Metrical Analysis of Trump Insult Haiku

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives thumbs up as he visits a caucus site Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

This has been crystallizing in my mind without my realizing it. And when I went back to Donald Trump’s Twitter feed it was more true than I realized. Trump doesn’t just tweet. He’s developed a sort of twitter-based, 140 character, insult haiku literary form. Not every one of his tweets follows the exact metrical progression. But most of them do. And those that don’t appear to be permutations or attempts at the model.

The metrical pattern is deceptively simple: Single clause declarative sentence, single clause declarative sentence, primary adjective/term of derision.

A few examples.

This one is a bit awkward in its wording. But same structure …

In other cases, the third section/stanza is replaced by a verb which is a call to action or threat. But the cadence remains the same.

In still other cases, the structure is different. Yet the same triple cadence is unmistakable.

I am looking for an English professor or perhaps a linguist who can perform a more expert analysis on this.

Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: