Haiku a phrase in the remaining 12 "on" (it may not be apparent from the English translation of the Issa that the first five "on" mean "Edo's rain"). In comparison with English verse typically characterized by syllabic meter, Japanese verse counts sound units known as ""on"" or morae. Traditional haiku consist of 17 "on", in three phrases of five, seven and five "on" respectively. Among contemporary poems "teikei" ( fixed form) haiku continue to use the 5-7-5 pattern while "jiyuritsu" ( free form) haiku do not. One of the examples below illustrates that traditional haiku masters were not always constrained by
Asian literature Asian literature Asian literature is the literature produced in Asia. In Tang and Song dynasty China, famous poets such as Li Bai authored works of great importance. They wrote "shī" (Classical Chinese: 詩) poems, which have lines with equal numbers of characters, as well as "cí" (詞) poems with mixed line varieties. Early-Modern Japanese literature (17th–19th centuries) developed comparable innovations such as haiku, a form of Japanese poetry that evolved from the ancient "hokku" (Japanese language: 発句) mode. Haiku consists of three lines: the first and third lines each have five "morae" (the rough phonological equivalent of syllables), while the