Constrained writing

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Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern. [1]

Contents

Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form.

Description

Constraints on writing are common and can serve a variety of purposes. For example, a text may place restrictions on its vocabulary, e.g. Basic English, copula-free text, defining vocabulary for dictionaries, and other limited vocabularies for teaching English as a second language or to children.

In poetry, formal constraints abound in both mainstream and experimental work. Familiar elements of poetry like rhyme and meter are often applied as constraints. Well-established verse forms like the sonnet, sestina, villanelle, limerick, and haiku are variously constrained by meter, rhyme, repetition, length, and other characteristics.

Outside of established traditions, particularly in the avant-garde, writers have produced a variety of work under more severe constraints; this is often what the term "constrained writing" is specifically applied to. For example:

The Oulipo group is a gathering of writers who use such techniques. The Outrapo group uses theatrical constraints. [3]

There are a number of constrained writing forms that are restricted by length, including:

Examples

Comics

Notable examples of constrained comics:

See also

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References

  1. Andrews, Dale (2013-02-26). "Constrained Writing". Washington: SleuthSayers.
  2. Bilingual Homophonous Poetry – Italo-Hebraic Bilingual Homophonous Poem by linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann, in which the Hebrew poem sounds identical to the Italian one, both making full sense – see Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2006), "Shir Du-Leshoni" (Bilingual Poem), Ho!, Literary Magazine 3, pp. 256–257.
  3. Lundin, Leigh (2009-06-07). "L'Oulipo". Constrained Writing. Orlando: Criminal Brief. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  4. A New Novel, No Verbs, in France, No Less by Scott McLemee, The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 2, 2004.
  5. Urban Legends Reference Pages: Language (Green Eggs and Ham), Snopes, Accessed on 26 November 2006.
  6. Gorm, son of Hardecnut by Peter Vorobieff Archived 2015-02-15 at the Wayback Machine , Accessed on 16 April 2013.
  7. "Erasure is a contemporary writing-practice KIN S FUR".
  8. "Short Words to Explain Relativity".
  9. "Grant Maierhofer Ebb Experimental Fiction".

Further reading