2015-06-08

【Aiden in English】

        Aiden: Humans are a part of a force that controls everything.

        Frankie: Yes, that is true, and the Japanese were the first to realize this.

        A: Ah… you mean a haiku.

        F: Yes, a haiku. This type of poem originated in Japan, rising to its greatest peak in the 1600’s.

        A: Tell me more.

        F: Well, a haiku is a type of poem that focused on nature. The Japanese usually sat staring at nature for a period of time and then came up with words that described the scene called “juxtaposition.” 

        A: Yeah! I remember a great poet in the late 1600’s that I read about. His name was Basho Matsuo. One of his most memorable haiku poems to me was called “The First Day of Spring.” (Read poem)

                First day of spring

                I keep thinking about

                The end of autumn

        F: (Claps hands) That was wonderful, but what exactly does it mean?

        A: Well, like you said, haikus are about nature, and Basho Matsuo is expressing his feelings on the first day of spring, and for some reason, he was thinking about fall.

        F: Wait a minute. Not all haikus are about nature.

        A: Huh? What do you mean?

        F: Well, as the world changed, nature wasn’t the only thing to write about. Technology was becoming more dominant, and nature wasn’t as plentiful as before.

        A: I guess it’s not just the world that’s suffering from pollution and de-forestation. Literature is too.

        F: Well, haiku poems can really be about everything. But even now, nature is still a common topic.

        A: You know what, now that we have all the history in our brains, I feel like writing a haiku.

        F: Alright, then let’s get started.

        A: I know a haiku poem is a 17-syllable format, using three lines of 5-7-5.

        F: Whoa! Stop right there! A haiku has many formats. People just take the most common format and use that. There’s a monoku, which has 1 line. Or a zip poem, having 15 syllables using two lines. Not to mention the tanka and one word poems. Boy, there are many, many, many more formats.

        A: Well, when you put it that way, I feel as if I have a lot to learn about haikus. And if so, then let’s get started.

Game Rules:

1) People will be split into four table groups.

2) They will choose two of the pictures provided.

3) The group writes a haiku poem for each picture. Standard format.

4) The groups will trade poems twice, and the groups will try to match the poems to the pictures. The group with the most matched pictures wins.

                An old silent pond…

                A frog jumps into the pond, 

                splash! Silence again. 

                        By Basho Matsuo “Old Pond” 

【紅霞譯文】

        兒歌：人類總想統治萬物。

        弗蘭基：沒錯，事實如此，日本人首先意識到這一點。

        兒歌：呃……你指的是俳句。

        弗蘭基：對，就是俳句，這種詩歌起源於日本，十七世紀發展到高峰時期。

        兒歌：再詳細一點。

        弗蘭基：好的，俳句主要歌頌大自然，日本人通常深居大自然修身養性，隨後因為觸景生情而用幾個詞描述對偶詩句。

        兒歌：原來如此！我記得曾經讀過十七世紀後期一位著名詩人寫的作品，俳聖名字叫松尾芭蕉，其最代表作之一為《春天的開始》（念詩）

                春天的開始

                我卻在不停的想

                秋季的最後

        弗蘭基：（拍手）太好了，不過其寓意是什麼？

        兒歌：哦，正如你說的那樣，俳句嚮往自然，松尾芭蕉借景抒發初春的情感，不知什麼原因，他聯想起秋天。

        弗蘭基：等一下，並非所有俳句描寫自然景象。

        兒歌：呃？啥意思？

        弗蘭基：這麼說吧，世道在變，俳句並非只寫與大自然相關的內容，科學技術主導事物發展，俳句已不再像從前那樣拘泥於季語。

        兒歌：我想世界到處正遭受空氣污染及採伐樹林的侵害，因此文學也在劫難逃。

        弗蘭基：其實，俳句短詩內容包羅萬象，只不過時至今日大自然是人們愛談的話題而已。

        兒歌：你知道的，現在我們已了解到它的來龍去脈，我好像可以上手寫出俳句。

        弗蘭基：太好了，讓我們一起動手吧。

        兒歌：我知道俳句格律為由“五—七—五” 三句、十七音組成。

        弗蘭基：哇噻！且慢！俳句有很多種，人們只是採用常見的格式來寫，其它還有一行詩，或者十五個音兩行的郵編詩，更不用說和歌和一個字的詩。天哪，另有很多、很多、很多其它格式。

        兒歌：明白了，經你這麼一說，我感覺確有不少俳句知識值得學習。咱說干就干，現在開始。

比賽規則：

1) 大家分成四桌一組；

2) 每組從現成的照片中選出兩張；

3) 每組針對每一張景色依照標準韻律寫出俳句詩歌；

4) 各組交換俳句詩歌兩次，詩文要求與景色對應，匹配最好的小組獲勝。

                閒寂古池旁…

                青蛙跳進水中央，

                撲通一聲響。

                                    松尾芭蕉：《古池塘》