Haiku
A haiku is a traditional Japanese poem. It is usually about a moment in time connected with nature or the seasons. Now poets from other countries also write haiku in other languages.
Read the three haiku. Which illustration goes with each poem?
2 Read the poem again and answer the questions.
3 All these poems have the same structure. Answer the questions about the haiku.
How many lines are there?
There are three lines.
How many syllables are there in each line?
Line 1: five syllables
Line 2: seven syllables
Line 3: five syllables
4 SPEAKING Which haiku is your favourite? Why?
Writing a haiku
5 Write your own haiku. Use the steps to help you.
1 Choose a topic for your haiku, for example:
- an animal
- a place you like (e.g. a footabll stadium / a park / school / on a train)
- an experience (e.g. your first day of school / a party)
2 Think of a feeling you want to express.
3 Try to use the rules from Exercise 3.
If you can't write a haiku with a perfect number of syllables, that's OK. Modern haiku don't always follow the rules, and you still have a poem in English.