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Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [haiku]

This tag should be used for questions about writing a haiku, which is a form of short poetry consisting of 17 so-called "on", often equated with "morae" or loosely translated as "syllables", where the first line of the poem consists of 5 on, the second line of 7 on and the third line of 5 on. There are other forms, such as using 11 on in a 3-5-3 setup.

This tag should be used for questions about writing a haiku, which is a form of short poetry consisting of 17 so-called "on", often equated with "morae" or loosely translated as "syllables", where the first line of the poem consists of 5 on, the second line of 7 on and the third line of 5 on. There are other forms, such as using 11 on in a 3-5-3 setup.

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Does a Haiku need to have exactly 17 syllables?

Having 17 syllables is in the definition of Haiku, but does it have to have exactly 17 syllables? Is this usually followed strictly, or is it more of a guideline rather than a rule? I am asking about Haikus written in English, not Japanese.
Eduard Florinescu
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Writing a poem in secondary language that has rules for primary language

Haiku is a very short Japanese poem with seventeen syllables and three verses each being of 5,7 and 5 syllables respectively. The Haiku was written primarily in Japanese language and the rules applied were on that language. Now when I want to write…
Karan Desai
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Is using syllables the generally accepted 'proper' way to write English haiku or tanka?

In Japanese poetry like haiku or tanka, the form is based on the number of 'on' units per segment. I know that most people who use the format in English usually use syllables, though I've never thought that was very elegant. I've thought about…
Adam Miller
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How do I write a good haiku poem?

Here is my haiku I wrote it for this question Is it any good? I understand the mechanical basics of a haiku being the three line syllable pattern of 5-7-5, the contrast of two images with a "cutting word", is often about nature, and contains a…
Thunderforge
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Is there a tool for determining the number of on in a word for the purpose of writing haiku?

In America at least, Haiku are commonly taught to students as poems having 5, 7, then 5 syllables, when in actuality, they have a structure of 5, 7, then 5 on. The NaHaiWriMo site explains what an on is, but I'm having trouble wrapping my mind…
zr00
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Is this a valid haiku?

A friend showed me a website for an artist. There is a page filled with haikus he's written. Can someone verify the validity of the following haiku: i don’t really want to do that
darylnak
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Commas/clauses within Haiku phrases?

I am experimenting with Haiku. My sentiment is "I used to count the minutes until we next met, now I count the days since you left". I first looked at something like: Glad minutes until Our eyes lock again, are now Desolate days since "Desolate" is…
Mr. Boy
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What to focus on while writing haiku?

I started writing haiku as a hobby. What techniques can help with writing this particular form? What should I focus on? A few examples of my haiku: "Mountain" Mountains under snow Cold air breeze through the forest Nature…
TeslaXba
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