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Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinarygrammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formalacademic writing. Prose differs most notably frompoetry, which follows some type of intentional, contrived, artistic structure.Poetic structures vary dramatically by language; in English poetry, language is often organized by arhythmic metre and arhymescheme.
Theordinary conversational language of a region or community, and many other forms and styles of language usage, 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 inverse: a series oflines 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 anovel—but does not follow any special rhythmic or other artistic structure.
The word "prose" first appeared inEnglish in the 14th century. It is derived from theOld Frenchprose, which in turn originates in theLatin expressionprosa 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 studyingextremely literal transcripts forconversation analysis see them, but ordinary language-users are unaware of them.
Latin was a major influence on the development of prose in manyEuropean countries. Especially important was the great Roman oratorCicero (106–43 BC).[3] It was thelingua franca among literate Europeans until quite recent times, and the great works ofDescartes (1596–1650),Francis Bacon (1561–1626), andBaruch Spinoza (1632–1677) were published in Latin. Among the last important books written primarily in Latin prose were the works ofSwedenborg (d. 1772),Linnaeus (d. 1778),Euler (d. 1783),Gauss (d. 1855), andIsaac Newton (d. 1727).
Latin had almost universally been used in Italy until the close of the 13th century, when Dante created a vernacular prose in the non-metrical part of his famousVita Nuova, written about 1293.[4]
About the year 1200, verse began to be abandoned by French chroniclers who had some definite statements to impart, and who had no natural gifts as poets.[4] The earliest French prose was translated from the Latin, but Baldwin VI., who died in 1205, is said to have commissioned several scribes to compile in the vulgar tongue a history of the world.[4]
The earliest coherent attempts at the creation of German prose belong to the age of Charlemagne, and the first example usually quoted is the Strassburger Eidschwüre of 842. For all literary purposes, however, metrical language was used exclusively during the mittelhochdeutsch period, which lasted until the end of the 13th century.[4]
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 theEuropean intelligence shaped and communicated its thoughts abouthistory,diplomacy,definition,criticism,human relationships — everything exceptmetaphysics. It is arguable that the non-existence of a clear, concrete German prose has been one of the chief disasters to European civilisation.[5]
Prose usually lacks the more formal metrical structure of theverses found in traditionalpoetry. It comprises full grammatical sentences (other than instream of consciousness narrative), and paragraphs, whereas poetry often involves ametrical orrhyming 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.
InMolière's playLe Bourgeois gentilhomme the characterMonsieur 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".[6]
American novelistTruman 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.[7]
Prosimetrum – is a poetic composition which exploits a combination of prose andverse (metrum);[10] in particular, it is a text composed in alternating segments of prose and verse.[11] It is widely found in Western and Eastern literature.[11]
Purple prose – is prose that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself.[12]
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