FREE ESSAY ON MATSUO BASHO - FATHER OF HAIKU

MATSUO BASHO - FATHER OF HAIKU

Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho radically redefined the three-line, 17-syllable haiku poetic form from an
entertaining pastime in 16th-century Japan to a major literary genre in the 17th century.
An early Basho haiku provides an example of his meticulous and sensitive approach in
selecting and arranging words and images to produce highly evocative allusions: 
On a leafless bough 
In the gathering autumn dusk: 
A solitary crow!
Haiku emanates from the 31 syllable, five-line tanka (short poem) which was originally
arranged in two parts, an opening triplet (hokku) and a couplet. The Haiku form was
popularized during the Heian period (794-1185). At that time, it was customary for the
educated elite of Japan to engage in writing, singing, and reciting poetry as forms of
cultural entertainment. In addition, social customs of the day demanded that the
aristocracy of the refined court society display both a sensitivity to nature in their
poetic expression and an ability to discuss the poetic classics of Japanese and Chinese
literature. Tanka, then, could express a wealth of meaning in five elegant lines
expressing a single idea, emotion, or observation. 
By the 16th century, tanka had found expression in playful and less refined experimental
forms and began to attract the participation of the merchant classes as well. But it was
not until Basho came along with an artistic sensibility, reflective calm, and keen
originality, coupled with his formal training in Japanese and Chinese classics and
poetry, that new power was infused into the haiku. Basho's greatest contribution to the
genre was to take the opening triplet of the tanka (hokku) and make it an independent,
autonomous form. The term haiku was formed from the first three letters of the word
haikai (a 17-syllable comical verse) and the last two letters of the word hokku. 
The following, well-known Basho haiku serves as an example of the beauty of nature, the
fleeting image of time, and a compression of language: 
Falling upon earth, 
Pure water spills from the cup 
of the camellia.
At first glance, "Falling Upon Earth" offers a meditative reflection on the wonders of
nature. The poem invites contemplation on the beauty of the camellia blossom and
implicitly situates the tropical Asiatic evergreen tree in a calm, rural setting in Japan
among the hidden forces of nature. Yet the power of Basho's haiku clearly emanates from
his meticulous selection of words, his fleeting yet evocative imagery, and the ambiguity
resulting from words having multiple meanings. The power word of the first line is
falling. The ambiguity of who or what is falling immediately challenges meaning and
entices the reader's active participation in the poem. In Japanese literature, the
camellia blossom is often used as a symbolic representation of the samurai, a
professional soldier of the feudal military aristocracy of Japan, whose life, like that
of the camellia, was often brilliant but brief. The falling of the flower takes on an
allegorical dimension since Basho once trained in the service of a young samurai master
who died unexpectedly. Basho grieved deeply and renounced his own samurai status. Thus,
the implication of the camellia blossom moving abruptly from a state of natural beauty
and vigor to one of quiet, somber death invites speculation on life's brevity, as well as
the need to recognize and appreciate the rich, evocative images in nature. 
Likewise, while the word earth overtly suggests an objective description of nature, in
fact, Basho might have selected ground or soil, with the apparent implication of a hard,
flat, non-receptive surface. However, he skillfully positions the word earth to evoke
connotations of the earth mother as receiver or absorber of the pure water that spills
from the camellia, an image that immediately softens the ominous tone in lines one and
two. Earth becomes the immediate vessel and eventual transmitter of the pure water of the
camellia that will cycle the life force of the blossom and restore vital nutrients to the
earth to replenish, regenerate, and revitalize the earth's bounty for new growth. Thus,
the opening tone of a death that has spilled unexpectedly is balanced by the theme of
rejuvenation as a poetic commentary on the cyclical nature of the universe and the
ultimate need for humankind to be at one with nature.