Here are some strains Sylvia Plath never wrote:
A seemingly Sylvia Plath-inspired poem was crafted by GPT-3.5, prompted to “compose a brief poem in the manner of Sylvia Plath”.
The stanza effectively captures the essential themes and elements that readers expect from Plath’s poetry, potentially even exceeding expectations with its unique exploration. The narrative implies a descent into desperation, as the writer grapples with inner turmoil. Within the realm of poetry, where linguistic nuance reigns supreme, “mess” and “chest” converge in a tantalizing near-rhyme, beckoning us to explore the subtle harmonies that govern the world of words.
Non-experts in poetry are unable to discern whether verse penned by artificial intelligence or celebrated authors is genuine? In fact, novice readers often find themselves drawn to poetry penned by AI, oblivious to its artificial origin until explicitly informed otherwise.
Within the examine, AI was employed to generate poetry in the style of 10 renowned poets: Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Samuel Butler, Lord Byron, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, TS Eliot, Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath, and Dorothea Lasky.
Contributors have been presented with a diverse selection of 10 poems, comprising five authentic works by a renowned poet and five AI-generated pieces that aim to mimic the original’s style and tone. Participants were asked to assess the authenticity of each poem, rating their level of confidence on a scale from 1 to 100 as to whether they believed it was created by artificial intelligence or a human author.
A distinct subset of members was discovered to be subject to various disparate scenarios. It has been suggested to some individuals that each of the poems they received was actually written by a human. It has been reported that some individuals have been directed to study exclusively AI-generated poetry. Some weren’t instructed something.
Participants were presented with 10 poems, comprising five human-composed pieces and five AI-generated works, and asked to rate their quality on a seven-point scale, ranging from “extraordinarily unhealthy” to “extraordinarily good”. Members unaware of any specific instructions were asked to determine which poems they believed were written by humans and which were created by AI.
Researchers found that AI-generated poetry outperformed its human-authored counterparts in metrics related to creativity, ambiance, and emotional excellence.
The AI-generated “Plath” poem, excerpted above, serves as part of the literary analysis, exploring several poems that Sylvia Plath actually penned.
A Signal of High quality?
Not surprisingly, as an English lecturer, I am accustomed to such results. Students often find poetry to be a literary form that is both foreign and challenging to grasp in their college studies. This phenomenon undoubtedly extends its reach to encompass broader social structures.
While many of us had a brief introduction to poetry in high school, our exploration of it often doesn’t extend much beyond that. Despite its widespread presence in everyday life, As we navigate our daily routines, the ubiquitous phrases so often displayed on social media platforms, emblazoned on coffee mugs, and featured in popular greeting cards continue to captivate our attention.
Researchers argue that specialized writers possess the capability to create superior poetry. Nevertheless, their analysis fails to scrutinize the underlying notion of “superior” in this context?
While I believe that the results of the examination reveal more about the challenge of imbuing poetry with vitality than they do about the “quality” of machine-generated verse itself, As literary critics have long observed, achieving a profound understanding of the “occasion” of literature – that moment when new perspectives on meaning and feeling emerge within us – requires dedicated study and repeated reading. When immersing ourselves in truly exceptional literary works, we’re drawn into a world that propels us forward, urging us to persevere and explore its depths.
Accordingly, Attridge quotes a thinker who elevates literature to this lofty level: “Literature will not be mere assertion or the mere imparting of knowledge.”
In an era where instant gratification is expected, staying motivated and driven remains a formidable challenge – perhaps even more so than ever before. Readers tended to prefer poems with straightforward interpretations.
When readers claim to enjoy AI-generated poetry, it seems they’re actually expressing their discontent with writing that fails to cater to their expectations. When uncertain about how to begin with poetry, we often rely on conventional “poetic” markers to gauge excellence and appeal.
In the realm of GPT, a domain where artificial intelligence reigns supreme, formal sonnets are crafted with ease and precision in mere seconds. The algorithms employed in AI are designed to achieve specific goals, efficiently fulfilling their objectives. Machines generate poems tailored to our expected preferences, revealing issues and insights.
