Write a Tanka Poem
Tanka (短歌 tan-kah "short song") were an important part of Japanese poetry even before the first written records were inscribed as waka (和歌 wah-kah "Japanese song") around 700 C.E, and are still written and published in hundreds of groups dedicated to the study and use of the form. In the last twenty years more people outside of Japan are discovering the marvels of tanka, and trying their hand at this short form, the grandmother of haiku.
Guidelines
In Japanese the tanka, though written in one or two lines, is actually made up of five phrases that contain either five or seven sound units (much like English syllables) for a total of 31. Since these sound units are much shorter than our English syllables, and to more closely approximate the look and sound of a Japanese tanka, we give each phrase one line, and to keep the shape, we make our lines short, long, short, long, long (the traditional pattern being 5–7–5–7–7).
You may already recognize that the beginning of a tanka looks just like a haiku and the two forms are related in many ways. However, the additional two long lines at the end allow for the addition of more subjective or personal observations or feelings. The tanka is much more lyrical and allows the expression of opinions, feelings, and thoughts, while the shorter haiku does not.
In Japanese the tanka is divided also into the upper section (the haiku-like beginning) and the lower section (the two long lines). The art and crafting of tanka comes from the relationship and how it is expressed between these two sections. Often the middle line acts as a pivot — think of a garden gate that swings both ways — so the thought in the upper section can change to another thought in the lower section. This change must show a new voice, place, time, or mood.
An example would be this poem from Akiko Yosano, Japan’s greatest tanka poet.
after my bath
I dress myself smiling
in the long mirror
a portrait of yesterday
one cannot deny
If you read the first three lines you get one idea, but if you read last three lines you will see that she has made a switch in time and added an opinion to give you a very different poem. This tension between the upper and lower parts of the tanka is what gives it an energy that teases and delights and adds to the difficulty of making a poem.
As you can imagine, a poem form used for over 1,500 years has many guidelines, rules, and changes which have come and gone over the centuries. If you are interested in the form, there is much to study and learn about it.
Steps
Sample Tankas
Doc:Tanka,Tanka About the Ocean,Tanka About Storm
Writing a Tanka
- For starters, let's assume you already know how to write a haiku poem. If so, you may already have the first three lines done! Let's say your haiku is:
- ever ascending
- the mountain road disappears
- into pallid clouds
- Now taking the third line, think of how to change the scene from the cloud in the mountains to somewhere else. For our example, note that in many cultures, especially Asian cultures, white can symbolise death (already hinted at by the word "pallid"). Let's work with that and add the closing couplet:
- I think of you as blossoms
- too soon tossed on winding roads
- Notice the shift in mood. The poem has gone from a picture of mountain roads (note how the road links the first and second parts, though in your poem the link can certainly be a subtle one) to an expression of loss for which there is no exact word. However, the shift may not always be so obvious.
Tips
- Practice.
- The key to writing any good poem is to be creative. Use imagery and words that convey emotion. If you need a more exact word, use (but don't overuse) a thesaurus.
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