Author’s background

Matsuo Basho is popularly known to be the Master of Haiku, he started his writing at a
very tender age. His skills quickly brought him to fame as one of the intelligentsia of the Edo
period. His works were praised for its brevity and clarity. His immense love for nature and his
keen observation with his surrounding fuelled his passion for poetry and were best expressed in
his work.

Literary Background
Haiku was written and popularized by distinct writers and traditionally, it may contains a
kigo, a defined word or phrase that symbolizes or implies the season of the poem as seen in
the Haiku poems.

Study guides:
 Identify the unique style
 Point out its theme
 Analyse and discuss the message of each

Haiku by Matsuo Basho

A monk sips morning tea

It’s quiet
The chrysanthemum’s flowering
----------
A cicada shell
It sang itself
Utterly away
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A cuckoo cries
And through a thicket of bamboo
The late moon shines