In regards to Mr. C.'s answer to the “one small step for (a) man” question, the famous Armstrong line was actually supposed to be a haiku except Neil just didn’t say the last line for some unknown reason.
Oh, and, by the way, this is my first post
Jiminy. You get an A+ for giving a link to Cecil’s column. That puts you in the top 20% of first-time posters.
Now, if you expect to keep up your record, you need to post a cite for your assertion. Something we can sink our teeth into, and feast on your blood…. Er, what we need is where you got your info.
Again, welcome.
I’m having a hard time imagining what the missing last line was supposed to be. Could it be something like…
That’s one small step for
a man, one giant leap for
mankind; now Buzz off.
How about
One small step for man,
One giant leap for mankind,
Screw the damn Ruskies!
Except that it still wouldn’t have been a haiku, even if he had put in extra syllables. A haiku, contrary to popular belief, does not need to have any specific number of syllables, but it does need to be about a natural subject.
One small step for man,
One giant leap for mankind,
One burger with fries, please.
… it’s all about “one”.
Um, cite please?
He’s wrong about the syllables. A haiku not only must have 17 syllables, it must scan 5/7/5. (Virtually all English “haiku” fail utterly to scan; the rhythms of the English language fight all syllabically scanned verse.)
In syllabic verse,
Flat, staccato sound is best –
English is not so.
He is right about the subject matter; a proper haiku should, at the least, have a word that signals one of the seasons. However, that rule was only added in 1892, when the word haiku was invented. Before that, a 5/7/5 poem was known as a hokku and could have any subject. The new word was invented because, strictly speaking, a hokku was supposed to be only the starting point of a longer poem, but many poets had been writing them alone.
Confused? See HAIKU for PEOPLE
Anyway, since neither haiku nor hokku is a correct name for a standalone 5/7/5 poem that does not concern itself with Nature, but there are plenty of classical Japanese poems that fit that description, both names are used, even though they’re technically incorrect.
Thanks for the info, John. It didn’t sound right, but frankly I hadn’t thought about haiku for ages.
One small step for man,
One giant leap for mankind,
This moon becomes us.
Thought I’d give it a go. Nice link, John W.