Japanese can only end in ‘a’, ‘i’, ‘u’, ‘e’, ’o’, or ’n’. Rhyming in Japanese is boring because it has so few possible endings that tons of stuff rhymes. Haiku, tanka, and other forms exist with syllable*, rhythm, and even thematic rules instead.
IIRC, Anglo-Saxon poetry before the Norman conquest also wasn’t into rhyming.
* it’s technically not syllables but close enough for this usage.
southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Yes and no.
The art of haiku is in making the restraint work well. It’s an exceedingly difficult form to even make meh poems in.
Rhyme is not the end-all be-all of poetry to begin with. Look at Whitman as a prime example. A lot of his stuff lacks rhyme, and often to great effect.
Think of poetry as painting pictures with words. You don’t have to use oils to make great art. Rhyme is just one tool to convey the idea. Alliteration, meter, rhythm, tone, you gotta bring the whole toolbox to hope to consistently cause a response in the reader.
Haiku strips things down to the barest essentials. You have only a few strokes of the brush to carry your message, so each stroke must be perfect. It’s akin to calligraphy in that regard. And, that’s an art form with similar constraints in Japan.
A great poet might manage to come up with a handful of truly meaningful haiku in their life. But, part of the art form allows for all levels of greatness. Just conveying meaning at all is a solid success because of the constraints.
I’ve written poetry since I was about 14. Most of it vogon grade tbh. A few that I’m proud of. But I’ve never managed to craft a single haiku that resonated, and I’ve tried.
Someone like Bashō, one of the traditional masters of the art form, manages to be so good at it that it even works when translated (though the art of translating haiku is its own art form).
I dunno if you’re into poetry or not, but I’d suggest taking a look at Bashō and reconsidering the art of the form.
I had to go look it up, but here’s one of my all time favorites from a different poet
"A World of Dew” by Kobayashi Issa
A world of dew,
And within every dewdrop
A world of struggle.
It encapsulates the form, imo. The combination of imagery and meaning that generates thought. Within every dewdrop, a world of struggle.
That’s fucking art.