Nature

Haiku often contains "season" words, called kigo, that signify a time of year. Japan was an agricultural society in the seventeenth century, and its people were attuned to changes in the seasons and the rhythms of nature. Most of the kigo in Japanese haiku refer to plants. The "fragrant blossoms" tell readers it is spring or summer, evoking a sense of vitality and well being, and the feeling of being one with nature, both essential features of Basho¯'s haiku.

Knowledge

Haiku often change a person's understanding or recognition of life by describing ordinary events or objects in new ways. Basho¯ accomplishes this in his poem by juxtaposing the fading sound of bells ringing and the sensation of fragrant blossoms. Both of these images were familiar to seventeenthcentury readers. The relationship of the first image to the second suggests concession. So, if the two lines were...