夜色楼台雪万家　与謝蕪村筆

Japanese IV: Haiku and Text Interpretation

In this course, you will study haiku poetry and also receive some orientation about different haiku-related genres of poetry, prose and visual art. You will read and analyze a number of texts in which poems and important concepts are explained and discuss. The book used in the course is an introduction to the genre, aimed at beginners. In addition to this, chapters and essays from a number of other publications will be made available here in the Canvas course room. Besides introductory texts, this will include essays in which the poets discuss the background to their own poems, as well as interpretations of the works of others. With the background knowledge of these readings you will interpret and analyze a large number of modern as well as classical poems. You will consider their historical and cultural context, and deepen your understanding of haiku aesthetics. In the course you will also approach the genre from a practical and creative point of view, as you will write a number of poems of your own and engage in creative and critical discussion about these and the poems of others.

Teaching

The classes mainly consist of discussions around difficulties found in the texts and around the poems introduced in these. It is therefore very important that you are well prepared before the classes. Some of the texts may be difficult, but we will hopefully make clear whatever difficulties you encounter in your reading.

Schedule

The course outline with a schedule and reading instructions is available here: GJP23V Course Outline Spring 2024.pdf

Examination

There is no final exam, but you will make a number of submissions during the course. Some of them will be essays in which you make critical comparisons of the arguments found in the literature and offer your own interpretations of a selection of poems from different ages and styles. Other submissions will consist of your own poems written in Japanese and your own comments to these. The grading will be based on your submissions and on the quality of your participation in the classes. A few absences and a few late submissions may be accepted if there is a legitimate reason, but in order to pass the course, you are expected to actively take part in the classes, be well prepared and submit all homework in time.

Contact

If you have questions about this course that are not answered by the material here on Canvas, don't hesitate to contact the teacher: Herbert Jonsson <hjn@du.se>

Course book

神野 紗希（著）（2015）『30日のドリル式 初心者にやさしい俳句の練習帖』池田書店　ISBN-13: 978-4262145457 Link to Amazon

Additional texts will be made available in the course modules.