1a. What change does the frog create in the haiku by Basho?
2a. What time of day does the speaker describe in the haiku by Buson?
3a. What are the stars doing in the haiku by Issa?
4a. Compare and contrast these three haiku. How are they alike? What characteristics do they share? How are they different?
5a. Which haiku made the strongest impression on you? What emotions did it evoke in you?
1b. How does this change seem either surprising or ordinary?
2b. Why might the speaker use these descriptions for that time of day?
3b. Why does the speaker say "even the stars"?
4b. What common views might the poets who wrote these haiku share? What values might they have in common?
5b. How does this haiku relate to you, your life, and your experiences? What similarities exist between it and modern poems you have read, movies you have watched, art you have seen, or scenes you have witnessed?
Haiku. Why do you think haiku are so short? How does this format contribute to the poem's imagery?
Imagery. What generalizations can you make about the imagery in these haiku? What generalizations can you make about the emotions this imagery evokes?
1. Write a haiku that reveals something about how you view the world around you. Create this poem for a person who is close to you.
2. Imagine you are compiling a collection of haiku for a book. Write a promotional blurb for the back cover of the book, explaining why the book will intrigue poetry readers.
3. Write instructions for a photographer whose assignment is to go out and shoot pictures to accompany each of these three haiku on posters. Be as specific as possible.
Examining Translations. At a local library, search for different collections of translated haiku. The following is a list of some books you may want to find.
The Essential Basho, by Matsuo Basho, translated by Sam Hamill The Spring of My Life and Selected Haiku, by Kobayashi Issa, translated by Sam Hamill The Narrow Road to Oku, by Matsuo Basho, translated by Donald Keene The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa, edited and translated by Robert Hass
Try to find different variations of the same original poems. In what ways do the translations differ from one another? What words generally remain the same? Which translation do you like the best? Why?
Origins of Haiku. Using library resources, research early haiku writers. Try to determine the cultural surroundings from which haiku emerged. Look for answers to the following questions, remembering to note your sources carefully.
What was happening in Japanese culture around the same time Japanese poets began writing haiku? List your Information and sources.
How did the haiku change through time? List your Information and sources.
Write a short summary of your findings on the history of haiku.
Japanese Words. Look up the following words, all of which come from the Japanese language, in a standard English dictionary. Then write out the definition, part of speech, and origin of each word. If you need to review the parts of a dictionary entry, read the Language Arts Survey 1.17, "Using a Dictionary."
1. teriyaki definition: part of speech: origin:
2. kamikaze definition: part of speech: origin:
3. kimono definition: part of speech: origin:
4. ginkgo definition: part of speech: origin:
5. kakemono definition: part of speech: origin:
6. karate definition: part of speech: origin:
7. dojo definition: part of speech: origin:
8. karaoke definition: part of speech: origin:
9. samurai definition: part of speech: origin:
10.tanka definition: part of speech: origin:
