Law as Haiku

Journal of Legal Studies Education, Vol. 22, pp. 123-147, Winter/Spring 2005

25 Pages Posted: 17 Jul 2009

See all articles by Ann Morales Olazábal

Ann Morales Olazábal

University of Miami - Department of Business Law

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

Olazábal, Ann Morales, Law as Haiku (2005). Journal of Legal Studies Education, Vol. 22, pp. 123-147, Winter/Spring 2005, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1435489

Ann Morales Olazábal (Contact Author)

University of Miami - Department of Business Law ( email )

5250 University Drive, Jenkins 323E
or P.O. Box 248022
Coral Gables, FL 33146
United States
305 284 4508 (Phone)
305 284 3762 (Fax)

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