Abstract / Synopsis
The Dekaaz poetic form, similar to haiku with its constrained syllable counts per line, invites a connection between poetry and mathematics. Determining the number of possible Dekaaz variations leads to some interesting counting observations. We discuss two different ways to count the number of possible Dekaaz variations, one using a binary framework and the other approaching the count as an occupancy problem. The counting methods described are generalized to also count variations of other poetic forms with syllable counts specified, including haiku. We include Dekaaz examples and suggest a method that can be used to randomly generate a Dekaaz variation.
DOI
10.5642/jhummath.201402.10
Rights Information
© Mike Pinter
Recommended Citation
Mike Pinter, "How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways for Syllabic Variation in Certain Poetic Forms," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 4 Issue 2 (July 2014), pages 94-100. DOI: 10.5642/jhummath.201402.10. Available at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol4/iss2/10
Terms of Use & License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
