In Japan, short poems have a long history. The earliest Japanese poetry such as that of the Manyoshu, written in 759 A.D., includes stirring narrative, dramatic and short lyrical poems which scholars believe were originally written as part of the pre-Buddhist or early Shinto ceremonial rituals (Haiku). This anthology includes anonymous songs and prayers designed to celebrate and pacify the gods, prayers for safe voyages, formal eulogies on the death of an Emperor or Empress and courting, marriage, planting and harvesting rituals. The 5 syllable, 7 syllable, 5 syllable haiku has evolved and been reinvented many times over the centuries. One such form is the 31 syllable waka composed of five 5-7-5-7-7 syllable phrases. Developed as the early imperial court of the late eighth century consolidated cultural, social and political forms, the waka took its place as one of the important regularized poetic forms of the period.
Within imperial circles, minor officials and scribes gained recognition as poem-providers and word specialists due to their ability to compose waka (Haiku). Nevertheless, early Japanese poetry went beyond official usage. In the 14th century, an intellectual game developed where one person would write the first half of a waka-like poem, and another would complete it, adding the two 7-syllable stanzas.As many as four people took part in composing such poetry in what developed as a serious poetic form, with many complicated rules to ensure that the elegant court-poetry diction and aesthetic ideals were maintained. However, in large social gatherings where Japanese rice wine, or sake, was often served, participants became inebriated and started writing haikai, comic linked verse, which ignored many of the rules and allowed any subject matter at all, from the truly crude and erotic to pure slapstick, daffy comedy. According to Dr. Kerkham, it was this lower-level poetic form which Matsunaga Teitoku, haikai master, tried to clean up and popularize and teach to his student Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).
Basho's haiku, written while travelling around Japan, made him one of Japan's most celebrated poets.
The two poems that I have selected for the Analytic Paper are “Blue Light Lounge Sutra For The Performance Poets At Harold Park Hotel” and “Thanks” by Yusef Komunyakaa. The former was read and analyzed as part of a class discussion early on in the quarter while the latter is a piece never analyzed, but closely related to another that was examined for its content and stylistic techniques (“Facing It”, Penguin Anthology, page 441). Though both were written by the same author, there are specific discrepancies in rhythm and wording that create artistic differences that suit the subject of each piece.
The form of a poem is what type of poem it is. This poem is a free verse poem because there are no stanzas or rhyming patterns. The purpose of the poem is to entertain by describing Uluru’s natural and cultural aspects. The poem consists of 15 lines but there are no stanzas. The poem mentions Aboriginal culture and the rituals that take place at Uluru , for example, “While waters of tears carry ancient stories
lust. To his Coy Mistress is a pure lust one even though in parts may
From the very first word of the poem, there is a command coming from an unnamed speaker. This establishes a sense of authority and gives the speaker a dominant position where they are dictating the poem to the reader rather than a collaborative interacti...
When you think of nursery rhymes, do you think of innocent, silly games you played as a child? Think again. Most of the nursery rhymes that have become so popular with the children were never intended for them. Most began as folk songs or ballads sung in taverns. These songs (rhymes) all most always were written to make fun of religious leaders or to gossip about kings and queens (Brittanica pars. 1-5). Nursery rhymes are being studied the past few decades as a way to help children learn their alphabet and numbers. These rhymes have been proven affective in helping children's language skills improve. As I began to explore different nursery rhymes, I found that they opened up and disclosed some of the secrets, light and dark of the persons, animals, or familiar places they were written about. The Encyclopedia Britannica define nursery rhymes as verses that are customarily told or sung to small children. The oral tradition of these rhymes are ancient some dating back as early as the 1500's, but most date form the 16th, 17th and most frequently the 18th centuries. ( Brittanica pars. 1-5).
Literature shows us the changes of our society from time to time. It also gives us an idea about people, culture, politics, gender traditions, as well as an overall view of previous civilizations. As a part of literature, poetry introduces us to different cultures with different perspectives. Ancient Egypt and ancient China may differ in terms of culture, politics, economic stability, tradition, or even in religious belief. However, in poetry, especially in love lyrics both Egyptian and Chinese poems portray common area of describing women, social attitudes toward love, sexuality and the existence of romance or selfishness in relationships. . If we look at the Egyptian poem “My god, my Lotus” and the Chinese poem “Fishhawk”, we will see both poems have similarities in describing relationships. Also, they have the similarity of imagining the lovers and their expression of love toward each other. However, both poems have some significant differences in terms of representing female sexuality, gender disparity and the display of love.
Set in modern time, the play Haiku written by Kate Snodgrass is a thirty-minute drama with themes of unconditional love and deception, in the play Haiku, the audience looks on the life of a mother and her two daughters. In the play, the mother, Nell, is described as a woman in her 50’s who has been taking care of her daughter Louise, who is in 20’s and has some form of autism (possibly Tourette’s). During her time taking care of Louise, Nell discovers that sometimes Louise is more present, and when so, she is able to communicate with Nell by reciting haikus. After allowing this to go on for three years, Nell’s other daughter Billie comes to visit. During this visit, Billie is told the truth about her sister and how she has episodes of normalness
The poem itself uses a number of varied techniques such as alliteration, metaphor, simile, imagery, rhyme, rhythm and much more. These varied poetic techniques are spread throughout the quite lengthy poem, made up of 16 stanzas, ensuring that the audience remains engaged and interested. Kijiner uses a combination of increasing rhythm through out the poem and the metaphor of “lagoon that will devour you” to represent the ever more elusive threat of climate change, giving the audience a sense of utmost urgency regarding this
A metrical composition; a composition in verse written in certain measures, whether in blank verse or in rhyme, and characterized by imagination and poetic diction; contradistinguished from prose; as, the poems of Homer or of Milton. This is but one of Webster 's definitions of a poem. Using this definition of “poem,” this paper will compare and contrast three different poems written by three different poets; William Shakespeare 's Sonnets 116, George Herbert’s Easter Wings and Sir Thomas Wyatt’s Whoso List to Hunt.
The Tale of Murasaki, by Liza Dalby, is about Murasaki, a young woman who lived in the Heian period (794-1185) of Japan. She writes a story called The Tale of Genji, and earns so much recognition for it that she is invited to court to attend the empress. Not only was she known for her writing, but she drew attention by learning Chinese. In the story, a Chinese education is essential for a man hoping to be a high-ranked member of society. Because the Japanese considered Chinese culture as superior, waka, a popular form of Japanese poetry, carries less cultural value in the novel. Therefore, both high-class women and men have to learn about wakas and use them daily. A woman who can compose good wakas and is beautiful would have the best chances of going to court, which is the best way to guarantee a comfortable life. Liza Dalby’s The Tale of Murasaki accurately portrays the abilities of each sex, the importance of Chinese learning, and the role of Japanese poetry in the Heian period of Japan.
The speech is poetry in itself, and if such a verse can be created in translation, what beauty could be found in the original text.
The Kokinshū was the first imperially commissioned anthology of Waka poetry. The order came from Emperor Daigo and the completion came about the year 905. In the book Early Modern Japanese Literature, authors Haruo and James describe Waka as follows, “Waka, the thirty-one syllable classical poem, generally excluded all forms of language not found in the refined, aristocratic dictation of the Heian classics particularly the Kokinshū, The subject matter was likewise confined to a cluster of highly elegant topics pertaining to love and the four seasons” (171). As the Man’yōshū was written with Chinese ideographs that represented the Japanese phonics sounds, many of the people of that era found it to be too complicated writing system that made it difficult for reading great works of art. The Kokinshū was written in kana making it more accessible and setting the standard for Japanese poetry for years to come.
LaFleur, William R. The Karma of Words: Buddhism and the Literary Arts in Medieval Japan. 1983: University of California Press, Berkeley.
stanza has four lines, rhyming a b c b. The language of it is pretty
The poem is written in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Giving the poem a smooth rhyming transition from stanza to stanza.