Decoding the Black Box: Discerning AI Rhetorics About and Through Poetic Prompting

Abstract: Prompt engineering has emerged as a useful way studying the algorithmic tendencies and biases of LLMs. Meanwhile creatives and academics have leveraged LLMs to develop creative works and explore the boundaries of their writing capabilities through text generation and code. This study suggests that creative text prompting, specifically Poetry Prompt Patterns, may be a useful addition to the toolbox of the prompt engineer, and outlines the process by which this approach may be taken. Then, the paper uses poetic prompts to assess descriptions and evaluations of three models of a renowned poet and test the consequences of the willingness of models to adapt or rewrite original creative works for presumed audiences.