From Poems to Patterns: Exploring Literature Through AI, CLiC, and Digital Humanities Tools
Introduction
The Lab Session on Digital Humanities, conducted by Dr. Dilip Barad, offered an engaging introduction to the intersection of literature and technology. The session encouraged students to explore how digital tools can enhance traditional methods of literary study and open new possibilities for textual analysis. Through a series of activities, we examined the growing role of artificial intelligence, corpus linguistics, and data visualization in the field of humanities.
The lab included several interconnected activities: reading and reflecting on the debate surrounding AI-generated poetry, taking the Human vs Computer Poetry Test, exploring the CLiC Dickens Project, and experimenting with digital analysis tools such as Voyant Tools and Orange. Each activity demonstrated a different way in which technology can be used to investigate language, literature, and patterns within texts.
Human or Computer? My Experience with the Poetry Test
Activity Description
As part of the Digital Humanities lab session, I participated in the online activity “Was this poem written by a human or a computer?” The purpose of the test was to examine whether readers can accurately identify the authorship of a poem based solely on its language, imagery, style, and emotional appeal. Participants were presented with a series of poems and asked to decide whether each poem had been written by a human poet or generated by a computer. The activity encouraged critical reflection on the relationship between artificial intelligence, creativity, and literary expression.
My Experience
I found the activity both challenging and thought-provoking. While reading the poems, I often relied on assumptions about creativity and emotional depth. I expected human-written poems to contain stronger emotions, richer imagery, and a more natural flow of language, whereas I assumed machine-generated poems would appear mechanical or repetitive.
Some poems were particularly difficult to identify because they contained vivid imagery and meaningful expressions that seemed genuinely human. The final result showed that I correctly identified 5 out of 6 poems, indicating that distinguishing between human and machine authorship is becoming increasingly difficult. The most surprising aspect of the activity was discovering how convincingly AI can imitate poetic language and literary style.
Learning Outcomes
- Literary style is not always a reliable indicator of authorship.
- Artificial intelligence can generate poems that closely resemble human-written texts in structure, vocabulary, and imagery.
- The distinction between human-written and machine-generated poetry is becoming increasingly difficult to identify.
- Traditional ideas about creativity and authorship are being challenged by advances in AI technology.
- Critical thinking about originality, authenticity, and creative expression is essential in the age of artificial intelligence.
- AI has the ability to imitate many characteristics commonly associated with poetic writing.
- The activity highlighted the growing relationship between literature, technology, and digital innovation.
- Understanding AI-generated literature helps readers engage more thoughtfully with contemporary forms of creative writing
4. Exploring CLiC: A Corpus-Based Approach to Literature
What is CLiC?
One of the most engaging tools introduced during the Digital Humanities lab session was CLiC (Corpus Linguistics in Context), a web-based platform developed by the University of Birmingham. Designed specifically for literary corpus analysis, CLiC enables readers and researchers to explore literary texts through computational methods while maintaining a focus on literary interpretation. The platform provides access to a wide range of literary corpora and allows users to investigate linguistic patterns, recurring themes, and character representations within texts.
Features Used in the Activity
During this activity, several features of CLiC were explored to analyse Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. The concordance search function made it possible to examine the contexts in which particular words and phrases appeared throughout the text. Keyword analysis helped identify significant lexical patterns, while distribution patterns revealed where specific words occurred and how frequently they were used. The platform also supported character-focused textual exploration, enabling a closer examination of how characters are constructed through language and repetition.
Why CLiC Matters
What makes CLiC particularly valuable for literary studies is its ability to combine close reading with distant reading. Close reading focuses on detailed textual interpretation, whereas distant reading examines broader linguistic patterns across a text. By bringing these approaches together, CLiC encourages evidence-based interpretation, allowing literary arguments to be supported by textual data. As a result, the tool offers a productive bridge between traditional literary criticism and Digital Humanities, providing new ways of understanding characterisation, narrative structure, and thematic development.
5. Character and Structure in A Christmas Carol: My CLiC Analysis
12.1: The Opening of Fairy Tales
Investigating "Once Upon a Time"
As part of Activity 12.1, I explored the phrase "once upon a time" using CLiC's concordance search tool. Following the instructions in the Activity Book, I searched the phrase as a Whole Phrase and compared its usage across four corpora: ChiLit (Children's Literature Corpus), 19C (Nineteenth-Century Reference Corpus), DNov (Dickens's Novels), and A Christmas Carol. This comparison provided valuable insights into how the phrase functions in different literary contexts.
Concordance Search for "Once Upon a Time"
Findings
The concordance results revealed distinct patterns across the corpora. In ChiLit, the phrase frequently appears at the very beginning of stories, functioning as a conventional fairy-tale opening. This usage immediately introduces readers to a fictional and imaginative world. However, the results from 19C and DNov showed that the phrase is often used as a general time adverbial within the narrative rather than as an opening formula. In these texts, "once upon a time" refers to a past event rather than signalling the beginning of a story.
When examining A Christmas Carol, I discovered that Dickens does not use the phrase at the opening of the novella. Instead, it appears nearly two pages into the narrative, making its placement particularly significant.
Interpretation
Before introducing the familiar fairy-tale phrase, Dickens carefully prepares the reader by establishing several important elements of the story. First, the narrator repeatedly emphasizes that Marley is dead, leaving no room for doubt about this fact. Second, Scrooge is portrayed as a cold, miserly, and emotionally detached individual through a series of negative descriptions. Finally, Dickens creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere through vivid descriptions of fog, cold weather, and isolation.
