Computational Analysis of the Historical Changes in Poetry and Prose
Abstract
AbstractThe esoteric definitions of poetry are insufficient in enveloping the changes in poetry that the age of mechanical reproduction has witnessed with the widespread proliferation of the use of digital media and artificial intelligence. They are also insufficient in distinguishing between prose and poetry, as the content of both prose and poetry can be poetic. Using quotes as prose considering their poetic, context-free and celebrated nature, stylistic differences between poetry and prose are delved into. Novel features in grammar and meter are justified as distinguishing features. Datasets of popular prose and poetry spanning across 1870-1920 and 1970-2019 have been created, and multiple experiments have been conducted to prove that prose and poetry in the latter period are more alike than they were in the former. The accuracy of classification of poetry and prose of 1970-2019 is significantly lesser than that of 1870-1920, thereby proving the convergence of poetry and prose in 1970-2019.