Haiku Rules?

Question

Why is metaphor/simile not used in haiku? All I find is: "Do not use it", but why not?
And also, most haiku is unrhymed. Is this for a specific reason, or is rhyme just unnecessary for three lines?

Answer 1

all poems don't have to rhyme.



haiku is not the only type of poem that does not rhyme most of the time.



another type that usually doesn't rhyme is



the diamonte.

Answer 2

Haiku almost never have any direct metaphors, and never have similes. On the other hand, haiku often have a juxtaposition of two images or ideas. Many times this creates a comparision with an implied suggestion of similarity.





As for rhyme: Haiku is a an old Japanese poetry form. In the japanese language there are a fairly limited number of word endings, so there are many more words with similar endings than there are in English. That is probably one of the reasons that Japanese poetry forms such as haiku, senryu, tanka, renga, etc. are not based on rhyme, but are based on morae (onji or hyouon moji in Japanese).



When people started to write haiku in English, there were some who wrote their haiku with rhyme, but most did not. Today, there are almost no English-language haiku that rhyme.



Also at that time, most English-language haiku were written in 5-7-5 syllables. Later on English-language haiku writers learned that syllables were not the same as onji. For example, London is two syllables, but four morae or onji (Lo/n/do/n/). Today, most haiku that you will find in the major English-language haiku journals (Heron's Nest, Modern Haiku, Frogpond) are usually less than 17 syllables, with an emphasis placed on brevity and conciseness.

Answer 3

Metaphor and simile can be used in Haiku.



It consists of 5-7-5 syllables in the 3 lines.

Answer 4

Most of what people think they know about the haiku form is wrong. I suggest you spend a while studying it. Here's a good, simple place to start:



http://www.poeticbyway.com/gl-h.html



Also, the Haiku Society of America website



http://www.hsa-haiku.org/



will take you as deep into haiku-land as you're willing to go - probably farther, in fact.



To answer your specific questions, metaphor and simile are rarely used in writing true haiku, though they are often used in "bad" haiku and other derivative forms. That is because the essence of true haiku is to capture the essence of a single moment of reality, the NOW, with minimal words. You're supposed to hear, see and smell that splashing pond water as the frog jumps into it.



Rhyme has been used experimentally in haiku, but IMHO it only detracts from the gritty immediacy of the form.



Happy haiku-ing!

Answer 5

Here is a very informative link that will help you with your questions and understanding of Haiku and the traditional Japanese verse http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/haiku/haiku.html