Haiku+Assignment

Some haiku by Shiki Masaoka are available on the Internet. They are organised according to the seasons. **Spring:** [|http://www.cc.matsuyama-u.ac.jp/~shiki/kim/shikispring.html] [|http://www.cc.matsuyama-u.ac.jp/~shiki/kim/shikisummer.html] [|http://www.cc.matsuyama-u.ac.jp/~shiki/kim/shikiautumn.html] [|http://www.cc.matsuyama-u.ac.jp/~shiki/kim/shikiwinter.html]  Report to the whole class about your discussions, using examples from your reading.  Choose one of the seasons and write at least four or five of your own haiku, in a style similar to that of Shiki Masaoka but including some of the seasonal words on your class list. Begin by trying to use the 5-7-5 syllable pattern before allowing yourself more freedom. In small groups, read and talk about your haiku and prepare one each for presentation to the whole class. 
 * Summer:**
 * Autumn:**
 * Winter and New Year's:**
 * 1) Working in small groups, choose one of the seasons and read Shiki's haiku. Pick 6... For each haiku:
 * Discuss and write down the words or phrases which link it to its season. (In some cases, this will be very clear but others are much less obvious.)
 * Discuss the imagery and mood of each haiku and whether it seems to 'fit' its season.
 * 1) As a class, brainstorm and make a class list of the seasonal words or phrases that are important where you live.
 * 1) Examine the syllable pattern of the Shiki haiku. How close are the English translations to the original 5-7-5 pattern? Re-write 2 of them so that they fit the original pattern exactly. Then, as a class, discuss whether the 5-7-5 syllable pattern is a useful discipline or whether it restricts the writer too much. Also refer to your own experience writing haiku in Activity 3.