Captain Shunsui Kyōraku (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sake_shinigami) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2023-03-16 05:00 am
sake_shinigami) wrote in fandomhigh2023-03-16 05:00 am
Entry tags:
Creative Writing; Thursday, Second Period [03/16].
"You know what I'm in the mood for this morning, ducklings ♥?" Shunsui asked the class with a smile, because that was always a great, solid lesson plan method, wasn't it? Just teaching whatever he was in the mood for? (Which, to be fair, had been working for him for years apparently). "A little poetry ♥. And I do mean little poetry, because, today, I'd like to talk about haiku ♥.
"Haiku is actually very near and dear to my heart ♥," he continued, "I've even taught a whole class on the topic before, but, obviously, today's lesson on it will be quite condensed. Modern haiku has been a bit reduced to its basic structure, and that is what most people are likely familiar with: three lines, broken up by syllables, five for the first, seven for the second, and then back to five to bring us home ♥. Already, though, we are diverging from its original form. Breaking it down this way is common in English translations, but in the original Japanese, the haiku is usually written as just a single line. We are hardly going to flail our hands about technicalities in this class, of course. Our main concern will merely be creating beautiful words to embody beautiful ideas ♥.
"And, generally speaking, a true haiku will also involve two very important elements: a kireji, or 'cutting word,' and a kigo, which is a relation to a season, or at least some aspect of nature. Let us take an example from Bashō, one of Japan's best-known haikuists, to highlight what I mean:"
He cleared his throat lightly and recited, first in Japanese, then in English:
"furu ike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto
Ah, the ancient pond
As a frog takes the plunge
Sound of the water "
He paused, tilting his head, as if expecting nature to respond in kind with exactly the sound described in the poem. Nature did not oblige, but that was just fine.
"Simple, neh ♥? But also vivid in its emotion, in capturing a specific moment that inspires a specific feeling. We do not need the frog plunging into the water to feel the full effect of the poem. Its simple words are enough; it encapsulates a whole scene, and does so in very little.
"Today, I would like us all to take some time and work on some haiku. Poems broken up into a 5-7-5 rhythm, with a reference to nature. Simple, simple, simple, neh ♥? Let's have one more example, this one from Yosa Buson:
In pale moonlight~
the wisteria’s scent
comes from far away. "
He let that one linger for a moment, too, before nodding softly and saying, "Let's begin ♥."
"Haiku is actually very near and dear to my heart ♥," he continued, "I've even taught a whole class on the topic before, but, obviously, today's lesson on it will be quite condensed. Modern haiku has been a bit reduced to its basic structure, and that is what most people are likely familiar with: three lines, broken up by syllables, five for the first, seven for the second, and then back to five to bring us home ♥. Already, though, we are diverging from its original form. Breaking it down this way is common in English translations, but in the original Japanese, the haiku is usually written as just a single line. We are hardly going to flail our hands about technicalities in this class, of course. Our main concern will merely be creating beautiful words to embody beautiful ideas ♥.
"And, generally speaking, a true haiku will also involve two very important elements: a kireji, or 'cutting word,' and a kigo, which is a relation to a season, or at least some aspect of nature. Let us take an example from Bashō, one of Japan's best-known haikuists, to highlight what I mean:"
He cleared his throat lightly and recited, first in Japanese, then in English:
"
Ah, the ancient pond
As a frog takes the plunge
Sound of the water
He paused, tilting his head, as if expecting nature to respond in kind with exactly the sound described in the poem. Nature did not oblige, but that was just fine.
"Simple, neh ♥? But also vivid in its emotion, in capturing a specific moment that inspires a specific feeling. We do not need the frog plunging into the water to feel the full effect of the poem. Its simple words are enough; it encapsulates a whole scene, and does so in very little.
"Today, I would like us all to take some time and work on some haiku. Poems broken up into a 5-7-5 rhythm, with a reference to nature. Simple, simple, simple, neh ♥? Let's have one more example, this one from Yosa Buson:
the wisteria’s scent
comes from far away.
He let that one linger for a moment, too, before nodding softly and saying, "Let's begin ♥."
Class Activity: Haiku - Creative Writing, 03/16.
Or do something entirely different; it is creative writing, after all, and these lessons are mere jumping off points, really.