Poem fractal

Since We Must Die

by Alfred Austin

30 May 1835 to 2 June 1913 (~78)

Browse poets 678
In their words

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

Balancing imagination, preparation and conviction in the pursuit of achievement · Prose writings / commonly attributed

More remarks (3)

Drawing the boundary…

Read the poem Another poem

A fractal is a shape that keeps its pattern when you look closer. Coastlines, trees, shells, and weather do this. A poem can be drawn the same way.

The poem’s constant is read from the build of its lines: their length, the size of the stanzas, and the share of vowels. Poems whose constants lie closer together are built more alike. The same poem always draws the same picture. Change the length of a line, the stanza, or the vowel share, and both the number and the picture move.

Primunia is the name for the source of that order: the pattern under the pattern, already there in a tree, a shell, and a verse.

Poems nearby in the constant

A smaller distance means the lines are built more alike.

  1. Achsa White Sprague · −0.5384 − 0.3457i · 0.020 away · Compare side by side
  2. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · −0.4993 − 0.3767i · 0.035 away · Compare side by side
  3. Edgar Allan Poe · −0.5251 − 0.4010i · 0.037 away · Compare side by side
  4. Edward Coote Pinkney · −0.4935 − 0.3582i · 0.040 away · Compare side by side
  5. Richard · −0.4911 − 0.3654i · 0.042 away · Compare side by side
—
—
0:00
0:00
Track 1
Skip to main content