Somokuto (A Grass and Tree Pagoda) is the most important book of haiku by Taneda Santoka (1882-1940). It was published by Yagumo Shorin of Tokyo in April,1940. Santoka Taneda (birth name: Taneda Shōichi 種田 正一) is known for his free verse haiku which does not conform to the formal rules of traditional haiku. These are only excerpts from Somokuto.

A short tale of a frustrated poet, Li Zheng, who gives up his post as a local official to devote himself to poetry, failing in his attempt to fulfill his life's desire of becoming a great poet he falls into madness and one night runs off into the wilderness after hearing his name being called.

is an epic allegory of the spiritual journey of man. Virgil, Dante the pilgrim's guide, leads him through the 7 layers of hell. Throughout his journey through the torturous layers, Dante discovers the perfection of God's divine justice and themes of contrapasso are largely explored. Classical symbolism and classical figures are constantly referenced. This serves to emphasize that God's power rules over all - even pagan characters/figures. Dante also uses structure prominently to emphasize the trinity. By organizing the poem into 3 line stanza's consistently, it emphasizes the perfection of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Similarly, pay close attention to the numbering of Cantos. The number symbolism of '3' for the trinity, and '7' for the holy number is consistently used throughout the work.--

Notes from Underground, also translated as Notes from the Underground or Letters from the Underworld, is an 1864 novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Notes is considered by many to be one of the first existentialist novels. It presents itself as an excerpt from the rambling memoirs of a bitter, isolated, unnamed narrator (generally referred to by critics as the Underground Man) who is a retired civil servant living in St. Petersburg. The first part of the story is told in monologue form, or the underground man's diary, and attacks emerging Western philosophy, especially Nikolay Chernyshevsky's What Is to Be Done? The second part of the book is called "Apropos of the Wet Snow" and describes certain events that appear to be destroying and sometimes renewing the underground man, who acts as a first person, unreliable narrator and anti-hero