Everything about Prose totally explained
:
For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles, see .
Prose is writing distinguished from
poetry by its greater variety of
rhythm and its closer resemblance to everyday
speech. The word prose comes from the
Latin prosa, meaning straightforward, hence the term "prosaic," which is often seen as
pejorative. Prose describes the type of writing that prose embodies, unadorned with obvious stylistic devices. Prose writing is usually adopted for the description of facts or the discussion of whatever one's thoughts are, incorporated in free flowing speech. Thus, it may be used for
newspapers,
magazines,
encyclopedias,
broadcast media,
films,
letters,
history,
philosophy,
biography,
linguistic geography, and many other forms of communication.
Prose generally lacks the formal structure of
meter or
rhyme that's often found in
poetry. Although some works of prose may happen to contain traces of metrical structure or
versification, a conscious blend of the two forms of literature is known as a
prose poem. Similarly, poetry with less of the common rules and limitations of verse is known as
free verse. Poetry is considered to be artificially developed ("The best words in the best order"), whereas prose is thought to be less constructed and more reflective of ordinary speech.
Pierre de Ronsard, the
French poet, said that his training as a poet had proved to him that prose and poetry were mortal enemies. In
Molière's play
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Monsieur Jourdain asks something to be written in neither verse nor prose. A philosophy master says to him, "Sir, there's no other way to express oneself than with prose or verse". Jourdain replies, "By my faith! For more than forty years I've been speaking prose without knowing anything about it, and I'm much obliged to you for having taught me that."
History
The status of prose has changed throughout its history. The early
literature of many societies consists mostly of poetry. Early prose was often restricted to mundane and everyday uses, such as legal documents and yearly records. Academic subjects such as
philosophy and
history were generally written in prose, but
fiction doesn't often appear in prose until much later. Poetry is still often regarded as a higher form of literature than prose, but the relatively recent development of the novel has challenged that view.
Prose was at one time synonymous with dull, unimaginative or laboured writing, and the meaning of the word "prosaic" has developed "containing or characteristic of prose" to "lacking in imagination or spirit; dull." Prose that's too ornate and overblown for its context is called
purple prose.
The use of prose as opposed to poetry in
Shakespeare distinguishes classes of characters in some plays, and changing mental states and moods of characters in others. In
Romeo and Juliet, servants speak in prose. In
Othello, Othello shifts from poetry to prose as his suspicion of Desdemona's infidelity increases. In
King Lear, Lear initially speaks in verse, but shifts to prose as he's driven insane.
Styles
Prose varies considerably depending on the purpose of the writing. As prose is often considered to be representative of the patterns of normal speech, many
rhetorical devices are used in prose to emphasize points and enliven the writing. Prose aims to be informative and accurate, such as
history or
journalism, usually striving to use the simplest language possible to express its points. Facts are often repeated and reiterated in various ways so that they're understood by a reader, but excessive use of this technique can make a serious piece of writing seem pedantic.
In
fiction, prose can take on many forms. Skilled
authors can alter how they use prose throughout a book to suggest different moods and ideas. A
thriller often consists of short, "punchy" sentences made up of equally short words, suggesting very rapid actions to heighten the effect of a very fast-moving
plot. Conversely, longer sentences can be used to slow down the action of a novel.
When a poem is
translated from one language into another (particularly an
epic poem) the poem is often converted into prose. Not only does this allow the reader to understand the plot more easily, but it allows the translator to exercise less unwelcome creative input. A translation should be an unchanged representation of the sense of the original; to impose the
rhyme and
meter structures of a different language is likely to significantly alter the poem.
Speech/Debate
The event 'Prose' in Speech/Debate is in which one person reads a selection from a published book, play, etc., and interprets the piece for the judging audience.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Prose'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://prose.totallyexplained.com">Prose Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
