Literary Technique: Haiku
Poem Example:
On a branch...
By Kobayashi Issa
On a branch
floating downriver
a cricket, singing.
Biographical Information: Japanese poet Kobayashi Issa, also known as Kobayashi Yataro and Kobayashi Nobuyuki, was born in Kashiwabara, Shinanao province. He eventually took the pen name Issa, which means “cup of tea” or, according to poet Robert Hass, “a single bubble in steeping tea.” Issa’s haiku are as attentive to the small creatures of the world—mosquitoes, bats, cats—as they are tinged with sorrow and an awareness of the nuances of human behavior. In addition to haiku, Issa wrote pieces that intertwined prose and poetry, including Journal of My Father’s Last Days and The Year of My Life.
Explanation of Technique: A haiku is a brief Japanese form that has been adapted into English in various ways. Its usual definition is that it is a three-line poem, consisting of seventeen syllables split 5 - 7 - 5. This haiku follows the traditional format of 5 - 7 - 5 and centers around the theme of nature and animals.
Interpretation of Poem: This is a simplistic and short poem. The river may represent life and it's hurdles, and the cricket is a person riding the river, i.e. going through life. He doesn't challenge the river, or try to go upstream. He simply goes with the river and even relaxes and sings. He welcomes what the river brings, as we should with life.
Visual Representation:
Explanation of Visual: Since I interpreted the river as representing life, I chose an image of a river with many ricks and stones. Life is hard and we will come across problems. The cricket on the branch will bump into the rocks, and he'll get stuck. But he won't be stuck for long since the river is constantly moving and flowing, and he will have to move along with it.
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