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I would like some sound advice on just what denotes "prose" as opposed to "free verse". I refer, of course, to poetic prose, not my insurance policy...
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Free Verse: verse where the line breaks are selected according to the individual requirements of the poem, NOT a form. The line breaks, however, are not standard and there is still meter and rhythm. Usually non-rhyming. As a poem, all poetry methods are used.
Prose: Standard paragraphed writing. Lines are only broken at the end of paragraphs, for dialogue and for bullet point lists. It is the type of writing you see in novels, newspapers etc'.
The other prediminant form of writing is script, used to write plays. -
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Lines are only broken at the end of paragraphs,
for packing onto pages -
Squeezy
I would have to disagree on the definition of prose. I find that it is closer related to free verse then what is said above. I have read many items classified as prose, where line breaks, word play, etc. was ever present yet it still held the rest together with paragraphs and unorthodox "lists". Where did you get that definition from (if it isn't self referential)? -
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This is the definition I have come across again and again, when working with writers, literature lecturers, editors and so on:
-First at school (in the UK);
-Then during university study of English Literature;
-Then when writing my Masters' thesis in the use of different types of language in spoken/performed art (this included 'performative writing'/prose-poetry);
-Then when training for a job involving defining types of writing for an exam board;
-Just 'here and there' though my work (speaking to my editor, in theatre work, when teaching/discussing literature with students and colleagues).
Apologies if the list above looks like I'm waving my CV about, I just wanted to demonstrate that whilst I didn't lift it from the OED or Wikipedia, it isn't something I pulled out of the air, but grounded, learned knowledge I use for work every day. To me it isn't some fancy philosophical term but a name I use as a functional 'thing' for work (as a chef might use whip, grill, fry ... and of course, there are international variations there; in the UK, 'broil' = grill, and 'skillet' = frying pan).
Many writers do indeed push the boundaries of prose and poetry (in the same way as artists combine photography, print, paint and collage in mixed media) when they do this, I've often found it described as (to my mind rather pretentious) 'performative writing' or (by more traditional) prose-poetry. Prose-poetry is an interesting new type of writing, and it is interesting seeing how the old-style critics and stick-in-the-muds like exam boards deal with it.
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I agree with your "Prose". I disagree with your "Free Verse". Though in rarity, Free Verse can be used as a "form"; I've used it in form before, it was difficult but I did it none-the-less. However, that's not really what I disagree with, I disagree with the "individual requirements of the poem", I think it's more of the poet, than the poem.
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If you are looking for an excellent example of poetic prose, I highly recommend Elizabeth Smart's "In Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept." It is novella length and considered to be a classic in prose poetry, it's one of my favorite books. http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/smart.htm
I had a short story published in Hawaii Review which the editor called a prose poem. I guess if it sounds poetic enough, people classify prose as such. -
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The childrens' classic 'Make Lemonade' also tends to come under that heading too.
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PE used Louder than a Bomb
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see also: Baudelaire, Paris Spleen
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It's funny how prose has become the new tough guy, cool ass thing to do on this site, usurping even the NO RHYME free verse's foothold.
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Prose is ordinary parapgraphs that have to follow the standard rules of punctuation, grammar, paragraph separation, etc.
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It's funny how when you read translations of the old poets, like Ovid, it's all in prose. I don't know enough about how it appeared in its original to know why it was considered poetry.
By the way, my mother insists on calling my poems "prose" - drives me mad. -
Thanks writers
Man, this was interesting to read. (the whole post) I'm slightly less confused than I was five minutes ago. It's not every day one can make that statement. -
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I must agree with you, Shamrockguy, I'm not sure I'm any clearer about how prose differs from free verse, but I did find the whole discussion quite interesting. I know that if I dare to have someone "speak" in a poem, it is immediately tagged as prose. I've never understood why.
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well, you can put your mind at ease on that point, at least, by simply pointing them to Robert Frost's "Death of a Hired Man" http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=145 There is no disputing that this is a poem and not a piece of prose.
The distinction comes when things appear to be simply a story or a novella, flash fiction, whatever, written in block paragraphed format. It's obvious to me when something is poetic, and I trust, dear Neon, knowing your work, that you understand it, too.
By the way, I have an answer on my own question about Ovid in the original - it rhymed.
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Hmmm.
That Comment hits home with me. Like some forgotten something that leaps back into my mind, startling me back into the here and now.
My grandmother once said, You need to get your head out of the clouds. Then you could remember. So, I try, and, often fail.
So, as dumb as that is, would that be prose? -
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I came across this article yesterday, which I hope will clear this up: http://www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/prosePoem.htm
It states that the King James version of the Bible, is in large part, made up of prose poetry. Prose poetry differs from verse poetry in that you do not work with line breaks. Prose poetry differs from prose in that it uses poetic language. Who determines what that is? The reader or the realms of academia, I suppose.
In fact, the whole site (baymoon) seems like a GREAT resource on poetry forms. Enjoy!
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Thank you. Sometimes it these different forms overlap, or, form is simply so ignored that the definitions become blurred.
I will use this reference to shed some light on this. Again, thank you. -
I think, other than what has been explicately specified abover, the main difference between prose and freeverse is that Prose is more closely related to narrating, while freeverse is more closely related to standard or stereotypical poetry...?
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Adding your reply:
NeonRose
May 2 10:43 AM 2008
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