Haiku in English
A haiku in English, or English-language Haiku, is an English-language poem written in a form or style inspired by Japanese haiku. Emerging in the early 20th century, English haiku retains many characteristics of its Japanese predecessor—typically focusing on nature, seasonal changes, and imagistic language—while evolving to suit the rhythms and structures of English languages and cultures outside of Japan. The form has gained widespread popularity across the world and continues to develop through both literary experimentation and community-based haiku movements.
Typical characteristics
Length and structure
Traditional Japanese haiku are structured around the number of phonetic units known as on, with a three-phrase format in which 17 on are distributed in a 5–7–5 pattern. Because there is no exact equivalent to an on in the English language the number of phonetic units used in English-language haiku is ambiguous, with a variety of approaches available.Organic and Free Form Haiku
Organic haiku form, also known as free-form haiku, is an approach to writing haiku in English that emphasizes natural rhythm, expressive clarity, and responsiveness to the poem’s content rather than adherence to traditional structural constraints such as syllable counts. In this approach, poets allow the shape and cadence of a haiku to emerge intuitively, letting the form evolve in response to what the poem is trying to convey. The term organic refers to "the process of finding the form, during the conscious editing process, in direct response to subject matter, theme and emotional tone." Rather than imposing an external structure, poets shape each poem according to its internal logic and emotional resonance. The most commonly used variation of this form in ELH reflects this flexibility: a three-line structure in which the second line is often slightly longer than the first and third, and the total poem typically contains fewer than seventeen syllables.5-7-5 Syllable Counting
Many attempts to emulate Japanese on counting have been attempted in English-language haiku. The most basic is structuring English haiku in a 5-7-5 English-syllable pattern. Linguists, however, note that on are often shorter than English syllables, such that a 17-on phrase is, on average, shorter than 17 English-syllables.Notwithstanding this difference in length of phonetic units, the presence of 17 on in Japanese haiku prompted an idea that English-language haiku should adopt a similar structure in which syllables are arranged across three lines in a 5–7–5 structure, resulting in the "urban myth of 5-7-5" haiku. While early translators of Japanese haiku into English did not consistently follow a 5–7–5 pattern, the 5–7–5 syllable format gained traction in the mid-20th century, promoted by scholars such as Harold G. Henderson and Kenneth Yasuda, who believed that mirroring the traditional Japanese structure would honor and preserve the essence of haiku in English translation. Widespread adoption of the 5-7-5 misunderstanding was reinforced by its simplicity and appeal in educational settings, where it became a convenient teaching tool. As haiku scholar Charles Trumbull writes,
As well, haiku writer and scholar Cor van den Heuvel writes, the 5-7-5 form is “now mostly written by schoolchildren as an exercise to learn how to count syllables, by beginners who know little about the true essence of haiku, or by those who just like to have a strict form with which to practice.” As a result of the 5-7-5 form’s presence in elementary schools, the 5–7–5 pattern has persisted in popular culture despite many contemporary English-language haiku poets working in other approaches that better reflect haiku’s brevity and aesthetic qualities.
