You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (March 2024) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most notably from poetry, which follows an intentionally artistic structure. Poetic structures vary dramatically by language; in English poetry, language is often organized by a rhythmic metre and a rhyme scheme; written poetry is often formatted in verse.
The ordinary language of a region or community and many other forms and styles of language fall under prose, a label that can describe both speech and writing. In writing, prose is visually formatted differently than poetry. Poetry is traditionally written in verse: a series of lines on a page, parallel to the way that a person would highlight the structure orally if saying the poem aloud; for example, poetry may end with a rhyme at the end of each line, making the entire work more melodious or memorable. Prose uses writing conventions and formatting that may highlight meaning—for instance, the use of a new paragraph for a new speaker in a novel—but does not follow any special rhythmic or other artistic structure.
The word "prose" first appeared in English in the 14th century. It is derived from the Old French prose, which in turn originates in the Latin expression prosa oratio (literally, straightforward or direct speech). In highly-literate cultures where spoken rhetoric is considered relatively unimportant, definitions of prose may be narrower, including only written language (but including written speech or dialogue). In written languages, spoken and written prose usually differ sharply. Sometimes, these differences are transparent to those using the languages; linguists studying extremely literal transcripts for conversation analysis see them, but ordinary language-users are unaware of them.
Academic writing (works of philosophy, history, economics, etc.), journalism, and fiction are usually written in prose (excepting verse novels etc.). Developments in twentieth century literature, including free verse, concrete poetry, and prose poetry, have led to the idea of poetry and prose as two ends on a spectrum rather than firmly distinct from each other. The British poet T. S. Eliot noted, whereas "the distinction between verse and prose is clear, the distinction between poetry and prose is obscure."
History
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2020) |
Latin was a major influence on the development of prose in many European countries. Especially important was the great Roman orator Cicero (106–43 BC). It was the lingua franca among literate Europeans until quite recent times, and the great works of Descartes (1596–1650), Francis Bacon (1561–1626), and Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) were published in Latin. Among the last important books written primarily in Latin prose were the works of Swedenborg (d. 1772), Linnaeus (d. 1778), Euler (d. 1783), Gauss (d. 1855), and Isaac Newton (d. 1727).
Latin's role was replaced by French from the 17th.- to the mid-20th century, i.e. until the uptake of English:
- For about three hundred years French prose was the form in which the European intelligence shaped and communicated its thoughts about history, diplomacy, definition, criticism, human relationships — everything except metaphysics. It is arguable that the non-existence of a clear, concrete German prose has been one of the chief disasters to European civilisation.
Qualities
Prose usually lacks the more formal metrical structure of the verses found in traditional poetry. It comprises full grammatical sentences (other than in stream of consciousness narrative), and paragraphs, whereas poetry often involves a metrical or rhyming scheme. Some works of prose make use of rhythm and verbal music. Verse is normally more systematic or formulaic, while prose is closer to both ordinary, and conversational speech.
In Molière's play Le Bourgeois gentilhomme the character Monsieur Jourdain asked for something to be written in neither verse nor prose, to which a philosophy master replies: "there is no other way to express oneself than with prose or verse", for the simple reason that "everything that is not prose is verse, and everything that is not verse is prose".
American novelist Truman Capote, in an interview, commented as follows on prose style:
I believe a story can be wrecked by a faulty rhythm in a sentence— especially if it occurs toward the end—or a mistake in paragraphing, even punctuation. Henry James is the maestro of the semicolon. Hemingway is a first-rate paragrapher. From the point of view of ear, Virginia Woolf never wrote a bad sentence. I don't mean to imply that I successfully practice what I preach. I try, that's all.
Types
Many types of prose exist, which include those used in works of nonfiction, prose poem,alliterative prose and prose fiction.
- A prose poem – is a composition in prose that has some of the qualities of a poem.
- Haikai prose – combines haiku and prose.
- Prosimetrum – is a poetic composition which exploits a combination of prose and verse (metrum); in particular, it is a text composed in alternating segments of prose and verse. It is widely found in Western and Eastern literature.
- Purple prose – is prose that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself.
Divisions
Prose is divided into two main divisions:
- Fiction
- Non fiction
References
- "prose (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- Eliot, T. S. Poetry & Prose: The Chapbook, Poetry Bookshop London, 1921.
- "Literature", Encyclopædia Britannica. online
- Clark, Kenneth (1969). Civilisation: A Personal View. London: BBC and John Murray. p. 220. OCLC 879537495 – via repetition in the TV series of the same name.
- "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme". English translation accessible via Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- Hill, Pati. "Truman Capote, The Art of Fiction No. 17". The Paris Review. Spring-Summer 1957 (16). Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- Lehman, David (2008). Great American Prose Poems. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1439105115.
- "Prose poem". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2012-05-27.
- Braund, Susanna. "Prosimetrum". In Cancil, Hubert, and Helmuth Schneider, eds. Brill's New Pauly. Brill Online, 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- Brogan, T.V.F. "Prosimetrum". In Green et al., pp. 1115–1116.
- "A Word a Day – purple prose". Wordsmith.org. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
Further reading
- Gosse, Edmund William (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). pp. 450–455.
- Patterson, William Morrison, Rhythm of Prose, Columbia University Press, 1917.
- Kuiper, Kathleen (2011). Prose: Literary Terms and Concepts. The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1615304943. 244 pages.
- Shklovsky, Viktor (1991). Theory of Prose. Dalkey Archive Press. ISBN 0916583643. 216 pages.
