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Post date: Oct 27, 2015 1:12:41 PM
While working on my comparison of poetic translations for the 8-line mini-poem at the end of the Haggadah "Hasal Siddur Pesach" (more about this in a future blog under the "case studies" tab), I came across the P.A.N. (Poetic ANalizer) website. The creator of this free downloadable program, Benjamin Bowes (English Major with quite a few spelling mistakes which stand out in the program), claims that it can "parse virtually any text and determine its sentence structure." It can also "identify moods, tones, key imagery and themes, emotional turmoil and conflicting ideas, stress markers and syllabic markers." All that sounded too good to be true so I downloaded the program and started to play with it. Setting up the program was quickly done and although the help file is somewhat useless, I managed to get the program to work.
PAN comes with vocabulary knowledge built in and any lexis it does not know it will ask you to define through a user-friendly interface in the Learning Mode (=L-Function). Upon entering the program a window with text appears. One deletes this by pressing on "Clear Text". Then, a self-selected text can be pasted into the window using cntr+v (right-clicking the mouse does not work). A click on "file", "analyze!" and "analyze text!" should produce the fist results, however, for whatever reason not all texts seem to elicit a reaction from the program. If it does not react, TRY ANOTHER TEXT.
The program will now go through the text checking for unfamiliar lexis. For each of these, it will ask you to define the word, assign a theme to it from a given list, it will also ask you which theme (from that same list) is most different from the word, what the most common root is and what its part of speech is. The program learns from you and the more words you define, the more it will remember. Still, the process is quite tedious especially when asked to define words like "have" and having to assign themes to it. I managed to get through the whole process for the following two poems:
Translation 1:
Our Passover Seder is closed and completed.
Its ordered tradition in honor repeated.
As our merit was large when the rite was begun.
Be it no less when 'tis ended and done.
Thou Pure One who dwellest where eye hath not mounted,
O lift up the heads of Thy children uncounted.
Speedily may they, the seed of Thy choice.
In Zion delivered exult and rejoice.
Maurice Samuel, 1942
Translation 2:
The Passover Seder has ended as it should,
having performed all its rules as best we could,
just as we have been privileged to perform it today,
let us be worthy to hold it again in this same way,
Pure One, who dwells above,
uplift the community of the promise of love,
by bringing close the offshoots of Your planting,
in salvation, to Zion, joyous songs chanting.
Rabbi Michael Graetz, 1993
Upon analyzing, the PAN results were cryptic to say the least. It interprets clauses (which it self-defines), it detects "elements" and conflicting themes and makes rather mystic statements about "the speaker".
The 1942 text was cut up into 30 (!) different "clauses" with "Detected Elements" like: Spirituality, Future Tense, Youth, Femininity, Exposure, Appreciation, Purity, Awareness, the Natural, Life, Desire, Honesty, Peace, Innocence, Love, Revelation.
In contrast, the 1993 text yielded a mere TWO "clauses" with elements such as: The Natural, Revelation, Future Tense, Peace, Health, Youth, Femininity, Life, Innocence, Desire, Exposure, Appreciation, Awareness, Positivism and Peace.
Comparing the two, that would mean that aside from what they have in common, the 1942 poem reveals more Spirituality, Purity, Honesty and Love while the 1993 poem leans more towards Health and Positivism. This seems strange taking into consideration that it is the 1993 poem in which God's promise of LOVE is mentioned and claiming a lack of positivism for a 1942 poem which expresses the hope for a speedy delivery rendered in the middle of WWII - quite bizarre.
The poems both reveal a change of mood between lines 3 and 4, looking back at what was done and expressing hopes for the future (just like the original Hebrew poem does). And in its own curious, incomprehensible way, PAN seems to have picked up on this with its "Extended State" analysis:
1942
1) our passover seder is closed -<Emotional Vacuum>
2) and completed its ordered tradition -<Emotional Awakening>
3) in honor repeated as our - <Emotional Awakening>
4) merit was large when the - <Emotional Awakening>
5) rite was begun be it - <Emotional Awakening>
6) no less when 'tis ended - <Emotional Turbulance>
7) and done thou pure one who dwellest - <Emotional Turbulance>
1993
1) the passoever seder has ended -<Emotional Shortage>
2) as it should having performed-<Emotionally Stability>
3) all its rules as best-<Emotionally Stability>
4) we could just as we have-<Emotionally Stability>
5) been privileged to perform it today-<Emotionally Stability>
6) let us be worthy to hold-<Emotionally Stability>
7) it again in this same way pure one who- (Emotional Turbulance>
The PAN program states that "greatest turmoil" occurs in the 1942 poem between fragments 5&6 and in the 1993 poem between fragments 6&7 which is indeed the place.
Final verdict? The program may have its merits but, for me, until it produces easier to understand results this (Peter) PAN program can stay in Never Never Land.
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