Mesostic¶
mesostic · procedural · validated
A spine word runs down the middle of the lines rather than the margin.
Provenance¶
- Source: John Cage, Writing Through Finnegans Wake (1978)
- Attribution:
primary— a named author, work and year this catalogue stands behind - Checkability:
source— decidable against the source text it was made from - Attested:
author-stated— the originator set this rule down
Details¶
- Kind: both
- Languages: en, de
- Requires:
tokens - Deterministic: yes
- Also known as: mesostich
- In other languages: Mesostichon (de), Mésostiche (fr)
Prompt hint¶
Arrange the lines so that the target word reads vertically down their middles.
Parameters¶
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
source |
string | — |
The text this one was made from. |
spine |
string | the |
The spine word read down the lines. |
Examples¶
sitg-down-the-lines¶
en — this text satisfies the procedure.
silence
is
the
garden
Parameters: source='silence is the garden where nothing grows and everything waits', spine='sitg'
Source: constructed example; the procedure is John Cage's
fourth-line-drops-its-letter¶
en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
silence
is
the
and
Parameters: source='silence is the garden where nothing grows and everything waits', spine='sitg'
Source: constructed counterexample
siww-die-zeilen-hinab¶
de — this text satisfies the procedure.
stille
ist
wind
wartet
Parameters: source='stille ist der wind wenn der garten wartet', spine='siww'
Source: constructed example; the procedure is John Cage's
dritte-zeile-verliert-ihren-buchstaben¶
de — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
stille
ist
der
wartet
Parameters: source='stille ist der wind wenn der garten wartet', spine='siww'
Source: constructed counterexample