How to use our Haiku Checker
Have you ever wondered, "Is this a Haiku"? Well, now you can find out.
To get started, type 3 lines of text into the textbox above.
Haiku poems follow a 5-7-5 format. The first line of a Haiku has to be 5 syllables, the second line 7 syllables and the third line has to be 5 syllables.
There are three syllable count boxes above the textbox that will display the syllable count of each of the three lines in real-time and let you know if you go over the syllable or line limit.
To copy the contents of the haiku checker, or also known as a haiku syllable counter, simply click the "copy text" button and it will copy all the text within the textarea.
Everything You Need to Know About Haiku
Let's talk a little bit about poetry. In this article, I'll be discussing a particular and often misunderstood poetic form, the haiku (pronounced high-koo). It's an ancient Japanese form that has significantly evolved over the years and a favorite of many modern U.S. English poets.
After providing a brief explanation of the form, as well as its most popular "spin-off", I'll give you a little bit of its history and show you how to write your own, as well as explain why you might want to.
What's a Haiku?
A traditional haiku is a non-rhyming poem, consisting of seventeen syllables, arranged in three lines. The syllable count is distributed as 5, 7 and 5:
I wrote a haiku
And here you are reading it.
Very nice of you!
Simple, right? Well, it would be, except that syllable count is only one consideration. Traditionally, there are two other requirements:
1) It should be written about nature, particularly a season.
2) It should contain a strategically placed "cutting" word that invokes a pause for thought.
Both of those rules have been repeatedly broken, even by some of the poets best known for their "haiku." Note: This is a good place to mention that the plural of "haiku" is "haiku"," although you'll see it written as "haikus" quite often.
A Bit of History
Haiku is said to have originated as part of another form, regna, meaning, "linked verse." These poems consisted of a long portion preceded by a hokku or "starting verse" that alluded to the place and time. This seems to be where the 5-7-5 syllable structure was first applied.
Over time, some leading poets took up the form of the hokku, retaining the "pivotal word" and the 5-7-5 structure and haiku was born.
It's important to realize that syllables are formed and counted very differently in the English and Japanese languages. This may account for some of the seemingly blatant departures from the normal syllable structure in haiku by many famous poets.
It's equally important to acknowledge that many poets simply don't accept the 5-7-5 structure and are happy to "do their own thing." Let's just chalk it up to "poetic license".
Famous Haiku Examples
"Lines on a Skull" by Ravi Shankar:
life’s little, our heads
sad. Redeemed and wasting clay
this chance. Be of use.
"JANUARY" by Paul Holmes:
Delightful display
Snowdrops bow their pure white heads
To the sun's glory.
The two examples above exhibit the 5-7-5 syllable count, but note the distinct differences in formatting, punctuation and capitalization. The second example shows a definite connection to nature.
"The Taste of Rain" by Jack Kerouac
The taste
of rain
- Why kneel?
"I want to sleep" by Masaoka Shiki
I want to sleep
Swat the flies
Softly, please.
In these two poems, we see the syllable count completely abandoned, although they're written by "masters" of haiku. I think it's safe to say that there has been considerable creative license given over the years.
Haiku's Quirky Stepchild
Another form used for starting verses in regna is the senryu (reportedly pronounced sen-rye-you or sen-ree-you or sen-roo, take your pick). While this form follows the 5-7-5 meter, it doesn't need a nature reference or a "cutting" word. Instead of nature, the theme is human nature, generally with a humorous take.
This form is often submitted as haiku, and is actually preferred by many poets, myself included. It's much more fun and the relaxation of the strict requirements gives writers an opportunity to invoke more creativity. Our Haiku Checker will still work for senryu since it also follows the 5-7-5 format.
Now, if you search the word "senryu," you'll find the results very similar to those from search for "haiku." In other words, you'll find a collection of pages that describe the form, then proceed to offer famous examples that don't follow the form. My favorite is the example written by the poet the form was actually named for:
"When I catch" by Karai Senryū
When I catch,
The robber,
my own son
Please understand, I mean no disrespect for the poets or the poetic forms, and I realize there may be something lost in the translations. I also take advantage of "poetic license" in some of my own works, but as written, these seem to be contradictory examples.
In the interest of fairness, I think it's fitting to provide examples that seem to fit the requirements laid out in the description of the form.
Matsuo Bashō:
An old silent pond…
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.
Anonymous
Sneezed in the silence,
Library echoes loudly—
Everyone's eyes judge.
5-7-5: check!
Human nature: check!
Humor: check!
Again, these are simply offered as examples of senryu that fit the description as I understand it. I hope they also demonstrate why this form appeals to me and why I enjoy reading – and writing this kind of poetry. It offers a satirical look at our species. The humor is subtle and understated, but the imagery is clear.
Writing Haiku and Senryu
While this article may seem more of a rant than a guide to understanding and writing haiku, I assure you, that's not my intent. Both forms are challenging (we hope our haiku checker makes it less challenging) and I believe there's much to be gained from writing according to a highly structured format. In addition, these forms teach us to express complete thoughts with an economy of words.
I've provided examples above that, in my opinion, don't "fit the mold" but maybe that's part of the point. They're a bit "too far out of the box" in my opinion, but the world is full of opinions.
The choice to follow the forms strictly or "bend the rules" a bit is, of course, yours to make. Either way, I encourage you to "dive in" and give these two unusual forms a try. You just might find you enjoy it!
Thanks for using our Haiku Checker!
We hope our haiku checker helps you in meeting your haiku syllable limits. For more general syllable counting, please check out our main syllable counter or to check the number of lines in your text be sure to take a look at our line counter. Happy writing!