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For a new form of English Haiku
It’s shorter than a tweet, but leaves an impression that lasts lifetimes.
The standard English haiku is 17 syllables long and split into three lines. The quantity of syllables comes from the Japanese haiku practice to write lines 17 mora long. I am unsure where the practice of breaking it into three lines comes from because standard Japanese haiku are written on a single line. Perhaps it was inspired by the speech patterns in spoken Japanese which gives natural pauses on the fifth and twelfth mora.
I would like to highlight some misunderstandings of the Japanese language that may be holding back our English haiku form. It has resulted in futile attempts to copy advantages of the Japanese language while ignoring the strengths of the English language.
Haiku written in Syntax
This is a fact that cannot be ignored: standard Japanese haiku follows syntax. This means they can be spoken with the same natural flow as you would hear in conversation.
This is not the standard in English haiku which lacks syntax and becomes free verse. I cannot determine why this came to be. It could have been the result of following the general trend towards free verse. It could have been the result of following the syllable rule, which may require poets to drop grammar articles and prepositions.
