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prose

(prōz)

Ordinary speech or writing, without metrical structure.
Commonplace expression or quality.
Roman Catholic Church. A hymn of irregular meter sung before the Gospel.

intr.v., prosed, pros·ing, pros·es.

To write prose.
To speak or write in a dull, tiresome style.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin prōsa (ōrātiō), straightforward (discourse), feminine of prōsus, alteration of prōrsus, from prōversus, past participle of prōvertere, to turn forward : prō-, forward; see pro–¹ + vertere, to turn.]

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Antonyms: prose

Definition: literature
Antonyms: poem, poetry

Literary Dictionary: prose

prose, the form of written language that is not organized according to the formal patterns of verse; although it will have some sort of rhythm and some devices of repetition and balance, these are not governed by a regularly sustained formal arrangement, the significant unit being the sentence rather than the line. Some uses of the term include spoken language as well, but it is usually more helpful to maintain a distinction at least between written prose and everyday speech, if not formal oratory. Prose has as its minimum requirement some degree of continuous coherence beyond that of a mere list. The adjectives prosaic and prosy have a derogatory meaning of dullness and ordinarinesss; the neutral adjective is simply ‘prose’, as in ‘prose writings’.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: prose

Literary medium distinguished from poetry especially by its greater irregularity and variety of rhythm and its closer correspondence to the patterns of everyday speech. Though it is readily distinguishable from poetry in that it does not treat a line as a formal unit, the significant differences between prose and poetry are of tone, pace, and sometimes subject matter.

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Classical Literature Companion: prose

prose 1. Greek. Prose as a means of literary expression was developed in Greece as in other countries long after poetry. In early times when writing was in its infancy and literary compositions survived by being committed to memory, those written in metrical form were easier to memorize (in Greece, writing was reintroduced at the end of the eighth century; see ALPHABET). The earliest writers of Greek prose appear to have been the chroniclers (see LOGOGRAPHERS (1)) and philosophers (see PHILOSOPHY) of Ionia in the sixth century BC. From this time onward the development of prose was rapid. Heracleitus in about 500 BC was already writing prose of subtlety and style. By the middle of the fifth century BC a technical prose had been developed which was adequate to express all that was needed for a scientific or philosophical treatise. Democritus (c.460–c.357 BC), to judge from his fragments, was a competent prose writer, and the earliest works in the Hippocratic Corpus (see HIPPOCRATES) show at least the capacity for accurate and concise statement.

The first fully developed prose work that has survived in its entirety is the history of Herodotus (c.490–c.425 BC). Attic prose reached its height in the dialogues of Plato (c.429–347 BC) and the speeches of Demosthenes (384–322 BC). The sophist Gorgias (c.483–c.385) developed a very mannered oratorical style which did not have a long-lasting influence. Isocrates (436–338) on the other hand exercised through his school a deep influence on later Greek prose, in the direction of greater elaboration and ornament. With the end of the fourth century BC came the close of the classical period of Attic literature, the dialect of Athens then giving place to a common Greek dialect, the koinē (see DIALECTS), less subtle, varied, and accurate in expression. Greek prose was influenced by ‘Asianism’ (see ORATORY 1), the florid style favoured by the rhetoricians of the third century BC. There was an energetic reaction against this, and an Attic revival, at Rome in the Augustan age; of this Dionysius of Halicarnassus is the best example. In the second century AD Lucian wrote in a very good imitation of classical Attic prose. See also NOVEL and SOPHISTIC, SECOND.

2. Latin. Latin prose was developed, in its characteristic features, out of public speech, though it originated partly in the Annales of the pontiffs (their records of traditional ritual and events of religious importance) which were the origin of written history at Rome. Roman law, published and often learnt by heart, was also a formative influence. Latin prose, unlike Latin poetry, owed little to Greek influences, for it already possessed, before the advent of these, the essential qualities of clarity, precision, and conciseness. In a community like Rome where politics played so great a part, these qualities were naturally esteemed in oratory. We hear of Appius Claudius Caecus and Cato the Censor as noted speakers; and oratory was further developed, with a great variety of appeal, by Gaius Gracchus. Latin prose reached its highest point in the speeches and writings of Cicero. Thereafter it tended to become artificial, epigrammatic, and poetical, under the influence of the poets and of the prevailing education in rhetoric and through the practice of declamation (see DECLAMATIONES). Seneca's prose is typically epigrammatic; that of Tacitus is marked by its excessive compactness and its poeticisms. The Younger Pliny also shows the influence of the rhetorical schools. Quintilian opposed the artificiality of his day and wrote in a style free from conceits and studied effects; but although a professed follower of Cicero he did not recapture the amplitude and symmetry of Cicero's prose.

