View source for Prose

{{Short description|Ordinary conversational form of language}}
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{{for|the American writer|Francine Prose}}
{{distinguish|Pro se}}
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{{Expand Spanish|date=March 2024|topic=culture}}
'''Prose''' is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary [[Syntax|grammatical structure]]s, 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 some type of intentional, contrived, artistic structure. [[:Category:Poetic forms|Poetic structure]]s vary dramatically by language; in English poetry, language is often organized by a [[Metre (poetry)|rhythmic metre]] and a [[rhyme]] [[Rhyme scheme|scheme]]. 

The [[Vernacular|ordinary 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 in [[verse (poetry)|verse]]: a series of [[Line (poetry)|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&mdash;for instance, the use of a new paragraph for a new speaker in a [[novel]]&mdash;but does not follow any special rhythmic or other artistic structure. 

The word "prose" first appeared in [[English language|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'').<ref name="etym_Onli">{{Cite web| title = prose (n.)| work = [[Online Etymology Dictionary]]| access-date = 19 January 2015| url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=prose&allowed_in_frame=0}}</ref> 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 [[Transcription (linguistics)|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 novel]]s 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 (poetry)|verse]] and prose is clear, the distinction between [[poetry]] and prose is obscure."<ref>Eliot, T. S. ''Poetry & Prose: The Chapbook'', Poetry Bookshop London, 1921.</ref>

==History==
{{History of literature by region or country}}
{{Expand section|date=October 2020}}

{{See||Chinese prose|Ancient Greek literature|Roman literature|Elizabethan literature#Prose|Augustan prose|Restoration literature#Prose genres|Prose of the Ottoman Empire}}

[[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).<ref>"Literature", ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. online</ref> 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 [[Emanuel Swedenborg|Swedenborg]] (d. 1772), [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] (d. 1778), [[Leonhard Euler|Euler]] (d. 1783), [[Carl Friedrich Gauss|Gauss]] (d. 1855), and [[Isaac 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 famous ''Vita Nuova'', written about 1293.<ref name=EB1911>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Prose | volume= 22 |last= Gosse |first= Edmund William |author-link= Edmund William Gosse| pages = 450–455}}</ref>

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.<ref name=EB1911/> The earliest French prose was translated from the Latin, but Baldwin&nbsp;VI., who died in 1205, is said to have commissioned several scribes to compile in the vulgar tongue a history of the world.<ref name=EB1911/>

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.<ref name=EB1911/>

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 [[culture of Europe|European intelligence]] shaped and communicated its thoughts about [[history]], [[diplomacy]], [[definition]], [[criticism]], [[human relationship]]s — 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.<ref>{{cite book | last=[[Kenneth Clark|Clark]] | first=Kenneth| title=Civilisation: A Personal View | year=1969 | location=London | publisher=[[BBC]] and John Murray | page=220| oclc=879537495|via=repetition in the [[Civilisation (TV series)|TV series of the same name]].}}</ref>

== Qualities ==
Prose usually lacks the more formal metrical structure of the [[Verse (poetry)|verse]]s found in traditional [[poetry]]. It comprises full grammatical sentences (other than in [[stream of consciousness]] narrative), and paragraphs, whereas poetry often involves a [[meter (poetry)|metrical]] or [[rhyme|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".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2992/2992-h/2992-h.htm |title=Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme |work=English translation accessible via Project Gutenberg |access-date=2010-01-31}}</ref>

American novelist [[Truman Capote]], in an interview, commented as follows on prose style:
{{Quotation|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. [[Ernest Hemingway|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.<ref name=Hill1>{{cite journal|last1=Hill|first1=Pati |title=Truman Capote, The Art of Fiction No. 17|journal=The Paris Review|volume=Spring-Summer 1957|issue= 16|url=http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4867/the-art-of-fiction-no-17-truman-capote|access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref>}}

=== Types ===
{{See also|Prose types}}
Many types of prose exist, which include those used in works of [[nonfiction]], [[Prose poetry|prose poem]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RzunYckU4woC | title=Great American Prose Poems | publisher=Simon and Schuster | author=Lehman, David | year=2008 | isbn=978-1439105115}}</ref> [[alliterative prose]] and [[Literature|prose fiction]].

* A prose poem – is a composition in prose that has some of the qualities of a poem.<ref>{{cite dictionary| url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prose%20poem|title=Prose poem|dictionary=Merriam-Webster|access-date=2012-05-27}}</ref>
* [[Haikai prose]] – combines [[haiku]] and prose.
* [[Prosimetrum]] – is a poetic composition which exploits a combination of prose and [[verse (poetry)|verse]] (''metrum'');<ref name="braund">[[Susanna Braund|Braund, Susanna]]. "[http://www.paulyonline.brill.nl/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/prosimetrum-e1010870 Prosimetrum]". In Cancil, Hubert, and Helmuth Schneider, eds. ''Brill's New Pauly''. Brill Online, 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2015.</ref> in particular, it is a text composed in alternating segments of prose and verse.<ref name="pepp1">Brogan, T.V.F. "Prosimetrum". In Green et al., pp. 1115–1116.</ref> It is widely found in Western and Eastern literature.<ref name="pepp1" /> 
* [[Purple prose]] – is prose that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Word a Day – purple prose |url=http://www.wordsmith.org/words/purple_prose.html |website=Wordsmith.org |access-date=26 December 2014}}</ref>

===Divisions===
Prose is divided into two main divisions:
*[[Fiction]]
*[[Non-fiction]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Patterson, William Morrison, [https://archive.org/stream/rhythmofproseexp00pattiala/rhythmofproseexp00pattiala_djvu.txt ''Rhythm of Prose''], Columbia University Press, 1917.
* {{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fjvh69UihCMC | title=Prose: Literary Terms and Concepts | publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group | author=Kuiper, Kathleen | year=2011 | isbn=978-1615304943}} 244 pages.
* {{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CI31iJEmuYoC | title=Theory of Prose | publisher=Dalkey Archive Press | author=Shklovsky, Viktor | year=1991 | isbn=0916583643}} 216 pages.

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
*[http://literarydevices.net/prose Examples of prose]

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[[Category:Prose| ]]