Prose

Prose is the ordinary conversational form of language. It follows the natural flow of speech, using ordinary vocabulary and grammatical structures, as opposed to elaborate rhetorical ornamentation or structure. Prose differs most notably from poetry, which follows a poetic structure. Poetic structures vary dramatically by language, but they often use rhythmic metre (patterns of syllable stress or syllable (mora) weight). They may also use repeating patterns of phonemes, phoneme groups, tones (phonemic pitch shifts found in tonal languages), words, and entire phrases. These include consonance (or just alliteration), assonance (as in the dróttkvætt), and rhyme schemes (patterns in rimes, a type of phoneme group). Poetic structures may even be semantic (e.g. the volta required in a Petrachan sonnet). Prose, while it may use these verbal rhythms, is not governed by them and does not structure itself by them.

Prose exists even in languages with no written form (which often use verse extensively in lieu of writing, for instance to preserve oral history). In written language, prose and poetry are often formatted differently. Poetry is often written in verses: writing formatted to highlight the poetic structure, parallel to the way that a person would highlight the structure orally if saying the poem aloud (for example, rhyming poetry may be divided into lines with a rhyme on the end of each one). 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 cannot highlight the poetic structure it does not have.

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).[1] 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."[2]

  1. ^ "prose (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  2. ^ Eliot, T. S. Poetry & Prose: The Chapbook, Poetry Bookshop London, 1921.