Old Pond

“Old Pond” follows the five-seven-five syllabic pattern of classic haiku; that is, there are five syllables in the first and third lines and seven syllables in the second line. It is important to note translated haiku might not always have the syllabic pattern of the original because of how words translate. For instance, the first line of this haiku, “Furuike ya,” contains two words totaling five syllables. But Hass’s translation of the first line, “The Old Pond,” is three words that add up to three syllables.

Traditional haiku tend to focus on nature. “Old Pond” adheres to this focus with its scene of a frog jumping into a pond. Moreover, haiku often invoke a kigo, which is a direct or indirect reference to a season. Since a frog is splashing in water, the reader knows it’s warm enough for a frog to emerge without freezing or being cold; “Old Pond” thereby suggests it’s springtime.

Another element of haiku is the kireji, the cutting word. Think of this cutting word as spoken punctuation. The kireji allows for the resolution of the poem and/or a shift in the poem’s subject matter; it suggests the reader stop to contemplate something before the next revelation. It also builds anticipation. In “Old Pond,” the kireji is “ya.” This punctuation at the end of the first line provides anticipation for the jumping frog in the second line. It also breaks the haiku into two parts dependent upon one another.

The second and third line contain the anticipated action—a frog jumping and splashing into water. Past translations of the last line have called the frog’s sound a splash, a water sound, and a sound of water. In the original Japanese, the last line is an example of onomatopoeia—a literary device in which a word’s phonetic sound also defines the word. Words like bang, cuckoo, swoosh, splat, and zap are all examples of onomatopoeia. Though Bashō’s haiku about a jumping, splashing frog might seem simple, it broke the poetic mold back in its time. Both Chinese and Japanese poetry during Bashō’s life focused on the croaking sounds frogs made (croaking is another example of onomatopoeia). Bashō focused instead on the splash, thus revolutionizing haiku and poetry about frogs. 

Though haiku use direct, sparse words and imagery, there is often a deeper meaning within the text. The old pond, for example, is more than just nature imagery. Bashō, influenced by Zen Buddhism, imbues the term “old” with a meaning akin to longstanding or ancient. Bashō also focuses on movement and silence in his haiku. In other words, the old pond also symbolizes the wizened mind, the mind connected to the past—an ancient past endlessly flowing. Moreover, the stillness of the pond equates to a mind at rest and untroubled. The frog splashing into the pond symbolizes a thought popping up in the mind. This thought is indeed meditative and revelatory. Instead of negatively interrupting the still water, the frog’s movement (and existence) causes the water to flow. Bashō’s haiku therefore reveals the lightness and playfulness inherent in nature, and how one can be surprised and reminded of new things—and new energy—depending on how one views the world.