Gothic Poetry Generator

gotham.py

r"""

    gotham
    ~~~~~~

    Gothic Poetry Generator

"""

import sys
import random
import itertools
import argparse

them = ['angels', 'mourners', 'shadows', 'storm clouds', 'memories',
        'condemned', 'hand of Heaven', 'stroke of death', 'damned',
        'witches', 'corpses', 'vermin', 'vampire', 'drunkard']
them_verb = ['follow', 'hover', 'approach', 'loom', 'taunt', 'hear',
             'laugh', 'surround', 'compell', 'scour', 'deliver']
adj = ['cold', 'dead', 'dark', 'frozen', 'angry', 'ghastly', 'unholy',
       'cunning', 'deep', 'morose', 'maligned', 'rotting', 'sickly', 'petty',
       'sharper', 'craven', 'bound', 'plaintive', 'mournful', 'rabid',
       'quivering', 'enchanted', 'tremulous', 'stubborn', 'swift', 'cursed',
       'haunted', 'wretched']
me_part = ['neck', 'heart', 'head', 'eyes', 'soul', 'blood', 'essence',
           'wisdom', 'sword']
feeling = ['pain', 'horror', 'frenzy', 'agony', 'numbness', 'fear', 'love',
           'terror', 'madness', 'torment', 'bitterness', 'misery',
           'melancholy', 'plight', 'lust', 'unworthy']
angst = ['care', 'understand', 'question', 'consider', 'forget']
me_verb = ['flee', 'dance', 'flail madly', 'fall limply', 'hang my head',
           'try to run', 'cry out', 'call thy name', 'beg forgiveness',
           'bleed', 'tremble', 'hear', 'give', 'offer']
thing = ['kisses', 'poison', 'tokens', 'servitude']
action = ['sever', 'crush', 'mutilate', 'slay', 'wound', 'smite', 'drip',
          'melt', 'cast', 'mourn', 'avenge', 'posses', 'thrust', 'make',
          'free', 'absolve']
place = ['witching hour', 'gates of hell', 'door', 'path', 'death', 
         'doom', 'oblivion', 'life ending', 'Hell', 'nothingness',
         'purgatory', 'void', 'earth', 'tomb', 'broken ground',
         'barren land', 'swirling dust', 'night', 'time ending',
         'domain', 'bed', 'sepulcher', 'demise']


def lorem_gotham(seed=None):
    """Gothic Poetry Generator

    Uses Python generators to yield eternal angst.

    When you need to generate random verbiage to test your code or
    typographic design, let's face it... Lorem Ipsum and "the quick
    brown fox" are old and boring!

    What you need is something with *flavor*, the kind of thing a
    depressed teenager with a lot of black makeup would write.
    """
    if seed is not None:
        random.seed(seed)
    w = lambda l: l[random.randrange(len(l))]
    er = lambda w: w[:-1]+'ier' if w.endswith('y') else (w+'r' if w.endswith('e') else w+'er')
    s = lambda w: w+'s'
    ing = lambda w: w+'ing'
    punc = lambda c, *l: " ".join(l)+c
    sentence = lambda *l: lambda: " ".join(l)
    pick = lambda *l: (l[random.randrange(len(l))])()
    while True:
        yield pick(
            sentence('the',w(adj),w(them),'and the',w(them),w(them_verb)),
            sentence(ing(w(them_verb)),'me to',w(place)),
            sentence('they',w(action),'my',w(me_part),'and',w(me_verb),'with all my',w(feeling)),
            sentence(w(action),'my',w(adj),w(me_part)),
            sentence('in',w(place),'my',w(feeling),'shall',w(me_verb)),
            sentence(punc(',', er(w(adj)),'than',w(adj),w(feeling))),
            sentence(er(w(adj)),'than',w(them),'in',w(place)),
            sentence('i',w(me_verb),'in',w(feeling),'with',w(them)),
            sentence('i',w(action),w(adj),w(thing),'to thee'),
            sentence('O this',w(adj),w(adj),w(place)),
            sentence('not even the',w(them),'can',w(them_verb),'me'),
            sentence(punc('!','oh my',w(me_part)),punc('!','the',w(feeling))),
            sentence('no one',s(w(angst)),'why the',w(them),w(them_verb + me_verb)))


def lorem_gotham_title(seed=None):
    """Names your poem
    """
    if seed is not None:
        random.seed(seed)
    w = lambda l: l[random.randrange(len(l))]
    sentence = lambda *l: lambda: " ".join(l)
    pick = lambda *l: (l[random.randrange(len(l))])()
    return pick(
        sentence('why i',w(me_verb)),
        sentence(w(place)),
        sentence('a',w(adj),w(adj),w(place)),
        sentence('the',w(them)))


def main(args):
    """I provide a command-line interface for this module
    """
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Gothic Poetry Generator')
    parser.add_argument('-s', action="store", dest="seed", type=int)
    arguments = parser.parse_args()    
    seed = arguments.seed
    
    print
    print "-~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~-"
    print lorem_gotham_title(seed).center(50)
    print "-~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~--~*~-"
    print	
    poem = lorem_gotham(seed)
    for n in range(16):
        if n in (4, 8, 12):
            print
        print poem.next()
    print


if __name__ == '__main__':
    main(sys.argv)