The Japanese
WAKA is similar to the
TANKA and the
HAIKU. It is a quintet in syllables of 5-7-5-7-7.
The first two lines treat one subject, the second two treat another, and the last line is a refrain or paraphrase. The first two lines are a dependent clause, while the last three are independent.
Quote:
Schematic:
xxxxx
xxxxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx
where "x" is the syllable count
|
Examples 1 & 2 by
His Majesty the Emperor:
Celebration Of The New Year
When dawn was breaking
The Kashiko-dokoro' s
Garden surface showed
In the midst of piling snows
The watchfires burning red.
-----
-----
Visit To Saipan Two Poems
At Saipan
An old man who had fought there,
Just as it had been,
Lying down on the sea-shore
Told us the whole sad story.
Down below this cliff,
Multitudinous the lives
That people lost here,
Where the ocean is so deep
And the seas are blue and clear.