Heat Lightning Streak By Matsuo Basho

The main philosophy of a haiku has always been to showcase the essence of a present moment using vivid imagery depicting elements of nature and humanity. While their simplistic appearance may strike some as insignificant, there is much more depth to a haiku than meets the eyes. These poems can encapsulate a writers vision within a short passage. The audience is allowed to enrich upon the writers few, carefully chosen words, by drawing on experience and imagination. Matsuo Basho's haiku, "Heat lightning streak", adheres to this philosophy. This structurally short and simple poem manages to illustrate a vision of apprehension and unease, by comprising well developed elements of tone, imagery, and rhythm.

Having a sense of the tone within a literary piece tells
Haiku's do not adhere to any known category of meter. The rhythmic structure of five, seven, then five syllables, is unique to this type of poetry. This particular haiku, however, veers from this traditional form; using instead a four, five, and four syllable structure, without a clear pattern of syllabic stresses. The first line has two unstressed syllables sandwiched between two accented syllables, adding a melodic feel to the piece. The word "streak" ends this line with a slight jolt. The harsh sound of this accented syllable draws attention to the word itself. The second line is softer in comparison. Completing the line with two words ending in a hissing sound (darkness and pierces), creates a lulling affect, similar to white noise. On the last line, the first two words, "the heron's", replaces the lulling affect with a more measured sound. This then leads to the last word, "shriek". The harsh, accented sound of this one syllable word ends the haiku with a phonetic jolt. This rhythmic delivery promotes a dramatic impact similar to Horror film and Novels; where moments of fear emerge in the midst of lulling