Assignment 4

ASSIGNMENT #4

Time to write your own poetry! See below for directions for the haiku, tanka and the diamond poem. For each style, complete 3 poems.

COMPOSE THREE (EACH) THE FOLLOWING:

HAIKU

TANKA

DIAMOND POEM

_____________________________

Haiku & Tanka

Fall

The geese flying south

In a row long and V-shaped

Pulling in winter.

--Sally Andersen

HAIKU: One traditional form of Japanese nature poetry is the haiku, a three-line poem that tells of an experience that has made an impression on the poet. Traditionally, haiku’s depict things in nature and the environment, but think of how you can incorporate your own environment into this classical form. A haiku doesn't rhyme, but it does have a form. It has a total of seventeen syllables in three lines distributed like this:

- - - - - (5)

- - - - - - - (7)

- - - - - (5)

Here is another example:

Snow fell until dawn (5 syllables)

Now every twig in the grove (7 syllables)

glitters in sunlight (5 syllables)

--Rokwa

TANKA

The haiku was originally part of an even older type of poem, the Tanka. As in haiku, careful choice of words is important.

Here is the form:

- - - - - (5)

- - - - - - - (7)

- - - - - (5)

- - - - - - - (7)

Here is an example:

Because the songbird (5 syllables)

pauses while flying there is (7 syllables)

a ceaseless swaying (5 syllables)

of the willow's sheer branches (7 syllables)

and a fall of loosened snow. (7 syllables)

--Taeko Takeoori

Diamond Poem

A diamond poem gets its name from its unusual shape. Here is an example of a diamond poem:

Summer

Golden, fragrant,

Budding, blooming, bursting,

warmth, flowers, youth, colors

Fading, chilling, shrinking

Pale, dead

Winter

Directions:

On line 1, write the subject of your poem. Any subject will do, but it will be necessary later to write the opposite of this subject, so pick a subject for which you can think of an opposite.

On line 2, write two adjectives that describe your subject.

On line 3, write three actions that you associate with your subject. Use participles-- that is, action words (verbs) that end in -ing (like swaying or singing).

On line 4, name four things you associate with your subject. These are nouns.

On line 5. write three participles that indicate there is a change place in your subject. (Don't use the same participles you used in three.)

On line 6,write two words that describe the subject now that it is changed.

On line 7, write a word that is the opposite of your original subject-- the exact opposite of the word in line 1.

Here is another example:

House

Vacant, forgotten

Sagging, echoing, waiting,

Weeds, dust, neglect, emptiness

Buying, repairing, filling

Cozy, loved

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