it seems pretty likely that there are patterns to which we respond but of which we're not altogether aware. - I didn't realise that The Red Wheelbarrow was in a strict form until the word-count/line form was pointed out to me. I'm often not aware of syllabics either. I'm not sure I respond to such patterns even when I am aware of them, but at least this program will spare me the effort of counting. It now detects Sestinas too. They've passed unnoticed by some people on Erato in the past.
And what is the point of all of this? - So that kids doing homework don't have to remember the difference between Shakespearian and Spenserian sonnets. So that students can easily find out whether Shakespeare's lines became less end-stopped as he got older, or whether Whitman's lines grew shorter. So that I don't have to count so much.
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