the classical haiku and syllable count
I have said before that in languages other than Japanese, syllable count is not a matter of great importance. I have to add a correction, because I was wrong. Syllable count is not a matter of crucial importance in Japanese either.
I have been reading an anthology of haiku by Shiki, of of the greatest Japanese masters of the form, in a bilingual edition. And after I had read a few poems, I realised that unless the editor was making really big mistakes, Shiki was breaking his own rules. Here you have a couple of examples:
Senzan no momoyi
Jitosuyi no
Nagare kana.
6-5-5. *gasp* This means:
Hundreds of hills
Thousands of crimson maples
and a single stream.
Let's pick another one:
Monzen no
suguni saka nari
Fuyu kodachi
3-7-5. Meaning:
Steep climb
Leafless trees
in front of the house.
Isn't this puzzling? My knowledge of Japanese is next to zero, so I don't know if the translator or I are making a mistake. But I love the idea of a Shiki who didn't always care about syllable count.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ya he dicho antes alguna vez que me parece que en los idiomas que no son japonés, un haiku no tiene porqué tener 5-7-5 sílabas. Tengo que decir que me he equivocado. En japonés, tampoco es asunto de vida o muerte que el haiku tenga 17 sílabas.
Me he leído últimamente una antología de haikus de Shiki, uno de los grandes maestros, en una edición bilingüe, y he descubierto que una de dos: o Shiki se saltaba la cuentasilábica de vez en cuando, o el editor ha metido la pata. Os doy dos ejemplos:
Senzan no momoyi
Jitosuyi no
Nagare kana.
6-5-5. Que significa:
Cientos de colinas
miles de arces carmín
Y un solo arroyo.
Monzen no
suguni saka nari
Fuyu kodachi
3-7-5. Y significa:
Cuesta empinada
Árboles sin hojas
delante de la casa.
¿no es sorprendente? Mi japonés es nulo, así que no sé si estoy equivocándome al contar sílabas o qué, pero me encanta la idea de un Shiki al que no le importara tanto la cuenta silábica.
1 comentario
RaveN -