Back in the 10th century, who would have thought humans could facetime each other from two different regions of the world? But now we do it on a daily basis. Similarly, nobody would have thought that one day software could write poetry like human beings. I too was in shock when I saw it for the first time.
My friend was generating poems using ChatGPT (https://chatgpt.com/), and I was like, How can I do that? It's just software. I had to use it myself to believe in it. And when I did, I got scared.
My immediate thoughts were the scenes from a Terminator movie. Like robots are taking over the world. My next thought was to get all of my money out of the bank. Because I think when robots take over the world, ATMs will lead the charge. My friend was laughing at my behavior constantly.
I asked him why he was so relaxed. So he told me how AI generates poetry.
How Does AI Generate Poetry?
He told me these AI tools are trained on the poems we humans have written over the years. Almost every poem that has been published, AI has read it. So they can use this vast data to generate something new. Either by combining words from different sources or by just rephrasing a certain poem.
As they have so much computing power, know all the words in the dictionary, and have thousands of poetic verses in their database, they can definitely come up with a better combination of words than an average human being.
That is why AI is better at writing poems than you’d expect. They are not creative; it’s just that they are faster and know much more poems than any of us. But they still cannot compete with an experienced poet who knows how to infuse emotions in rhyming words. That was enough for me to calm down. After that, I asked him to teach me to generate poetry from AI.
How to generate poetry from AI?
My friend taught me how to use the ChatGPT. I was not tech-savvy, so it was quite difficult for me. I can tell you from experience that it is not easy to write poems using AI too. Yes! It is not easy.
Like when we want to write a poem, we have to come up with rhyming words which is difficult. Now I have to come up with proper prompts to get a poem out of ChatGPT. I am still learning how to prompt an AI tool, but I don’t think I will need it anymore.
Because another friend of mine has recommended a tool that does not need any prompts to write poetry. And I am going to test it today. It is the AI poem creator. I am going to use it for the first time today. Let’s see how it goes.
Review of the AI Poem cCator
I have already seen AI generated poems, so I am sure it can write poems for me as well. I am here to check if it's easier to create poetry with this tool. So, it should have a simple UI, a user-friendly interface, and less specificity for prompts.
Let’s open it and see for ourselves.
It really is quite simple, isn’t it? Look at that; everything is at the front. I can see all the modes it offers for the poem. There are options for stanzas, creativity, and languages. I don’t think I need anything else for my poem. The only problem is that all the settings are paid here. Only the default setting is available.
I don’t want to spend money before testing it. So I am going to test it with the default settings. Now, I have to give it a topic. Let it be “Write a poem on a donkey who became a judge with hard work.” That is the most creative prompt I have ever come up with. That suddenly came to me. Let’s see if it can handle this prompt.
It did! That’s some good poetry. The poem is actually funny; read for yourself.
In a village not far where the grass grew quite tall
Lived a donkey named Don who was not smart at all.
He dreamed of a life where he’d wear a fine robe
And judge all the animals from cat to the globe.
He studied the law by the light of the moon
While munching on carrots and humming a tune.
His friends all just laughed "You’ll never be wise! "
But Don brayed back "Just wait I’ll surprise! "
He practiced his gavel a stick on a log
And ruled over sheep and even a frog.
“Order! Order! ” he’d shout with a grin
As the sheep rolled their eyes and the frog tried to swim.
One day came a trial a cat stole some cheese
Don sat on his throne and the animals freeze.
He banged on his gavel then said with a smile
“Let’s not get too serious just stay for a while! ”
With laughs and some snacks the trial turned fun
Don the donkey the judge had finally won!
He ruled with a heart and a belly that shook
Now they call him “Your Honor ” the best judge in the book!
I must say, if it can write in this prompt, I am sure it can write on anything. But I am not testing it anymore.
I am satisfied that this tool is easier to use than other poem generators I have used before. Next, I have got my eyes on its sub-tool, the sonnet generator.
The interface is the same, just that there are no restrictions here. No price for anything. Now that we have romantic mode.
This time, our donkey is going to fall in love with a deer. Like “Write a poem on a donkey who fell in love with a deer.” I am choosing the romantic mode and a high level of creativity. Let’s see how that goes.
I wrote a poem on this too.
The poem is actually romantic, but I don’t know why I found it quite funny. Maybe because of the concept of a donkey with a deer.
In meadows where the softest breezes play
A donkey roamed beneath the golden sun
His heart was light though humble in its way
Yet love would find him like a race just run.
One day he saw a deer so swift and bright
Her eyes like stars that twinkled in the night
With gentle grace she danced through fields of green
Her laughter filled the air a perfect scene.
The donkey sighed “Oh how can this be so?
A creature fair as you my heart's delight!
Though I am plain my love for you will grow
Together we can chase the day to night. ”
So hand in hoof they wandered side by side
A love that bridged the gap as hearts collide.
The bottom line is that this sonnet generator wrote a poem on this type of prompt too. The next tool on this platform is writing one of the most challenging poetic forms, haiku. This type of poem is shorter than others because of its rules; it is very difficult to write them.
Let’s see how the poem generator’s haiku tool treats our donkey. This time our donkey will be sad. The deer friend-zoned him. Let’s see how it goes. The prompt will be, “Write a poem on a donkey who just got friend-zoned by a deer.”
I am enjoying the creativity of these tools. I can actually feel the heavy heart of the donkey.
Lonely donkey waits
Deer dances with the breeze
Heart heavy with hope.
Now, there is only one more poem generating tool left, the acrostic poem generator.
You know what? I hate acrostics. Because they are too tricky for me to write. Every first letter of each line has to make a word. Like, how am I supposed to do that? But I hope this tool works as well as the other tools did, so I can learn acrostics, finally.
Now let’s see how creative this tool is. I have to give it a word and select a mode from the menu. I can give three words here, but I think I am fine with only one. I am going to choose a long word. The word ‘donkey’ is not long.
Let’s go with “Hippopotamus.” How’s that? Let’s see what comes. I am choosing a high creativity level, and I think this time I will go with the heroic mode. It will be fun.
This sounds like a children’s poem, but it's fun.
A heavy-footed giant of the river’s embrace
Invincible spirit in the shimmering haze
Powerful guardian of the waterway's flow
Patiently watching as the currents bestow.
Onward you glide through the murky expanse
Though fierce and formidable you sway in a dance
Amidst reeds and reflections your kingdom unfolds
Mighty and majestic your story is told.
Underneath the sun your laughter resounds
Symbol of strength where the wild heart abounds.
After all that testing and joking around with the poem creator tool. I can definitely say
AI is better at writing poems than you’d expect.
Conclusion
The latest AI tools are writing creative poems just like a human being, sometimes even better. It may seem scary to some like me, but actually, it is not.
We just have to consider them a helping hand rather than competing with them. Just like what we do with the horses. They are faster, so we do not race them; we ride them. Similarly, use these generative AI tools in your favor and get the best out of them.
I am not a poet, but I can write poems with AI; you can also become one. Just open the site, write whatever you have in mind, and generate poems. Be creative!