Lit 14 Haikus

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C a p i n p u y a n | 1

Aimee Lorraine C. Capinpuyan

Mr. Maximino Pulan Jr.

Lit 14 M02

07 Dec

Objects of Imitation in Haikus

In haiku number one, the action is of the speaker looking at his hometown and

likening it to blossoms of the thorn. The second haiku is more of the opposite, as

the speaker is looking at a flowering thorn and then likening it to the place where he

or she was born. As for the character, the speakers in both haikus are universal, that is

to say their race or their gender is not essential to the power of the haiku, and both are

reminiscent, thoughtful, and sensitive characters. The speaker in the first haiku must

be thinking, My hometown is so beautiful, just looking at it cheers me up. The

emotion that is conveyed here is that of wonder and happiness, with a touch of

reminiscence. In the second haiku, feeling rather homesick, the speaker must be

thinking something along the lines of, This beautiful flower reminds me of my

hometown, which I miss. The circumstances of the two poems are quite different

from each other: in the first one, the speaker is at home, and in the second one, the

speaker is far away from home.

In haiku number three, the action is of the speaker looking at a grove, and the

circumstances of the action are that it is summer, and everything in the grove is still.

On the other hand, haiku number four features a speaker who is observing some

sleeping birds. The circumstances of the action are that it is spring, the birds that the

speaker is observing are predatory birds, and these birds are inside the grove. Again,

both speakers are universal, reflective, and sensitive characters, but both are thinking


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different things. The speaker in the third haiku is probably thinking, The grove is

awe-inspiring. Everything is so peaceful. The emotions of this speaker are that of

wonder and awe, and at the same time calmness and peacefulness. The speaker in the

fourth haiku is thinking along the same lines: This grove is so peaceful and calming

that it can put even the most vicious of birds to sleep. The emotions of this speaker

are similar to the speaker in the third haiku, except that this speaker is more of an

amazed speaker and less of a calmed being.

The eighth haiku implies that the narrator is looking at a butterfly. The

circumstances of this action are that the butterfly, which is standing so still it appears

to be sleeping, is resting on a temple bell, and the speaker is most likely inside a

temple. In the next (and almost identical) haiku, the speaker is observing a firefly

glittering on a temple bell. The circumstances of the action in the second one are

the same as the first, the only difference is that instead of a butterfly sleeping, the

speaker observes a firefly glittering. Because of this, it is possible that the scene

takes place at night or some time and place where it is dark, since the glow of fireflies

is hard to see in the day. In both poems, the speakers are sensitive, observant, and

universal. The narrator in the eighth haiku must be thinking, That butterfly is

standing so still, it must be asleep, and the emotion that this narrator is feeling is a

sense of wonder and curiosity. The narrator in the ninth haiku is probably saying,

That glow from that firefly is so beautiful, and the emotions that the speaker is

feeling are awe and inspiration. While structurally, they are almost the same poem,

their meanings are quite different. The haiku about the butterfly is a haiku about

calmness and peacefulness, while the haiku about the firefly is about vibrancy, life,

and warmth.


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In the eleventh haiku, the action is of the speaker stepping on a comb. The

circumstances of the action are that the comb belongs to his dead wife, and it takes

place in the bedroom that they once shared. The speaker here is definitely a male who

feels rather sad and misses his wife terribly. The thoughts of the speaker are probably,

I miss my wife. This comb reminds me of her, and the emotions he experiences are

loneliness and grief. He shares these emotions with the speaker in the twelfth haiku,

who observes the light in the next room going out. The circumstances of the action

here are that it is at night, and that the speaker is probably alone in his or her room,

positioned in such a way that he or she can clearly know when the light in the next

room goes out. The thoughts that are probably running through the speakers head

are, Im alone in the night, I am so sad. While both haikus talk about loneliness,

they differ in that the eleventh haiku is about a love lost, while in the twelfth one we

are unsure as to whether the speaker even had a love to lose in the first place.

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Lit 14 Haikus