External links
- Examples of prose
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish March 2024 Click show for important translation instructions Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at es Prosa see its history for attribution You may also add the template Translated es Prosa to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech ordinary grammatical structures or in writing typical conventions and formatting Thus prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing Prose differs most notably from poetry which follows an intentionally artistic structure Poetic structures vary dramatically by language in English poetry language is often organized by a rhythmic metre and a rhyme scheme written poetry is often formatted in verse The ordinary language of a region or community and many other forms and styles of language fall under prose a label that can describe both speech and writing In writing prose is visually formatted differently than poetry Poetry is traditionally written in verse a series of lines on a page parallel to the way that a person would highlight the structure orally if saying the poem aloud for example poetry may end with a rhyme at the end of each line making the entire work more melodious or memorable Prose uses writing conventions and formatting that may highlight meaning for instance the use of a new paragraph for a new speaker in a novel but does not follow any special rhythmic or other artistic structure The word prose first appeared in English in the 14th century It is derived from the Old French prose which in turn originates in the Latin expression prosa oratio literally straightforward or direct speech In highly literate cultures where spoken rhetoric is considered relatively unimportant definitions of prose may be narrower including only written language but including written speech or dialogue In written languages spoken and written prose usually differ sharply Sometimes these differences are transparent to those using the languages linguists studying extremely literal transcripts for conversation analysis see them but ordinary language users are unaware of them Academic writing works of philosophy history economics etc journalism and fiction are usually written in prose excepting verse novels etc Developments in twentieth century literature including free verse concrete poetry and prose poetry have led to the idea of poetry and prose as two ends on a spectrum rather than firmly distinct from each other The British poet T S Eliot noted whereas the distinction between verse and prose is clear the distinction between poetry and prose is obscure HistoryThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it October 2020 Latin was a major influence on the development of prose in many European countries Especially important was the great Roman orator Cicero 106 43 BC It was the lingua franca among literate Europeans until quite recent times and the great works of Descartes 1596 1650 Francis Bacon 1561 1626 and Baruch Spinoza 1632 1677 were published in Latin Among the last important books written primarily in Latin prose were the works of Swedenborg d 1772 Linnaeus d 1778 Euler d 1783 Gauss d 1855 and Isaac Newton d 1727 Latin s role was replaced by French from the 17th to the mid 20th century i e until the uptake of English For about three hundred years French prose was the form in which the European intelligence shaped and communicated its thoughts about history diplomacy definition criticism human relationships everything except metaphysics It is arguable that the non existence of a clear concrete German prose has been one of the chief disasters to European civilisation QualitiesProse usually lacks the more formal metrical structure of the verses found in traditional poetry It comprises full grammatical sentences other than in stream of consciousness narrative and paragraphs whereas poetry often involves a metrical or rhyming scheme Some works of prose make use of rhythm and verbal music Verse is normally more systematic or formulaic while prose is closer to both ordinary and conversational speech In Moliere s play Le Bourgeois gentilhomme the character Monsieur Jourdain asked for something to be written in neither verse nor prose to which a philosophy master replies there is no other way to express oneself than with prose or verse for the simple reason that everything that is not prose is verse and everything that is not verse is prose American novelist Truman Capote in an interview commented as follows on prose style I believe a story can be wrecked by a faulty rhythm in a sentence especially if it occurs toward the end or a mistake in paragraphing even punctuation Henry James is the maestro of the semicolon Hemingway is a first rate paragrapher From the point of view of ear Virginia Woolf never wrote a bad sentence I don t mean to imply that I successfully practice what I preach I try that s all Types Many types of prose exist which include those used in works of nonfiction prose poem alliterative prose and prose fiction A prose poem is a composition in prose that has some of the qualities of a poem Haikai prose combines haiku and prose Prosimetrum is a poetic composition which exploits a combination of prose and verse metrum in particular it is a text composed in alternating segments of prose and verse It is widely found in Western and Eastern literature Purple prose is prose that is so extravagant ornate or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself Divisions Prose is divided into two main divisions Fiction Non fictionReferences prose n Online Etymology Dictionary Retrieved 19 January 2015 Eliot T S Poetry amp Prose The Chapbook Poetry Bookshop London 1921 Literature Encyclopaedia Britannica online Clark Kenneth 1969 Civilisation A Personal View London BBC and John Murray p 220 OCLC 879537495 via repetition in the TV series of the same name Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme English translation accessible via Project Gutenberg Retrieved 2010 01 31 Hill Pati Truman Capote The Art of Fiction No 17 The Paris Review Spring Summer 1957 16 Retrieved 18 February 2015 Lehman David 2008 Great American Prose Poems Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 1439105115 Prose poem Merriam Webster Retrieved 2012 05 27 Braund Susanna Prosimetrum In Cancil Hubert and Helmuth Schneider eds Brill s New Pauly Brill Online 2012 Retrieved 2 October 2015 Brogan T V F Prosimetrum In Green et al pp 1115 1116 A Word a Day purple prose Wordsmith org Retrieved 26 December 2014 Further readingGosse Edmund William 1911 Prose Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 22 11th ed pp 450 455 Patterson William Morrison Rhythm of Prose Columbia University Press 1917 Kuiper Kathleen 2011 Prose Literary Terms and Concepts The Rosen Publishing Group ISBN 978 1615304943 244 pages Shklovsky Viktor 1991 Theory of Prose Dalkey Archive Press ISBN 0916583643 216 pages External linksLook up prose in Wiktionary the free dictionary Examples of prosePortal LiteratureProse at Wikipedia s sister projects Media from CommonsData from Wikidata
