Emacs Poetry Mode
Table of Contents
1. Poetry Mode for Emacs
THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS.
I got interested in telling stories with poetry after reading some novels in verse. I was pretty impressed with one novel written entirely in sonnet form.
Then I starting reading some Tennyson. Old-fashioned? Sure. Totally cool? You bet.
So I tried my hand at it. Let’s say that I fall short of Tennyson and leave it at that. Making sure that each line had the correct count was only one of my problems, but it was the biggest. I just knew Emacs could help, and so I cooked up poetry.el
2. What it Does
Gives you an “as you type” count of syllables on a line. This saves an unbelievable amount of time when you are an amateur poet.
3. Limitations and Issues
It’s English only.
It counts syllables, not feet.
It doesn’t check rhythm.
Counting syllables on the fly with a rules-based algorithm is difficult, as English has all sorts of exceptions and edge cases. But a dictionary lookup approach would likely be too slow for real-time use.
Still, the accuracy isn’t at all bad, and I think it’s more than good enough to be useful as long as you do a little checking. Trust your judgment. If something doesn’t sound right, maybe it isn’t. If it does sound right, maybe it’s fine.