2-3-2 Accented Beat Counting
Other haiku scholars, like R.H. Blyth and William Higginson, propose that an effective English equivalent to the Japanese haiku form could be three lines with 2-3-2 accented beats. This rhythm would create a structure that mirrors the traditional Japanese haiku using natural English poetic rhythms—particularly those found in pentameter. The result is a form that feels familiar to English speakers.8-8-8 Metrical Approach
Haiku theorist Richard Gilbert extends Higginson’s shift from syllable counting to accentuating beats per line, noting that the “best conceptual means of approaching the problem of emulation of the Japanese haiku is metrical, musical, and analogical.” Further, Gilbert notes that the traditional 17-ons of Japanese haiku are “based on a 24-beat template which divides into 3 lines of 8 beats each," with the possibiity of each 8-beat line can containing “silent beats.” This 8-8-8 metrical approach divides the traditional Japanese haiku up into three “musical measures” where “each metrical line, composed of 8 beats would represent a measure,” such that a “complete haiku would be composed of three measures.” This musical analogy accounts for why many traditional Japanese haiku containing more or less than 17-on were widely written, for it shifts the emphasis away from counting on, to counting beats within a measure, though not being constrained within Higginson’s 2-3-2 accented beat template. Gilbert proposes that the 8-8-8 metrical approach to ELH composition “metrically emulate Japanese haiku.”Other Variant ELH Forms
The most common variation from the three-line standard is one line, sometimes called a . It emerged from being more than an occasional exception during the late 1970s, to contemporary ELH writers composing "outstanding haiku in...one line."Cutting
English-language haiku has developed a unique approach to the cut in haiku. In traditional Japanese haiku, the cut is a poetic technique that introduces a strong pause, or break, in both the rhythm and meaning of a verse. The cut divides the poem into two seemingly unrelated parts, inviting the reader to bridge the gap. This connection isn’t made through straightforward logic, but rather through intuition, inspiration, or a sense of inference. The cut both separates and connects—it splits the poem while also creating a space for the reader to generate an imaginative link between the parts. In traditional Japanese haiku, the cut is achieved through the use of a “cutting word”. Japanese poetics developed 18 cutting words used in haiku, and the use of a cutting word was a requirement in traditional Japanese haiku.However, there is no equivalent to a cutting word in English. As such, English-language haiku uses punctuation, spaces, line-breaks, or grammatical breaks to generate the cut.
The following haiku demonstrates how a comma can be used to create the cut,
The following demonstrates how spacing can create the cut,
The following demonstrates how a line-break can be used to create the cut,
Juxtaposition and Disjunction
Cutting a haiku creates a juxtaposition between images, ideas, and moments, or rather the poetic technique of juxtaposition creates the cut. Haiku written in the traditional Japanese haiku construction contain two parts juxtaposed with each other. The two juxtaposed components are fundamentally different and independent of each other, and each part represents a different topic, idea, or subject. The cut of the juxtaposed components create a tension or “spark” in haiku.English-language haiku approaches the nature of juxtaposition differently than traditional Japanese haiku. In his essay The Disjunctive Dragonfly, haiku theorist Richard Gilbert applies the concept of disjunction, a literary effect common in poetry, to English-language haiku. Gilbert notes while disjunction is a general feature of poetry, it functions more intensely in haiku than in other forms of poetry due to haiku's brevity and fragmentary form. In ELH, it is the force of disjunction, rather than merely the technique of juxtaposition, that is the "source of creative tension" in haiku. The concept of disjunction offers a broader and more dynamic framework than the traditional concept of juxtaposition in ELH poetics.
Gilbert defines disjunction as the "root-semantico-linguistic principle impelling juxtaposition, superposition, possessing multiple types, each related to specific poetic and formal functions and techniques which irrupt habitual consciousness and concept; may supervene more traditional functional stylism, such as fragment/phrase, juxtapositional dualism, kireji.... has at least three dimensions of velocity: centrifugal force ; gravitational force ; and, misreading as meaning."
Gilbert argues that juxtaposition alone "does not intrinsically provide poetic power," suggesting instead that the reader’s experience of disruption — namely, disjunction—is what truly animates a haiku. He writes, “The force of disjunction acting on the reader’s consciousness is the primary motif,” noting that in the absence of disjunction, "the sense of poetry is lost."
Discussing how disjunction operates in ELH, haiku scholar William H. Ramsey writes, “More frequently than other literary forms, haiku assaults or subverts a reader’s customary grammatical expectations when, through semantic distortion, the text shifts into a peculiar direction. In that split-second disjunctive 'gap, where one loses comprehension of what has just been read, a new reading must be performed arising with altered consciousness."
Disjunction can be generated via the traditional poetic technique of juxtaposition, but other techniques such as semantic paradox, imagistic or metaphoric fusion, misplaced anthropomorphism can be used.
Some examples of English-language haiku that do not contain a traditional juxtaposition of two components, yet operate within disjunction include,
Gilbert formulated the concept of disjunction to offer a richer analytical approach for contemporary English-language haiku, especially those that do not adhere to classical conventions like nature imagery, kigo, or traditional two-part juxtaposition.