by Brad Bennett
As haiku poets, we bring a rich variety of approaches, aesthetic considerations, and writing techniques to each poem we write. Repetition is one of the many dynamic tools in the haiku poet’s toolbox. Repeating words, or parts of words, can be an effective and successful strategy as we craft our haiku. Historically, using repetition in English-language haiku has often been discouraged. In fact, repetition has been included on some lists of “haiku don’ts”. But throughout its long history, Japanese and English-language haiku have been written about various forms of repetition that occur in the natural world. What are kigo, if they are not time markers that tap into our collective experience and knowledge of the seasons and other natural cycles, born of repetition? So, we owe it to our haiku ancestors, our natural world, and ourselves to examine the literary benefits of repetition in our beloved form.
Repetition is a common and important device in all forms of poetry. As poet and critic Edward Hirsch has said, “Meaning accrues through repetition. One of the deep fundamentals of poetry is the recurrence of sounds, syllables, words, phrases, lines, and stanzas. Repetition can be one of the most intoxicating features of poetry. It creates expectations, which can be fulfilled or frustrated.”1 But how does repetition work in a haiku? What resonating or intoxicating effects can the haiku poet create through repetition?
Repetition can occur in various ways in a haiku. For the purposes of this article, we will examine the repetition of words and phrases, not the repetition of sounds or phonemes that are part and parcel of devices like alliteration, consonance, and assonance. The haiku writer can decide to repeat subsets of a haiku – a word, a couple of words, a clause, a fragment, or a whole line. Repetition can also occur using different parts of speech – nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or prepositions.
Like rhyme, repetition is very noticeable in a haiku. There are so few words, and the writer is choosing to repeat a high percentage of them. Thus, repetition creates some very strong effects, especially through sound, rhythm, and emphasis. First and foremost, repeating a word or phrase draws the reader’s attention to the sounds that are repeated, as if the poet were beating on a drum. Repetition in a haiku implores the reader to read the poem aloud. Repeating phrases can also enhance the rhythm of a haiku. Sometimes repetition can create a chant-like rhythm that can enhance the content and entrance the reader. Or it can also work like the repeated lines in a blues song. Most importantly and perhaps most obviously, repetition creates stress and emphasis. “Repeated words are powerful; they assert themselves, insist on our attention.”2 When a writer repeats a word or words in a haiku, the reader sits up and takes notice. Repetition can also help to unify the poem by stressing a theme or sewing parts of the poem together. Finally, in the words of haiku poet vincent tripi, “repetition brings energy and the possibility of drawing the Reader into direct participation with the poem.”3 So, repetition can deepen the meaning of a haiku through sound, rhythm, emphasis, unification, and energy.
As noted above, using repetition in such a short form as a haiku is very noticeable. We don’t want the repetition to be distracting for the reader. We also don’t want it to be too cute, too sentimental, too clever, or too cliché. If there is too much repetition in the poem, it can lose its impact. Ultimately, we need to use repetition carefully and deftly. We should aim for resonance, not redundancy – resonance that invites the reader to stay in the moment and feel it more deeply; emphasis, not impact – emphasis that guides the reader rather than yanking them along. Your poem shouldn’t sound like a broken record, unless that’s the effect you’re looking for.
There are subtle ways you can use repetition carefully that can help a haiku resonate rather than sound redundant. For instance, if part of one word or phrase is slightly different than the other, then the repetition tends to be less distracting. For example, this next poem includes two different compound nouns that include the word “moon,” and the slight variety creates a connecting and unifying effect. The repetitive sound of “moon” mimics the howls of the coyotes:
moonflowers
reflecting moonlight
coyote voices
Ferris Gilli4
In this next haiku, the word “dark” is repeated, although the second instance serves as a root word with an added suffix. Adding the suffix the second time lessens the redundancy, while intensifying the darkness:
dark darker
too many stars
too far
Gary Hotham5
Another way to use repetition deftly is to change the part of speech of a word. For instance, you can use the same word as both a noun and a verb, as in the following haiku:
inside the frozen waterfall water falling
Julie Schwerin6
The word “fall” is first part of a compound noun, “waterfall”, and later used within the verb “falling”. Similarly, the word “water” appears in two different forms, the first as part of a compound noun. These effects contribute to emphasise the intertwined nature of ice and water in a winter waterfall.
