Sijo
(the word is both singular and plural)
Sijo is traditionally composed in three lines of
14-16 syllables each, totaling between 44-46 syllables.
A pause breaks each line approximately in the middle;
it resembles a caesura but is not based on metrics.
Each half-line contains 6-9 syllables; the last half of the final line is
often shorter than the rest, but should contain no fewer than 5 syllables.
The Sijo may be narrative or thematic,
introducing a situation or problem in line 1,
development or "turn" in line 2,
and resolution in line 3.
The first half of the final line employs a "twist": a surprise of meaning, sound, tone or other device.
The Sijo is often more lyrical, subjective and personal than haiku,
and the final line can take a profound, witty, humorous or proverbial turn.
Like haiku, Sijo has a strong basis in nature,
but, unlike that genre, it frequently employs
metaphors, symbols, puns, allusions and similar word play.