Only after these elements have been firmly established does the phrase "once upon a time" appear. This delayed introduction creates a transition from realism to the supernatural narrative that follows. Rather than functioning as a simple fairy-tale opening, the phrase marks the beginning of Scrooge's extraordinary journey of transformation.
Reflection
This activity demonstrated how CLiC can reveal the significance of narrative positioning. Without the concordance evidence, the placement of a familiar phrase might easily be overlooked. The search results showed that Dickens deliberately delays the fairy-tale opening, using it as a structural device rather than a conventional beginning. The activity highlighted how digital tools can support close textual analysis by drawing attention to patterns that may otherwise remain unnoticed.
5.2 Repetition and Character Construction
Marley and Scrooge
Another important aspect of the activity was examining how Dickens uses repetition to construct character and establish key themes. At the beginning of the novella, the narrator repeatedly reminds readers that Marley is dead, most famously through the expression "dead as a door-nail." This fact is emphasized several times and supported with detailed explanations, reinforcing its importance to the narrative.
Similarly, Scrooge's personality is established through a sequence of repeated descriptive words such as "squeezing," "wrenching," "grasping," "scraping," and "clutching." These words create a powerful image of a man consumed by greed and disconnected from human warmth and compassion.
Interpretation
The repetition serves a significant narrative function. By constantly emphasizing Marley's death, Dickens prepares readers for the supernatural events that later unfold in the story. The repeated references make the appearance of Marley's ghost more believable within the fictional world.
At the same time, the repeated descriptions of Scrooge reinforce his emotional coldness and isolation. Before any transformation can occur, readers must fully understand the depth of his selfishness and indifference. Through repetition, Dickens establishes the contrast that makes Scrooge's eventual redemption meaningful and convincing.
[Screenshot: Concordance Results Showing Repeated References to Marley and Scrooge]
5.3 The Symbolism of the Door-Knocker
Searching "Knocker" in CLiC
The final part of the activity focused on the word "knocker." A concordance search in CLiC revealed that the word appears seven times throughout A Christmas Carol. Five occurrences are concentrated in the opening chapter, where Scrooge encounters the vision of Marley's face in the door-knocker. The remaining two occurrences appear in the final chapter after Scrooge's transformation.
[ Screenshot: Concordance Results for "Knocker"]
Interpretation
At the beginning of the novella, the door-knocker is associated with fear, uncertainty, and the supernatural. It becomes the first sign that Scrooge's ordinary world is about to be disrupted by the return of Marley. The repeated references draw attention to an otherwise ordinary object and transform it into a symbol of supernatural intervention.
In the final chapter, however, the meaning of the knocker changes completely. After his moral transformation, Scrooge looks at it with affection and delight, describing it as a "wonderful knocker." What was once a source of fear becomes a symbol of happiness, renewal, and redemption.
Reflection
The concordance results demonstrated how Dickens uses a recurring object to connect the beginning and end of the narrative. The door-knocker functions as a structural marker that frames Scrooge's journey from isolation and fear to generosity and joy. Through CLiC, it became possible to trace this pattern across the text and understand how repetition contributes to both characterization and narrative structure.
12.2: Fire in A Christmas Carol
Fire and Scrooge's Character
The second activity focused on the recurring use of the word "fire" in A Christmas Carol. The extract from the opening chapter immediately reveals the symbolic importance of fire in the novella. Scrooge keeps a very small fire in his counting-house and allows his clerk, Bob Cratchit, even less warmth. By refusing to provide sufficient coal, Scrooge demonstrates his miserliness and lack of compassion. In this context, fire becomes a symbol not only of physical warmth but also of generosity, kindness, and human connection. The small fire reflects Scrooge's emotional coldness and his inability to care for others.
Exploring the Word "Fire" in CLiC
To investigate this motif further, I used the concordance feature in CLiC and searched for the word "fire" in A Christmas Carol. The search results revealed that the word appears throughout the novella and is not limited to a single episode. The distribution pattern showed that references to fire are spread across different chapters, suggesting that Dickens deliberately uses fire as a recurring image connected to the development of the narrative.
[Screenshot: Concordance Search Results for "Fire"]
Different Types of Fire
The concordance lines revealed several different representations of fire. Some fires are small and feeble, particularly those associated with Scrooge's office, reflecting poverty, isolation, and emotional distance. Other fires are large and welcoming, especially those found in family homes and festive gatherings. These fires create an atmosphere of warmth, companionship, and celebration.
The activity also highlighted the contrast between solitary fires and social fires. Solitary fires often accompany loneliness and emotional detachment, whereas social fires are linked to family relationships, hospitality, and community spirit. Through these contrasts, Dickens uses fire as a recurring symbol that reflects the emotional state of both individuals and households.
Interpretation and Reflection
The CLiC analysis demonstrated that fire functions as an important motif throughout A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novella, the limited warmth of Scrooge's fire mirrors his selfish and isolated nature. As the story progresses, fire becomes increasingly associated with generosity, family, and human fellowship. By the end of the narrative, the symbolism of warmth reflects Scrooge's transformation from a cold-hearted miser into a compassionate and joyful individual.
This activity showed how CLiC can help readers trace recurring images across a text and understand their thematic significance. The concordance results provided clear evidence that fire is not merely a background detail but a carefully developed symbol that contributes to the novella's themes of redemption, charity, and human connection.
Learning Outcomes
- Fire functions as both a physical and symbolic element in the novella.
- Different types of fire reflect different emotional and social conditions.
- The motif of fire contributes to the portrayal of Scrooge's transformation.
- CLiC helps identify recurring patterns that might be overlooked during ordinary reading.
- Concordance analysis provides textual evidence for literary interpretation.
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