Repetition can also play with multiple meanings of the same word. For instance, some haiku utilise antanaclasis, the successive repetition of a word, in which each use has a different meaning. Often the same word acts as two separate parts of speech, usually a noun and a verb, as in this example:
first day of summer
the rope swing swings
above the river
Anna Maris7
Repetition is not a strategy new to 21st century haiku by any means. If you have read haiku by the Japanese masters, you’ll know that repetition was not uncommon. In the following haiku, Basho uses repetition as a method of observing and counting as he walks through the countryside:
kazoe ki nu yashiki yashiki no ume yanagi
counting as I go
villa by villa
plum and willows8
Basho
In this next haiku, Chiyo-ni repeats the onomatopoeic Japanese name for “cuckoo”. The translators explicitly call attention to the reiteration:
hototogisu hototogisu akeni keri
Repeating
hototogisu, hototogisu—
the day dawned9
In his famous haiku below, Issa emphasises the plodding speed of a snail by repeating the word soro, which Robert Hass translates as “slowly”:
katatsuburi soro-soro nobore fuji no yama
Climb Mount Fuji,
O Snail,
but slowly, slowly.10
While repetition has been often utilised in Japanese haiku written in the last four centuries, I’m interested in examining how it works in contemporary English-language haiku. Let’s first examine three classic English-language haiku that employ repetition. In these first two, Nicholas Virgilio and vincent tripi both utilise a technique that Richard Gilbert calls, “symmetrical rhythmic substitution”. This term refers to “…word substitutions occurring in symmetrically repeated rhythmic patterns … the symmetrical substitution evokes a quality of superposition (image layering) and jump-cut, filmic ‘snapshot’ action…”.11 These two poems are also examples of anaphora, repetition at the beginnings of lines or clauses. In the third haiku, Ruth Yarrow emphasises the quiet and beauty of the garden by repeating “the garden”.
lily:
out of the water…
out of itself
Nicholas Virgilio12
letting
the cat in
the fog in
vincent tripi13
after the garden party the garden
Ruth Yarrow14
So, what can repetition do when carefully applied by the haiku writer? Repetition can act in a variety of ways and create a variety of effects. We will next take a look at examples of 11 effects that repetition can produce in haiku: (1) resonance, (2) joy and wonder, (3) the intensification of an image, (4) an emotion, or an (5) experience, (6) repeated sounds or motions, (7) juxtaposition that enhances similarities and differences, (8) completing the circle, (9) endlessness, (10) measurement, and (11) humour.
1: Resonance
As mentioned earlier, one of the major effects of repetition is to create resonance in your haiku. The repetition creates a rhythm that can act like waves that linger long after one has finished reading the poem.
bird shadow
from tree shadow
to fence shadow
Christopher Herold15
The multiple shadows in Herold’s haiku create a kind of rippling effect. This next haiku creates resonance through the repetition of the word “sound”:
yellow starthistle
the sound of the sound
barrier breaking
Chuck Brickley16
2: Joy & Wonder
The haiku, as Scott Mason asserts in his wonderful book, The Wonder Code, is a poem of wonder. Wonderment, joy, and gratitude can be created and/or affirmed by using repetition. In the words of Florence Vilén, “The repetition may express pure joy, the exuberance of seeing the abundance of nature”.17
warm breeze
watching your eyes
watch a butterfly
Jeannie Martin18
In addition to the wonder in Martin’s poem, the repetition of the word “watch” directs the reader to watch the watchers. We’re all in this world together.
a poppy.
a field of poppies!
the hills blowing with poppies!
Michael McClintock19
Check out the unusual punctuation in McClintock’s joyful haiku, including the repetition of exclamation points!
3: Intensification of Image
As noted above, repetition brings significant emphasis to a specific portion of a haiku. This emphasis can intensify an image, an emotion, or an experience. In the following two haiku, the reader’s focus is directed to the intensified images of light on lilies and the colour red.
in changing light lilies changing light
Michele Root-Bernstein20
a red truck stops
at a red stop sign—
end of summer
Mimi Ahern21
4: Intensification of Emotion
Sometimes, the resonance that repetition creates is a kind of emotional intensification. This is one of the most dramatic and memorable effects of repetition. The following haiku by Joan Torres is intensely sad, which is caused by repeating the word “missing”:
below the missing dog the missing woman
Joan Torres22
Firsts and lasts are always significant, and the inclusion of both in the following haiku with the repetition of “as if it were” stresses the importance of each moment of our lives. It also gives this poem a strong sense of mono no aware, an empathic awareness of the transience of life:
touching this crocus
as if it were the first
as if it were the last
Michele L. Harvey23
Repetition can help the writer intensify a variety of emotions, such as tranquillity, fear, or frustration:
quiet
within the quiet
a copse of cedars
Hannah Mahoney24
awake
in the dark
the darkness
Bill Kenney25
autumn afternoon
up a ladder, down a ladder
move a ladder
Alan S. Bridges26
If repetition has been used to intensify one emotion in the first two lines of a haiku, it can then be contrasted with another emotion in the third. In this next poem by Peggy Lyles, the repetition creates an emotional intensity in the first two lines that is contrasted with the fragment’s lighter mood in the last line:
a cold cup
from a cold cupboard
morning sun
Peggy Lyles27
5: Intensification of Experience
Processes and experiences can also get intensified by using repetition.
canyon wall
what a river did
to what an ocean did
Alan S. Bridges28
birthday breakfast—
jazz tune after jazz tune
as the heater heats
Lenard D. Moore29
The repetition of one jazz tune after another and the heater heating up both accentuate our experience of one birthday after another.
