Sent to you by Gigi via Google Reader:
If a haiku is usually (mistakenly) thought of as a 3-line, 5-7-5 syllable poem, then the tanka would be a 5-line, 5-7-5-7-7 syllable poem. However, as with haiku, it's better to think of a tanka as a 5-line poem with 3 short lines (lines 2, 4, 5) and 2 very short lines (lines 1 and 3).
While imagery is still important in tanka, the form is a little more conversational than haiku at times. It also allows for the use of poetic devices such as metaphor and personification (2 big haiku no-no's).
Like haiku, tanka is a Japanese poetic form.
*****
While I'm sure there are problems with my attempt, here is my tanka attempt, which you can use as an example of the form:
Chopin's waltzes
turn circles in my head
for hours
as I think of her hand
turning the world inside out
*****
Here are some other online tanka resources:
* http://www.americantanka.com/about.html
* http://www.ahapoetry.com/richtank.htm
* http://www.modernenglishtankapress.com/tankacentral/
*****
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to Poetic Asides with Robert Lee Brewer using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
No comments:
Post a Comment