
It can begin with a participle, an adjective, an adverb, or whatever you choose.
Just make sure to choose words that tell about the single specific idea you are trying to portray.

28. WRITING A HAIKU Be as creative as you like. Ideas for subjects:
Animals Oceans, lakes, etc.
Weather elements Trees, plants, flowers
Landscape features Farms
Sun, moon, or stars

29. THE EAGLE
He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls. Alfred Lord Tennyson

30. THE EAGLE The poem is written in two three-line stanzas.
It paints a powerful word picture of the majestic eagle, first as he sits high on his perch and then as he drops from the sky.