A professor of English sent me a set of haikus summing up famous books. Here are a few of them.
The Odyssey of Homer
Aegean forecast –
Storms, chance of one-eyed giants,
Delays expected.
The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin
Galapagos finch –
The same beak as Aunt Enid’s!
A theory is born.
Kama Sutra of Vatsayana
Advice for those in
A difficult position.
First, be flexible.
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Snow-drops hang like tears.
Shy, sweet, saintly Beth has died.
One down, three to go.
I replied:
These are very good.
When I get a moment free
I’ll write some others.
I only wrote a few, though.
Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville
Call me Ishmael. But:
Better read the Preface first.
What’s whale in Hebrew?
The Holy Bible
Yahweh thirsts for blood:
First human, then from bullocks,
Lastly from his Son.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce
Young Irish fellow,
Fed up with the Church, decides
To go to Paris.
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
Midwesterner fights
In civil war in Spain. Doomed love,
Then death in action.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare
Denmark’s a prison.
He who hesitates is lost.
Everybody dies.
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
Animals revolt.
Revolution is betrayed,
As happened before.
Literary Haiku
The Odyssey of Homer
Aegean forecast –
Storms, chance of one-eyed giants,
Delays expected.
The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin
Galapagos finch –
The same beak as Aunt Enid’s!
A theory is born.
Kama Sutra of Vatsayana
Advice for those in
A difficult position.
First, be flexible.
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Snow-drops hang like tears.
Shy, sweet, saintly Beth has died.
One down, three to go.
I replied:
When I get a moment free
I’ll write some others.
Call me Ishmael. But:
Better read the Preface first.
What’s whale in Hebrew?
The Holy Bible
Yahweh thirsts for blood:
First human, then from bullocks,
Lastly from his Son.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce
Young Irish fellow,
Fed up with the Church, decides
To go to Paris.
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
Midwesterner fights
In civil war in Spain. Doomed love,
Then death in action.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare
Denmark’s a prison.
He who hesitates is lost.
Everybody dies.
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
Animals revolt.
Revolution is betrayed,
As happened before.