Read the following haiku then answer the questions that follow. You may print out the questions and write short answers under them if you have a printer that works. Otherwise, please write the questions and the answers or answer in a COMPLETE sentence.
a clear sheet of sky
calligraphy of blackbirds
written and erased
–Katy Peake
The old pond;
A frog jumps in:
Sound of water.
—Matsuo Basho
A morning glory
Twined round the bucket:
I will ask my neighbors for water.
–Chiyo
PEACE
I spy butterfly
In quietly still waters
living for today.
—Paula Yup
Questions (also found on page 569 in textbook):
1. Which of the haiku gives you the clearest image of a specific moment in time in a natural setting?
Explain why.
2. What does the speaker in Basho’s haiku see and hear?
What makes this a fleeting moment?
3. What event in nature does Katy Peake’s haiku describe?
What human activity does she compare it with?
4. Based on the poem, name two reasons why Chiyo might have noticed the morning glory.
Why does the speaker decided to get water from a neighbor?
5. Reread Basho’s haiku. In which season do you think this moment took place?
Explain your opinion.
6. The speaker in most traditional haiku does not often appear in the poem as “I”. Do you think Chiyo’s break with tradition makes her haiku more or less effective?
Explain.
7. Explain how Paula Yup’s poem is both similar to and different from traditional Japanese haiku.