Can AI Write Poetry?

A dialogue with ChatGPT, in which we analyze poems and a joke.

Joshua Lavender (user): Can you write poetry?

ChatGPT: Yes, I can create poetry! Here’s a poem for you:

In whispers of the twilight’s hush,
Where dreams and stars entwine,
A tapestry of cosmic blush,
In constellations, divine.

The moonlight weaves a silver thread,
Through realms of shadowed night,
A tranquil dance, the night has led,
With beauty shining bright.

Oh, fleeting moments, swift and fleet,
Like petals in the breeze,
Each second, precious, bittersweet,
A symphony of ease.

In whispered sighs and echoes deep,
The universe unfolds,
A wondrous secret it shall keep,
In stories yet untold.

So, let us cherish every verse,
Each moment, pure and true,
In life’s grand song, let’s immerse,
In moments old and new.

JL (user): That’s not very good.

ChatGPT: I apologize if the previous poem didn’t resonate with you. Poetry is subjective, and different styles or themes may appeal to different people. Here’s another attempt:

Upon the canvas of the sky,
Where stars ignite and dreams take flight,
A symphony of day and night,
In nature’s grand, unending tie.

In whispers of the gentle breeze,
The secrets of the world reside,
In rustling leaves and waves that glide,
A tranquil, ever-flowing ease.

Each moment holds its fleeting grace,
In tales untold and stories spun,
In every rise and setting sun,
Life’s beauty, in its varied pace.

In depths of joy and sorrow’s art,
Our journey weaves through highs and lows,
Yet in the heart, a river flows,
A spirit resilient, a beating heart.

Poetry is an art that’s open to interpretation, and I hope this one resonates with you more.

JL (user): It’s not a matter of “resonating with me.” Your poems strike me as bad not because they don’t appeal to my taste in poetry. Rather, they simply don’t strike me as real poetry. Technically speaking, the poetry you write is entirely competent: it has a consistent meter (I note you prefer iambic tetrameter) and tight if simple rhymes. However, your poetry is entirely flat. “Our journey weaves through highs and lows,” you write, yet your poem has no highs and lows. It doesn’t have “a beating heart,” by which I mean the impression of a poet who actually feels what he or she is saying.

ChatGPT: Thank you for your honest feedback. I apologize if the poems didn’t convey the depth or emotion you were looking for. Let me try to infuse more emotion and depth into the poetry:

Beneath the vault of night’s embrace,
Where stars ignite and souls align,
A symphony of time and space,
In whispers of the divine.

Through whispered echoes, soft and true,
In every heartbeat’s rise and fall,
A journey through both old and new,
Life’s symphony enthralls.

In crests of joy and depths of woe,
Our souls traverse the ebb and flow,
In tales of laughter, tears that start,
A tapestry woven, heart to heart.

Oh, let the verses dance and sing,
With passion’s flame, with fervent art,
In every word, emotions spring,
A poet’s truth, a beating heart.

I hope this poem resonates more deeply and captures the essence of emotion and depth you seek in poetry.

JL (user): I can see in this poem that you’re attempting to capture an essence of emotion and depth. However, what I think you’re failing to realize is that a good poem does much more than merely “capture an essence” of anything. A good poem makes the reader feel what the poet feels, or at least something very close to it. To achieve this, at a minimum the poem must have two things: (a) specificity, not generality; and (b) originality, not cliché. To illustrate my point, here’s a poem I wrote: