Ferdinand VII 8 Reales - a poem by ChatGPT

TwoKopeiki

While playing around with some of the ChatGPT functions, i was pleasantly surprised by how well it was able to analyze the color palette of the coin and incorporate it in a poem.

You can easily try the same with images of your coin by going to https://chatgpt.com/ and uploading your photo with a prompt that looks something like "Can you write a poetic description of the uploaded coin that highlights the different colors of toning?"

Beneath the whispers of time, this coin of yore,
Forged in an era where empires did soar.
An 1808 piece, in colors sublime,
Tells tales of history, preserved through time.

Upon its face, Ferdinand’s profile does gleam,
Encircled by legends, in a regal dream.
His visage, though silver, is brushed by the hues,
Of twilight’s embrace, in soft, shifting blues.

The edges kissed by a delicate gold,
As if the sunrise its warmth did enfold.
Rusty reds meander, like veins of old wine,
Blending with olive, both ancient and fine.

The crest on the reverse, a story does tell,
Of kingdoms and power, where monarchs did dwell.
A shield proud and mighty, framed by columns of might,
Tinted by purples that dance in the light.

Hues of amber whisper secrets of earth,
Reflecting the ages, from birth to rebirth.
Turquoise tendrils twist through metallic plains,
Like rivers that flow through historical veins.

In this small disc, a spectrum complete,
A palette of time, both bitter and sweet.
A relic adorned by nature’s own hand,
This coin of old Spain, a treasure so grand.

https://instagram.com/p/C8BQZtlMPep/embed/

threefifty

Not a bad result. Now we need to test the other end of the spectrum...(not my coin, sadly, should have bid higher)

MrEureka

Shoulda bought this counterfeit,
Now will throw a hissy fit.

The end.

TwoKopeiki

That's a gorgeous crude contemporary!

Rexford

I was also experimenting with having it wrote poetry the other day. It surprised me what it was able to accomplish, but it comes off as very formulaic and amateur—too dramatic, too wordy, and somewhat meaningless. Which is, to be fair, on par with some auction descriptions.

Rexford

It’s also fairly awkward in terms of rhythm. If you map out the scansion (/=stressed syllable, x=unstressed syllable, underline=beat), you get something like this:

The first line is pretty unbalanced—there’s no regular pattern to the stresses and unstresses and there are two awkward stresses (//) in a row at the end. Then there are three consecutive offbeats/unstressed syllables in the second line, forcing a beat onto the unstressed “in,” and the additional pause of a comma after “legends” only makes the lack of a stress more drawn out. That’s why those two lines sound so awkward when read aloud. The next two lines are better.

Interesting to play around with though, and I’m sure it will get better over time.

TwoKopeiki

@Rexford said:

**Thank you for your detailed analysis. Let's try to refine the lines for better rhythm and scansion:

Original:
Upon its face, Ferdinand’s profile does gleam,
Encircled by legends, in a regal dream.
His visage, though silver, is brushed by the hues,
Of twilight’s embrace, in soft, shifting blues.

Revised:
Upon its face, Ferdinand’s image gleams,
Encircled by legends in regal dreams.
His visage, though silver, brushed by twilight's hues,
In shifting soft blues, like the evening's muse.

Let's scan the revised lines for rhythm:

Revised Scansion:
Upon its face, Ferdinand’s image gleams,
(x / x / x / x / x /)
Encircled by legends in regal dreams.
(x / x / x / x / x /)
His visage, though silver, brushed by twilight's hues,
(x / x / x / x / x /)
In shifting soft blues, like the evening's muse.
(x / x / x / x / x /)

Analysis:

First Line: The line is now more balanced with a regular iambic meter (x / x / x / x / x /).
Second Line: The comma is removed to maintain a steady flow, creating a smoother reading experience (x / x / x / x / x /).
Third Line: The stresses are better distributed, maintaining a consistent rhythm (x / x / x / x / x /).
Fourth Line: The line ends with a pleasing iambic pattern, enhancing the lyrical quality (x / x / x / x / x /).
The revised version should read more smoothly aloud and have a more consistent rhythmic structure.**

Rexford

@TwoKopeiki said:

@Rexford said:

**Thank you for your detailed analysis. Let's try to refine the lines for better rhythm and scansion:

Original:
Upon its face, Ferdinand’s profile does gleam,
Encircled by legends, in a regal dream.
His visage, though silver, is brushed by the hues,
Of twilight’s embrace, in soft, shifting blues.

Revised:
Upon its face, Ferdinand’s image gleams,
Encircled by legends in regal dreams.
His visage, though silver, brushed by twilight's hues,
In shifting soft blues, like the evening's muse.

Let's scan the revised lines for rhythm:

Revised Scansion:
Upon its face, Ferdinand’s image gleams,
(x / x / x / x / x /)
Encircled by legends in regal dreams.
(x / x / x / x / x /)
His visage, though silver, brushed by twilight's hues,
(x / x / x / x / x /)
In shifting soft blues, like the evening's muse.
(x / x / x / x / x /)

Analysis:

First Line: The line is now more balanced with a regular iambic meter (x / x / x / x / x /).
Second Line: The comma is removed to maintain a steady flow, creating a smoother reading experience (x / x / x / x / x /).
Third Line: The stresses are better distributed, maintaining a consistent rhythm (x / x / x / x / x /).
Fourth Line: The line ends with a pleasing iambic pattern, enhancing the lyrical quality (x / x / x / x / x /).
The revised version should read more smoothly aloud and have a more consistent rhythmic structure.**

I had a similar experience where I would ask it to do certain meters - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. None of those lines are perfectly iambic, even though it says they are. They’re really as follows:

x/ x/ /x x/ x/
x/ xx /x x/ x/
x/ xx /x /x /x /
x/ x/ /x x/ x/

That being said, it is rhythmically better than the original (although now it’s basically nonsensical).

lordmarcovan

I foresee even more florid auction catalog descriptions in our future. LOL

That’s pretty fun, though. 👍