Law as Haiku
Journal of Legal Studies Education, Vol. 22, pp. 123-147, Winter/Spring 2005
25 Pages Posted: 17 Jul 2009
Date Written: 2005
Abstract
Haiku, the short, often nature-oriented poetry form, is generally intended to engage the reader in a single aesthetic moment. Every word, every syllable counts, resulting in the reader being drawn quickly and intensely into the poet’s unique experience. While legal analysis surely differs from haiku in both its form and its substance, students and instructors of business law would do well to consider the haiku when striving towards good legal writing. Like other poetic verse, the haiku’s bounded form serves to dramatize the poem’s content. Similarly, the use of a restrictive format can supply a tool for beginning legal writers to tighten their writing, and to make it more overtly logical and persuasive. This article advocates and illustrates the use of a standard form of essay answer to aid in the process.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation