Two Breaths: The Live Rhythm of Haiku
November 30, 2006. Revised on July 28, 2008.Kosuke Miyata
Approaching haiku from a new direction, this document aims to provide a simple, clear and reliable definition of the poetic form.
CONTENTS
- Breath-Lines and Rhythmical Parts
- a. Full + Short Construction
- b. Short + Full Construction
- c. Polyrhythmic Construction
- A Template for English-Language Haiku
1. Breath-Lines and Rhythmical Parts
In 8th century Japan, verse was typically produced in "breath-lines", by simply adding one after another. Haiku, a descendant of such verse, consists of 1 full-length breath-line and less than a half.
Below are the two basic constructions of haiku, set in breath-lines. As shown in the figures, there are 3 rhythmical parts in a haiku, the first and the last of which are of equal duration. Either the first two or the last two constitute the full breath-line and determine the construction.
a. Full + Short Construction
(A figure, an example by Basho*1 in transliteration and its translation)
OOOOO OOOOOOO
OOOOOtabi-bito to waga na yobaren
hatsu shigure"a traveller" will soon become my name;
first winter rain
When the first two rhythmical parts constitute the full breath-line, the rhythm inside it widens, the number of "O"s increasing. This increasing rhythm feels grave, grand and wild.
b. Short + Full Construction
(A figure, an example by Basho in transliteration and its translation)
OOOOO
OOOOOOO OOOOOhatsu shigure
saru mo komino wo hoshige narifirst winter rain—
even the monkey seems to want a straw coat
When the last two rhythmical parts constitute the full breath-line, the rhythm inside it contracts, the number of "O"s decreasing. This decreasing rhythm sounds light, sophisticated and someimes witty.
What's represented by "O" in the figures is called "mora" by linguists, and moras (or morae) don't vary in duration as English syllables do. Since a mora is a timed unit, it's possible to use the more familiar term "beat" instead.
c. Polyrhythmic Construction
(A figure, an example by Ryuta Iida in transliteration and its translation)
OOOOO OO
OOOOO OOOOOichigatsu no kawa
ichigatsu no tani no nakaJanuary's river—
in the valley of January
There are 2 breath-lines in a haiku. And there are 3 rhythmical parts too. What if, then, they didn't share a splitting-point? Above is what happens. The breath-lines split the second rhythmical part in two.
Despite the new rhythm produced by the breath-lines (5+2 moras + 5+5 moras), the basic 3 rhythmical parts are still alive in this haiku. When "kawa" appears after the first rhythmical part ("Ichigatsu no"), one expects a full-breath line (5+7 moras) first, like
ichigatsu no kawa dadadadada
dadadadada
but the first breath-line ends without becoming full, as there's no syntactical tie between "kawa" and "Ichigatsu" that follows. And "kawa" (river) falls between the first rhythmical break and the (actual) breath-line break:
ichigatsu no kawa
ichigatsu no tani no naka
The river in this haiku lies in a polyrhythmic valley. In other words, this haiku has the breath-lines as its frozen surface, and the underlying rhythmical parts as its still-running river. It's the latter element (the basic rhythm) that gives life to this thrilling innovation.
2. A Template for English-Language Haiku
For haiku composition in English, R. H. Blyth has put forth a dependable suggestion to go by accented syllables. Supplementing his template, the basic two constructions of haiku can be described as below:
a. Full + Short Construction
(Accented / Total number of syllables, approximate)
2 / 3 to 4 + 3 / 6 +
2 / 3 to 4
b. Short + Full Construction
(Accented / Total number of syllables, approximate)
2 / 3 to 4 +
3 / 6 + 2 / 3 to 4
Note that you should always pay more attention to the actual (heard) duration than to the numbers mentioned above, since English syllables vary in duration.
© 2006-2008 Kosuke Miyata