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Prose is a work of writing that does not contain structured meter and rarely involves intended rhyme. The language is usually more straightforward, everyday speech, though creative writing such as stories or novels may contain elements of poetry such as metaphors, hyperbole, figures of speech, symbols, and other literary devices. Prose is arranged in grammatical sentences and paragraphs and may be fiction or nonfiction. Prose is everyday writing that may be found in newspapers, magazines, books, and online, though it may take the form of a literary work that is every bit as eloquent as poetry. Generally, prose is written to inform, though it may also sometimes elicit an emotional response from the listener or reader.
Rules for Poets
Many years ago, poetry and prose followed similar rules for punctation and capitalization. ''The Road Not Taken'' by Robert Frost is a good example. See if you can pick out some of the rules for capitalization and punctuation:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
The punctuation marks - comma, hyphen, colon, and period - are used the way they would be used in a paragraph. Rules for capitalization are also followed. The first word in every sentence is capitalized, and so is the pronoun I. Traditionally, in poetry, the first word of each line of the poem is also capitalized. In this way, the rules for classical poetry differ from those for prose. These traditional rules are consistently found in older, classical poetry. In contrast, many modern poets choose not to follow these rules.
Nonfictional Prose: A literary work that is mainly based on fact, though it may contain fictional elements in certain cases. Examples include biographies and essays.
Fictional Prose: A literary work that is wholly or partly imagined or theoretical. Examples are novels.
Heroic Prose: A literary work that may be written down or recited, and which employs many of the formulaic expressions found in oral tradition. Examples are legends and tales.
Prose Poetry: A literary work that exhibits poetic quality – using emotional effects and heightened imagery – but which are written in prose instead of verse.
While there have been many critical debates over the correct and valid construction of prose, the reason for its adoption can be attributed to its loosely-defined structure, which most writers feel comfortable using when expressing or conveying their ideas and thoughts. It is the standard style of writing used for most spoken dialogues, fictional as well as topical and factual writing, and discourses. It is also the common language used in newspapers, magazines, literature, encyclopedias, broadcasting, philosophy, law, history, the sciences, and many other forms of communication.
Prose in Novels
This is usually written in the form of a narrative, and may be entirely a figment of the author’s imagination.
Example #1: 1984 (By George Orwell)
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
Example #2: David Copperfield (By Charles Dickens)
“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”
Example #3: Anna Karenina (By Leo Tolstoy)
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
These examples of prose have been taken from novels, where the writers have employed their imaginations. They are examples of fictional prose.