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” 

【红霞译文】

        儿歌：人类总想统治万物。

        弗兰基：没错，事实如此，日本人首先意识到这一点。

        儿歌：呃……你指的是俳句。

        弗兰基：对，就是俳句，这种诗歌起源于日本，十七世纪发展到高峰时期。

        儿歌：再详细一点。

        弗兰基：好的，俳句主要歌颂大自然，日本人通常深居大自然修身养性，随后因为触景生情而用几个词描述对偶诗句。

        儿歌：原来如此！我记得曾经读过十七世纪后期一位著名诗人写的作品，俳圣名字叫松尾芭蕉，其最代表作之一为《春天的开始》（念诗）

                春天的开始

                我却在不停的想

                秋季的最后

        弗兰基：（拍手）太好了，不过其寓意是什么？

        儿歌：哦，正如你说的那样，俳句向往自然，松尾芭蕉借景抒发初春的情感，不知什么原因，他联想起秋天。

        弗兰基：等一下，并非所有俳句描写自然景象。

        儿歌：呃？啥意思？

        弗兰基：这么说吧，世道在变，俳句并非只写与大自然相关的内容，科学技术主导事物发展，俳句已不再像从前那样拘泥于季语。

        儿歌：我想世界到处正遭受空气污染及采伐树林的侵害，因此文学也在劫难逃。

        弗兰基：其实，俳句短诗内容包罗万象，只不过时至今日大自然是人们爱谈的话题而已。

        儿歌：你知道的，现在我们已了解到它的来龙去脉，我好像可以上手写出俳句。

        弗兰基：太好了，让我们一起动手吧。

        儿歌：我知道俳句格律为由“五—七—五” 三句、十七音组成。

        弗兰基：哇噻！且慢！俳句有很多种，人们只是采用常见的格式来写，其它还有一行诗，或者十五个音两行的邮编诗，更不用说和歌和一个字的诗。天哪，另有很多、很多、很多其它格式。

        儿歌：明白了，经你这么一说，我感觉确有不少俳句知识值得学习。咱说干就干，现在开始。

比赛规则：

1) 大家分成四桌一组；

2) 每组从现成的照片中选出两张；

3) 每组针对每一张景色依照标准韵律写出俳句诗歌；

4) 各组交换俳句诗歌两次，诗文要求与景色对应，匹配最好的小组获胜。

                闲寂古池旁…

                青蛙跳进水中央，

                扑通一声响。

                                    松尾芭蕉：《古池塘》