6: Repeated Sounds & Motions
As Alexander Pope asserts, “The sound must seem an echo to the sense.”30 The repeated sounds of words can mimic the sounds within the haiku moment.
song sparrow
more more more
marsh marigolds
Brad Bennett31
Repetition can also describe a repeated motion or action, thereby emphasising it and directing the reader’s attention to its importance.
sharp wind
the metal gate bangs shut
bangs shut
Jim Kacian32
foxglove
a bumblebee bounces off
a bumblebee backing out
Chuck Brickley33
7: Juxtaposition: Similarities & Differences
Juxtaposition is essential in haiku, and repetition can sometime accentuate similarities and differences between the entities that are being juxtaposed. It seems paradoxical to say that you can use replication to call attention to difference, but if you reuse the same phrase and change one word, it focuses attention on the differences between the two parts. It can invert ideas for emphasis or disjunction. Richard Gilbert’s strategy of “symmetrical rhythmic substitution” is a very apt way to accomplish this, as noticed in the following haiku:
did you see that?
did I see that?
falling star
Jeannie Martin34
it’s only february comes after it’s only january
Marlene Mountain35
fork in the trail
fork in the river
fork in the swallow’s tail
vincent tripi36
Repetition can also identify and accentuate an association or a congruence in a haiku’s juxtaposition. In accentuating the difference, we can call attention to our commonalities:
my body
his body
plum afternoon
Kristen Deming37
8: Completing the Circle
By using a word or phrase at the beginning and end of a haiku, one can complete a kind of intra-poem circle. This can contribute to unifying the poem in an effective way. In Cooper’s haiku, “sand” at the beginning and end emphasises the rock cycle. In Yovu’s poem, the phrase “slips into” occurs near the beginning and at the end of the poem. In conjunction with the repetition of the word “ocean” on line two, it helps the reader hear and feel the continuous cycle of wave upon wave upon wave. The multiple examples of repetition in Hall’s haiku create concentric circles.
sand
into sandstone
into sand
Bill Cooper38
she slips into
the ocean the ocean
slips into
Peter Yovu39
barn swallows swallowed by the barn
Carolyn Hall40
9: Endlessness
Poet Dick Whyte has said that “many haiku employ an element of repetition to suggest a kind of ‘endlessness’.”. 41 Sometimes, we don’t want the circle to be completed in our haiku. We want the reader to experience a feeling of endlessness or infinity. Repetition can help us achieve that:
knitting
late into the night
stars upon stars upon stars
Jeannie Martin42
the river’s mouth
no end to the end
of the journey
Michele Root-Bernstein43
The endlessness in a haiku can be a reflection on the human condition, or a kind of existential look at ourselves. In this way, repetition can create a mobius strip effect, a meta-cognitive examination, an intriguing paradox…
letting go
of letting go…
wild blackberries
Victor Ortiz44
windfall apples
what I think about
what I think
Carolyn Hall45
Or a haiku can have an inside-out effect. The following poem completes the circle, using the word “rush” at the beginning and at the end; repeats the word “summer”; and uses the assonance of the long e sounds of “reeds” and “leaves” to invert the reader:
the rush
of summer reeds
the leaves of summer rushes
Janet Jiahui Wu46
10: Measurement
Repeated words, along with the prepositions between them (such as “by”), can create a sequence or way to measure something. One can measure distance or time:
a banana slug
inch by inch by inch
giant sequoias
Karina Young47
one by one
the house lights follow me
to bed
Mary Stevens48
11: Humour & Irony
Any wag will tell you that repetition is a very effective way to achieve irony and humour. Say something again and again and it can become funny or droll. Senryu authors know this lesson well:
spring equinox
too pregnant to sit
too pregnant to stand
Thomas Haynes49
judging
a haiku contest
judging myself
Brad Bennett50
As the examples in this essay confirm, the skilful use of repetition in haiku can create a variety of helpful effects. When used carefully, repetition can add to the sound, rhythm, energy, unity, and meaning of a haiku. It’s a handy and highly effective tool for haiku poets to have in our toolboxes.
when sunlight
becomes moonlight
an owl’s echo
Brad Bennett51
Author’s note: This essay is based on a presentation co-led with Jeannie Martin at the Haiku Society of America’s virtual national conference on June 13, 2021, entitled “Repetition in Haiku: A Presentation and Workshop.” Many thanks to Jeannie for her insights, expertise, and examples.
