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How is the structure of the haiku and the tanka similar?

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Last updated date: 19th Sep 2024
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Hint: Haiku is a type of Japanese poetry in three metric phrases of 5, 7, and 5 morae, consisting of 17 morae (or on). A kigo or seasonal reference is traditionally included in Haiku, and a kireji or verbal caesura (cutting word).

Tanka consists of five units, usually with the following mora pattern (often treated as separate lines when transliterated or translated): 5-7-5-7-7.

Complete answer:
The haiku and the tanka are both fixed-form poems made up of five and seven syllables.
A haiku has a 5-7-5 structure, while a tanka has a 5-7-5-7-7 structure.

For instance, "A frog is leaping into an old pond, making sound of water(plop)." haiku. There was silence again after the frog jumped into the pond. The quiet pond fascinated Basho. For example, The tanka is "I feel nostalgic with the accent of my hometown. I go to a crowded station to hear it." The stone monument's illustration was taken at Ueno station(Tokyo), which is reached by several trains from northern Japan. As it is shorter than a tanka, a haiku depends a lot on your imagination. So, it would help if you put in a haiku with a kigo (season word).

As an opening portion of a larger Japanese poem called renga, Haiku originated. These haiku, written as an opening stanza, were referred to as hokku, and writers started writing them as their own stand-alone poems over time. At the end of the 19th century, Haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki.

Originally from Japan, haiku is now published worldwide by writers. Haiku in English and haiku in other languages, while still incorporating elements of the traditional haiku form, have their own styles and traditions. Non-Japanese haiku differ significantly in how closely conventional elements are observed.

Note: Most tanka and haiku poets continued to use the classical language, possibly because their relative concision allowed them to impart more significant substance to their verses than modern Japanese permits. Therefore, poets of the "new style" were more ready to use the colloquial.