A Phonological Metrical Investigation of Two of Ezra Pound and Bruce Ross’s Haiku Poems with Reference to Hayes's (1995) Parametric Metical Theory

Since its emergence in 1970 up to the present time with its different versions, metrical theory has been used and applied to different texts in different languages. however, bruce hayes's parametric metrical theory has been proved to be universal through its application to the word and phrasal levels of many languages. by the metrical grids and a number of principles and parameters of this theory, the rhythmic pattern of stressed syllables, feet, words, and phrases can be demonstrated. the present study aims at answering the following two questions: is the parametric metrical theory applicable to show the rhythmic structure of haiku poems? despite the cultural difference, how far does the english haiku resemble the japanese haiku in the subject matter it describes? a haiku is a poem that descends from the japanese poetry with three lines in 5-7-5- syllables respectively and mostly talks about a moment in nature. many of the english poets started to write poems in a traditional haiku form. some others, however, made some modifications with different numbers of lines and/or syllables. this study analyzes four haiku poems according to the parametric metrical theory, two of which are written by the american poet ezra pound in a modified haiku form, and the other two are written by the canadian american poet bruce ross in the traditional form. the paper reached the following findings: the parametric metrical theory is applicable on the haiku through the former metrical grid with its stress alternation and subscription to metrical rules. to sum up, the theory proved its applicability in showing how the horizontal rhythm of the haiku lines can be demonstrated through the metrical grids via the stress alternation in each line and by the application of some metrical rules.