Footnotes:
1 Edward Hirsch, A Poet’s Glossary. Accessed at https://poets.org/glossary/repetition, November 9, 2022.
2 Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux. The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. NY: W.W. Norton, 1997, p. 151.
3 vincent tripi. call it haiku. Windsor, CT: bottle rockets press, 2018, page 17.
4 Acorn 44.
5 Modern Haiku 33.1.
6 Francine Porad Award 2014.
7 The Haiku Calendar 2022, Snapshot Press.
8 Jane Reichhold, Trans. Basho: The Complete Haiku. Tokyo: Kodansha, 2008.
9 Patricia Donegan and Yoshie Ishibashi, Trans. Chiyo-ni: Woman Haiku Master. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 1998.
10 Robert Hass, Translator. The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson & Issa. Hopewell, NJ: The Echo Press, 1994.
11 Gilbert, Richard. The Disjunctive Dragonfly: A New Approach to English-language Haiku. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2013.
12 Virgilio, Nicholas. Selected Haiku. Burnt Lake Press and Black Moss Press, 1998.
13 New Cicada 7.1.
14 Yarrow, Ruth. A Journal for Reflections. The Crossing Press, 1988.
15 Herold, Christopher. A Path in the Garden. Lake Oswego, OR: Katsura Press, 2000.
16 Frogpond 39.1
17 Vilén, Florence, “Repetition for Meaning and Melody.” Translated by Serge Tomé. Accessed at https://www.tempslibres.org/tl/en/textes/essai05.html, November 9, 2022.
18 Martin, Jeannie. blue iris. Deerfield, NH: nut hut books, 2019.
19 Haiku Magazine 5.1.
20 Root-Bernstein, Michele. Wind Rose. Ormskirk, GB: Snapshot Press, 2021.
21 Geppo, January/February 2014.
22 #FemkuMag 31.
23 Ambrosia 3.
24 Chrysanthemum 26.
25 Kenney, Bill. the earth pushes back. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2016.
26 The Heron’s Nest 24.1.
27 Acorn 20.
28 The Heron’s Nest 18.1.
29 Acorn 46.
30 Pope, Alexander. “An Essay on Criticism: Part 2.”From www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44897/an-essay-on-criticism-part-2. Accessed June 23, 2021. (For more on word sounds in haiku, see Bennett, Brad, “Euphony in Haiku,” Modern Haiku 52.1, pp. 27-46.)
31 Rickert, Bryan, Ed. Bundled Wildflowers: Haiku Society of America 2020 Members’ Anthology.
32 Kacian, Jim. Presents of Mind. Winchester, Virginia: Red Moon Press, 1996.
33 Acorn 48.
34 Ibid.
35 Frogpond 28.3.
36 tripi, vincent. call it haiku. Windsor, CT: bottle rockets press, 2018.
37 Deming, Kristen. plum afternoon. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2017.
38 Shamrock 26.
39 Frogpond 32.3.
40 Frogpond 43.1.
41 Dick Whyte, “Haiku Theory Part 1-2009,” https://www.deviantart.com/solarts/art/Haiku-Theory-Part-1-2009-125668654 Accessed June 24, 2022.
42 Martin, Jeannie. touch of light. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2019.
43 The Heron’s Nest 14.3.
44 Acorn 39.
45 Hall, Carolyn. How to Paint the Finch’s Song. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2010.
46 Frogpond 45.1.
47 Young, Karina. Eucalyptus Wind. Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press, 2017.
48 Acorn 48.
49 Akitsu Quarterly, Summer 2019.
50 Prune Juice, July 2018.
51 Katikati Haiku Contest 2021.
Editor’s note: This essay first appeared in Frogpond 46.1 (2023) and is published here with the permission of the author.
Brad Bennett is an award-winning haiku poet living in Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, who has published three collections of haiku, a drop of pond (2016), a turn in the river (2019) and a box of feathers (2022), all with Red Moon Press. The first won a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award from The Haiku Foundation; the second was shortlisted for a Touchstone Award; and the third received an Honourable Mention in the Touchstone Award. He is a member of the Broadmoor Haiku Collective, the Haiku Poets of Northern California, and the Sugar Maple Haiku Group. Brad teaches haiku to adults through local community education organisations, and taught haiku to children for more than 25 years. He is a mentor in the Haiku Society of America Mentor Programme, and assistant haiku and senryu editor of the HSA journal, Frogpond.