Constraint

Predetermined limitations set by the author or system that shape the creation or interaction of a narrative, often used to foster creativity and innovation
Agata Waszkiewicz 2026-02-18

Explication

In literature, constraint refers to the deliberate and often repeated imposition of (often self-inflicted) rules or limitations on the creative process. In poetry, prose, or narrative writing, constraints can include anything from strict forms, such as rhyme schemes and meter, to more experimental limitations, such as specific word choices or structural patterns. As Jan Beatens and Jean-Jacques Poucel note, “constraints are not ornaments; for the writer, they help generate the text; for the reader, they help make sense of it” (613). 

Any genre-bounding writing is no stranger to constraints, and they are nowhere as prevalent as in poetry. For example, sonnets, haiku, or villanelles require specific line counts, rhyme schemes, or syllabic patterns. The sonnet, for instance, traditionally consists of 14 lines in iambic pentameter, following a set rhyme pattern. The constraint in experimental poetry is most often connected with the works and success of the Oulipo group (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle, or the Workshop of Potential Literature). 

Founded in the 1960s by  François Le Lionnais and Raymond Queneau, Oulipo “has gained international renown, largely on the strength of the books that its members have composed by using self-imposed rules, the presence of which may not always be apparent to the unsuspecting reader” (Beatens and Poucel, 611). The most famous work to come out of the group is undoubtedly Georges Perec’s La Disparition (1969), which was entirely written without using the letter e, the most common letter in the French language. 

While Oulipo’s members’ writing is the most commonly associated with constraint, this concept has also been thoroughly discussed, for example, in the context of other experimental practices such as concrete poetry (Perloff), which utilizes visual, graphic pattern of words to convey the meaning of the poem; conceptual and blackout poetry (Ramser; Coyle), or with specific avant-garde movements, such as dada (Robertson). 

Finally, constraint is an important concept in the context of digital narrative, interactive fiction (IF), and video games. As Tom Van Nuenen remarks, “play is often defined in terms of the constraint” (52), further arguing that many game genres, such as walking simulators, are defined by the tensions between freedom that is often associated with play and constraint and a certain rigidity. Constraint becomes particularly pronounced in puzzle genres; for example, in Baba is You (Hempuli 2019), the player is constrained by the linguistic structures as the sentences “X is Y” determine the rules governing the given level. To proceed, they (as the creature Baba) need to move around words (mostly nouns and, occasionally, verbs) such as “rock”, “move”, or “Baba”, thus influencing their avatar’s abilities. 

However, scholarship on literary and other art forms broadly agree on constraint being a tool tool of enacting and encouraging creativity. For example, Robert Terry and Lisa Dusenberry come to a similar conclusion when discussing efforts of designing interactive narratives, pointing out that the “interface affordance and restrictions can act as a productive constraint on the ways writers construct their IF” (4).

See Also

• Dada - 20th-century art movement characterized by its avant-garde and anti-establishment attitudes, which influences digital literature in its embrace of absurdity, randomness, and critique of traditional narratives
• Interactive Fiction - Born-digital electronic literature where users navigate narrative and ludic elements by inputting textual commands or making choices
• Walking Simulator - Genre of video games focused on exploration and storytelling rather than traditional gameplay mechanics, emphasizing narrative immersion and environmental storytelling

Works Referenced

Baetens, Jan, and Jean-Jacques Poucel. “Introduction: The Challenge of Constraint.” Poetics Today, vol. 30, no. 4, 2009, pp. 611-634. 

Perloff, Marjorie. Unoriginal Genius: Poetry by Other Means in the New Century. University of Chicago Press, 2010. 

Ramser, Emily. This Ocean of Texts: The History of Blackout Poetry. Diss. 2020. 

Coyle, Sarah-Jane. “Redact to React: Deconstructing Justice with Erasure Poetry.” Liverpool Law Review, vol. 44, no. 3, 2023, pp. 359-384. 

Robertson, Eric. “No Mother Tongue? Translingual Poetry In and After Dada.” Modern Languages Open, 2019, pp. 1-13. 

Terry, Robert, and Lisa Dusenberry. “Serious Interactive Fiction: Constraints, Interfaces, and Creative Writing Pedagogy.” Journal of Creative Writing Studies, vol. 3. no. 1, 2018, p. 10. 

Van Nuenen, Tom. Traveling Through Video Games. Taylor & Francis, 2023.

Further Reading

Beals, Kurt. “Decoding Dada: Avant-Garde Poetry in Its Cryptographic Context.” Dada/Surrealism, vol. 23, no. 1, 2020. 

Baetens, Jan. “Expanding the Field of Constraint: Novelization as an Example of Multiply Constrained Writing.” Poetics Today, vol. 31, no. 1, 2010, pp. 51-79. 

Hunzer, Kathleen M. “Freedom as Constraint in the Writing Process.” 1995.

Cite This Copied to clipboard

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International