self-generating form

Structure
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A form whose patterns evolve internally without external control

Detailed Definition
Self-generating form describes a poetic structure that evolves through internal repetition, variation, or algorithmic rules, creating new sections based on prior ones; seen in procedural poetry or Oulipian constraints, the form “produces itself” through predetermined operations rather than authorial whim alone.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “The Altar,” George Herbert’s poem’s shape generates its own devotional meaning; Lewis Carroll’s “The Mouse’s Tale” in "Alice" uses tail-shaped lines that self-generate narrative form; Oulipo’s N+7 technique creates self-generating form by replacing nouns systematically; Jackson Mac Low’s diastic poems generate form from source text letter selection
Additional Notes
self-generating form: See self-creating structure; a structure or pattern that emerges organically from the poem's content or composition process rather than being imposed externally.
Also Known As
Self-shaping form generative form autopoietic pattern autopoietic organization Autopoietic structure
Skip to main content