Aleatory

Aleatory describes poetry or poetic composition that depends partly on chance. An aleatory poem may be shaped by random procedures, such as dice rolls, shuffled words, or other unpredictable choices, so that the final text is not fully controlled by the poet. The term is often used for experimental work that builds uncertainty into the form itself.

Aleatory means "pertaining to luck", and derives from the Latin word alea, the rolling of dice. Aleatoric, indeterminate, or chance art is that which exploits the principle of randomness.

Example

I drew three words from a jar-
moon, rust, doorway-
and let the night decide
which one would come first.
N/A

Related Definitions

[adj] dependent on chance; "the aleatory element in life"

Links

Synonyms

unpredictable

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