nypoet2211 Oct 2006

an actual renga, of which the above is really just a rough copy, is described by padgett's handbook of poetic forms as a long, image-filled poem, from which came the later forms of haiku and senryu. each stanza contains some sort of link to the one before it, but not to the one before that. unlike my poem, the old fashioned renga alternates stanzas of three lines and two. as far as i can tell it is not as strict about keeping syllabic meter, though from the ones i've seen the lines seem to stay pretty short. 36 stanzas is the most popular length, though in the past they frequently ranged in the hundreds. the opening stanza (hokku) should suggest a season and place (this is where haiku comes from, and often a renga opens with a haiku); subsequent verses may be either about the beauty of nature (like haiku) or the humor of humanity (like senryu). each stanza should be somehow linked to the stanza before it, but not to the stanza before that. the renga is supposed to kind-of jump around from theme to theme, and the image of each subsequent stanza may connect by parallel image, contrasting image, shift of focus to a different aspect of the same image, pun, play on words, same mood, contrasting mood, etc.

the first 8 stanzas are described as a party's beginning, a somewhat formal introduction; the middle 20-ish are like the heart of the party where you loosen up a little; the last 6-8 are like the party's end, clearing things up and getting ready to go home. when done as a group, each poet adds a verse and passes it on to the next.