Part A: Haiku with Symbolism

An English haiku is a poem with seventeen syllables and three lines. The first line includes five syllables, the second line includes seven syllables, and the third line includes five syllables. This poetical form is based on the Japanese haiku. The following is a haiku by one of the greatest 17th century Japanese haiku poets, Basho Matsuo:

An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

For Part A of this assignment, you are going to create your own haiku, and include symbolism. You now know that poetic symbolism helps convey the theme of a poem, so make sure that you think about what you want to write about and then create your symbol(s). Your haiku should follow the structure of 5-7-5 syllables in three lines. Before you begin, review the Haiku with Symbolism Checklist to to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit.

Once you have completed your haiku, please submit your work to the dropbox.

 

Part B: Tanka with Apostrophe

A tanka poem is similar to a haiku, except that it has thirty-one syllables in five lines. The first and third lines have five syllables; the second, fourth, and fifth lines have seven syllables. Like haiku, tanka is a traditional form of Japanese poetry. The following is Part I from a poem entitled "Tanka" by Sadakichi Hartmann.

Winter? Spring? Who knows?
White buds from the plumtrees wing
And mingle with the snows.
No blue skies these flowers bring,
Yet their fragrance augurs Spring.

For Part B of this assignment, you are going to create your own tanka, and include apostrophe. You now know that poets use apostrophe to address someone or something in a poem, so make sure that you think about what you want to write about, and then decide what or who you would like to address. Your tanka should follow the structure of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables in five lines. Before you begin, review the Tanka with Apostrophe Checklist to to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit.

Once you have completed your tanka, please submit your work to the dropbox.