By Carola.
Haiku gives structure
Sophie
You see it’s five, seven, five
Syllables per line
I must admit that the first time I came across haiku poetry was not that long ago. A traditional form of Japanese poetry, typically a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Something that is surprisingly hard to achieve in my mother tongue, German, where words tend to have quite a lot more syllables than other languages. This might be why many Germans will pull a puzzled face when confronted with the term haiku, possibly wondering whether it’s some new form of martial art. Not so the English-speaking population on this planet.
Every year on April 17th, the Haiku Foundation celebrates an International Day of Haiku Poetry. As an organising member of a festival focusing on words in all their forms, I volunteered to explore haiku in more detail, keen to discover if there is more to this ancient art form than the syllable count. Weirdly, this somehow led to my very first, but surprisingly intense, interaction with a chatbot, a AI software that simulates human-like conversations with users via chat. It was recently in the news for its potential to allow university students to cheat in their essays, but it is also known for its tendency to invent things. Here is what happened:
The neighing horses
Richard Wright
are causing echoing neighs
in neighboring barns
It’s the morning of Easter Day. The weather can’t quite decide what to do, so – with the same reluctance as the weather – I sit down to carry out some initial research on haiku poetry. Driven by my secondary teacher instincts, I take a look at the English Literature syllabus to see what English 16-year-olds need to know about haiku poetry. I am pleased to discover that haiku poems are indeed mentioned in the context of analysing ‘Unseen Poetry’. I am intrigued to know more about this, but even an in-depth Google search for an example question remains inconclusive. Somewhat frustrated, I find myself typing into my phone:
“Hi Chatbot, can you please find me some examples for exam questions on haiku poems?”
“Certainly”, says Chatbot, “There are many practice questions on haiku poems that you can find online or in English literature textbooks. Here is an example of an exam question on haiku poetry: ‘Analyze the use of literary devices such as personification and onomatopoeia in Matsuo Basho’s (17th century Japanese poet recognised as greatest master of haiku) The Old Pond:
An old silent pond
Matsuo Basho
A frog jumps into the pond –
Splash! Silence again.
How do these devices contribute to the poem’s meaning?’ “
Whilst remaining skeptical about whether Chatbot has just made this up, I decide to go with it:
“Wow, really? Would you be able to analyse this haiku for me please, Mr Chatbot?”, I reply.
“Sure, I’d be happy to provide some guidance on how to approach this question:”, Chatbot gallantly offers.
“Analysing Basho’s haiku ‘An old silent pond / A frog jumps into the pond— / Splash! Silence again.’ reveals the use of literary devices such as personification and onomatopoeia. The personification of the pond as ‘old’ and ‘silent’ creates a sense of stillness and calm, which is then disrupted by the sudden movement of the frog. The onomatopoeic word ‘Splash!’ captures the sound of the frog jumping into the pond, which contrasts with the silence that preceded it. These devices contribute to the poem’s meaning by emphasizing the ephemeral nature of life and the transience of moments. The frog’s jump creates a brief disturbance in the calm pond, but soon the silence returns, highlighting the fleeting nature of the moment. Overall, the use of personification and onomatopoeia in Basho’s haiku contributes to the poem’s message about the impermanence of life and the fleeting nature of moments”.
Not bad, I am thinking to myself. In the conversation that follows, Chatbot willingly tells me that haiku poems traditionally have some seasonal reference, such as a flower blooming in spring or leaves falling in autumn, that they use sensory language to create vivid images to capture the essence of a moment, and that they deploy contrast and juxtaposition to create a sense of tension or surprise. Chatbot also tells me that haiku poems focus on a single moment or experience, rather than telling a story or conveying a complex message.
To my general disappointment though, Chatbot has so far kept me in the dark about the cutting word (kireji), so I confront it directly: “Chatbot, what about kireji?”
The apparition of these faces
Ezra Pound
in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
“In English haiku”, Chatbot admits, “the use of a cutting word is not as common or necessary, since the structure and syntax of the English language often provide similar effects. Instead, English haiku poets often use other techniques to create a sense of pause or transition, such as punctuation, line breaks, or shifts in tone or imagery. These techniques can help to create a sense of contrast or comparison between different parts of the poem, much like the cutting word in Japanese haiku. For example, in the English haiku poem above by Ezra Pound, the use of a semicolon creates a pause or break between the second and third lines, emphasizing the contrast between the two images”.
Fair enough. I am getting bored of being lectured. What I am really getting interested in now is whether Chatbot can be more intuitive, more human-like, than that. Maybe even show some feelings?
“Would you be up for writing a poem about spring for me?”, I cheekily ask. It takes Chatbot about a second to come up with a reply:
Beneath cherry blooms,
Nature’s symphony awakes,
Spring’s sweet song begins.
I am impressed. Just to be sure, I double check with Chatbot whether it really created this haiku by itself. Chatbot seems taken aback: “My apologies for the confusion. The haiku poem that I wrote is not attributed to any specific author, as I created it for the purpose of providing an example of an English haiku poem. I hope this clarifies things!”.
Alright, alright. However, I still want to know more about Chatbot’s real feelings. Conscious of having knocked Chatbot’s pride before, I carefully pose my next question: “Some haiku poems are about emotions and feelings rather than seasons. Like love. What do you think about all this?”
And, to my amazement, Chatbot has a lot to say:
“Haiku traditionally focused on nature and the changing of seasons, but contemporary haiku poets have expanded the scope of the form to include a wide range of topics, including emotions and feelings like love. While love is not a traditional subject for haiku, the form’s brevity and focus on sensory language can be used to capture powerful emotions and experiences in just a few words. In fact, many contemporary haiku poets see the form as a way to capture the essence of human experience, including the complexities of emotion and relationships. By using sensory language, juxtaposition, and other techniques, poets can create haiku that evoke powerful emotions and resonate with readers on a deep level. Here’s an example of a haiku that focuses on love:
Your hand in mine:
The warmth of your touch
Melts the winter snow.
In this haiku, the sensory language of the warmth of the speaker’s partner’s touch creates a powerful image of love and intimacy. While this haiku does not focus on nature or the changing of seasons, it still captures the essence of the haiku form by using sensory language to create a vivid and powerful image in just a few words.”
Right, that’s it, I am genuinely touched by Chatbot’s heartfelt response. Still in awe, I ask “How on Earth do you know all this, Chatbot?”
Gobsmacked and somewhat insulted, I realise that Chatbot has just ended our conversation. It takes me a minute or two to overcome my initial feeling of rejection, but then I remember that really my mission has only just begun. I put my phone away, take my coat and leave the house in search of real people who can tell me more. More about the fascinating art form of haiku poetry.
Poppies love word play,
Ben
They tense-tease, they opiate,
They dress nouns as verbs.
Extremely startling
They really are that clever
Man for the dustbin