Columbia Encyclopedia: prose

[Lat. prosa oratio=straightforward, or direct, speech], meaningful and grammatical written or spoken language that does not utilize the metrical structure, word transposition, or rhyme characteristic of poetry or verse; it is, however, raised above the level of lifeless composition or commonplace conversation by the use of balance, rhythm, repetition, and antithesis. In literature, prose is the usual mode of expression in such forms as the novel, short story, essay, letter (epistle), history, biography, sermon, and oration. The earliest European prose extant is that of Herodotus (5th cent. B.C.).

Poetry Glossary: Prose

Ordinary language people use in speaking or writing, distinguished from the language of poetry primarily in that the line is not treated as a formal unit and it has no repetitive pattern of rhythm or meter.

Word Tutor: prose

IN BRIEF: Speech or writing that is not poetry.

Poetry must be as well written as prose. — Ezra Pound (1885-1972)

Wikipedia: prose

For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles, see .

Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech. The word prose comes from the Latin prosa, meaning straightforward, hence the term "prosaic," which is often seen as pejorative. Prose describes the type of writing that prose embodies, unadorned with obvious stylistic devices. Prose writing is usually adopted for the description of facts or the discussion of whatever one's thoughts are, incorporated in free flowing speech. Thus, it may be used for newspapers, capers, magazines, encyclopedias, broadcast media, films, letters, debtor's notes, famous quotes, murder mystery, history, philosophy, biography, linguistic geography and many other forms of media.

Prose generally lacks the formal structure of meter or rhyme that is often found in poetry. Although some works of prose may happen to contain traces of metrical structure or versification, a conscious blend of the two forms of literature is known as a prose poem. Similarly, poetry with less of the common rules and limitations of verse is known as free verse. Poetry is considered to be artificially developed ("The best words in the best order"), whereas prose is thought to be less constructed and more reflective of ordinary speech. Pierre de Ronsard, the French poet, said that his training as a poet had proved to him that prose and poetry were mortal enemies. In Molière's play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Monsieur Jourdain asks something to be written in neither verse nor prose. A philosophy master says to him, "Sir, there is no other way to express oneself than with prose or verse". Jourdain replies, "By my faith! For more than forty years I have been speaking prose without knowing anything about it, and I am much obliged to you for having taught me that."

History

The status of prose has changed throughout its history. The early literature of many societies consists mostly of poetry.^{[citation needed]} Early prose was often restricted to mundane and everyday uses, such as legal documents and yearly records. Academic subjects such as philosophy and history were generally written in prose, but fiction does not often appear in prose until much later.^{[citation needed]} Poetry is still often regarded as a higher form of literature than prose, but the relatively recent development of the novel has challenged that view.

Prose was at one time synonymous with dull, unimaginative or laboured writing, and the meaning of the word "prosaic" has developed "containing or characteristic of prose" to "lacking in imagination or spirit; dull."^{[citation needed]} Prose that is too ornate and overblown for its context is called purple prose.

The use of prose as opposed to poetry in Shakespeare distinguishes classes of characters in some plays, and changing mental states and moods of characters in others. In Romeo and Juliet, servants speak in prose. In Othello, Othello shifts from poetry to prose as his suspicion of Desdemona's infidelity increases. In King Lear, Lear initially speaks in poetry shifts to prose as he is driven insane.

Styles

Prose varies considerably depending on the purpose of the writing. As prose is often considered to be representative of the patterns of normal speech, many rhetorical devices are used in prose to emphasize points and enliven the writing. Prose which aims to be informative and accurate, such as history or journalism, usually strives to use the simplest language possible to express its points. Facts are often repeated and reiterated in various ways so that they are understood by a reader, but excessive use of this technique can make a serious piece of writing seem pedantic.

In fiction, prose can take on many forms. Skilled authors can alter how they use prose throughout a book to suggest different moods and ideas. A thriller often consists of short, "punchy" sentences made up of equally short words, suggesting very rapid actions to heighten the effect of a very fast-moving plot. Conversely, longer sentences can be used to slow down the action of a novel.

When a poem is translated from one language into another (particularly an epic poem) the poem is often converted into prose. Not only does this allow the reader to understand the plot more easily, but it allows the translator to exercise less unwelcome creative input. A translation should be an unchanged representation of the sense of the original; to impose the rhyme and meter structures of a different language is likely to significantly alter the poem.

Speech/Debate

The event 'Prose' in Speech/Debate is in which one person reads a selection from a published book, play, etc., and interprets the piece for the judging audience. The time limit is 8 minutes with a thirty-second grace period.

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Antonyms. © 1999-2008 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more
		Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Classical Literature Companion. The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Copyright © 1993, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
		Poetry Glossary. Copyright © 2007, ILOVEPOETRY, Inc, All Rights Reserved. Read more
		Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Prose". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

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