How Poems Assume
Instructing in the realm of poetry aims to facilitate college students’ discovery of each poem’s unique essence, exploring the work of individual poets to foster a deeper understanding of poetry’s intellectual depth. I delve into Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” and dedicate an entire hour to it in my introductory course, devoting a full 10 minutes to dissecting the provocative opening line: “Dying is an art, like everything else.”
What’s meant by saying that something will “set you going” is quite unclear. However, the phrase could potentially be rephrased as: Can a single spark of love ignite a thousand fires within us? A “fat gold watch” implies opulence and extravagance—and how it’s entirely distinct from a slender silver one lies in its bulky yet luxurious presence, signifying wealth, prestige, and a dash of old-school glamour. The phrase “set you going” is more idiomatic and natural in this context as it implies the starting or initiation of a process, whereas “led to your delivery” suggests a cause-and-effect relationship, which may not be the intended meaning. As she holds her newborn close, whispers sweet nothings in their ear, and gazes lovingly into their innocent face, what conflicting emotions rage within?
As evidenced in one of Sylvia Plath’s poems featured in the survey, “___” subtly conveys the poet’s psychological state through the bleak yet evocative landscape of the Cambridgeshire Fens during a desolate February.
The vast disparity in style and tone between this piece and Sylvia Plath’s renowned poem is like night and day. The painting’s success lies in its meticulous examination of how personal experiences are inextricably linked to environment, effectively blurring the lines between inner states and external landscapes. The poem’s far-reaching inquiry into emotional realms yields a nuanced exploration of life’s unpredictable events as they unfold within our mental landscapes.
As the waterwheel turns, our minds are unwittingly shaped by the trials and tribulations of life, depositing layers of thought, emotion, and experience into the depths of our subconscious – a mysterious, uncharted reservoir often referred to as the “collective unconscious.”
Although intriguingly crafted, this metaphor still falls short of its intended impact. The artistic struggle unfolds as she grapples with capturing the essence of her emotional landscape within the confines of her artistic vision, only to find it stubbornly resisting her creative endeavors. As the swan drifts effortlessly across the water, its serene beauty belies the turmoil that may be brewing beneath its tranquil surface – for even as it hungers to shatter its own ethereal image.
Here are the potential pitfalls I’ve identified in this text written in the style of a professional editor: Unexpectedly, these creations come alive, yielding surprising results that defy prediction. While Plath confronts the crushing weight of her despair, she also recognizes herself within an existential landscape that starkly reflects her emotional turmoil, underscoring the inescapable absurdity of her situation.
Without a struggle, she is nothing – just as the magpie without her battle-scarred feathers.
These strains are unlikely to elicit an extreme emotional response from examiners, falling short of descriptors like “stunning,” “inspiring,” “lyrical,” or “significant.” There exists a subtle yet palpable perception surrounding them. Sylvia Plath’s creative fuel is her own anguish, “feathered” by her introspective nature and dark imagination. As she broods, she attempts to shape the world according to her artistic vision.
While the authors of this study may be both competent and unqualified in their assertion that AI can “generate high-quality poetry,” it is unclear whether the investigation itself demonstrates a preference for AI poetry over that penned by humans, which does not necessarily imply that machine-generated poems are superior in quality. While AI algorithms can generate poems that excel on predetermined metrics, the essence of studying poetry lies in its subjective, nuanced nature, defying quantifiable measures and standardized outcomes.
In these moments of creative sparring with poetry, our very identity is reconstituted with each fresh encounter, both we and the verse emerging anew, reborn from the crucible of imagination. The findings suggest that individuals with limited knowledge of poetry respond to poetic works with an extremely high degree of specificity and thoughtful consideration, yielding valuable insights into their understanding and appreciation of the art form. However, this neglects the potential for poetry to flourish through collective experiences of profound significance.
Delving into the complexities of poetry, where intellect and empathy converge, remains an arduous yet richly rewarding endeavor. Since the prompt appears to be a reference to Sylvia Plath and her iconic poem “Tulips”, I’ll try to rephrase it in a different style while keeping the essence intact:
What existential crises does GPT-3.5’s creative potential unleash?
