Prose

Prose

:"For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles, see ."literaturecontains five or more sentences in passages.Prose is writing that resembles everyday speech. The word "prose" is derived from the Latin "prosa", which literally translates to "straightforward". Prose is an unpretentious form of writing; it is adopted for the discussion of facts and topical news. Prose is often articulated in free form writing style. Thus, it may be used for books, newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, broadcast media, films, letters, history, philosophy, biography, linguistic geography, and many other forms of communication.

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.Fact|date=May 2008 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."

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Prose varies considerably depending on the purpose of the writing. As prose is often considered to be representative of the patterns of normal speechFact|date=May 2008 , many rhetorical devices are used in prose to emphasize points and enliven the writing. Prose aims to be informative and accurate, such as history or journalism, usually striving 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.

Also, it can be expressed in a combination of prose and poetry in a style called prosetry. A good example of this is in Elie Weisel's book "Night".

peech/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.Fact|date=February 2008

ee also

*List of basic literary topics
*Rhymed prose


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  • prose — prose …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • prose — [ proz ] n. f. • 1265; lat. prosa, de prosa oratio « discours qui va en droite ligne » I ♦ 1 ♦ Forme du discours oral ou écrit, manière de s exprimer qui n est soumise à aucune des règles de la versification. « tout ce qui n est point prose est… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • prose — PROSE. s. f. Discours qui n est point assujetti à une certaine mesure, à un certain nombre de pieds & de syllabes. Prose grecque. prose latine. prose françoise. le langage de la prose est plus simple & moins figuré que celuy des vers. escrire en… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Prose — Prose, n. [F. prose, L. prosa, fr. prorsus, prosus, straight forward, straight on, for proversus; pro forward + versus, p. p. of vertere to turn. See {Verse}.] 1. The ordinary language of men in speaking or writing; language not cast in poetical… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prose — Prose, a. 1. Pertaining to, or composed of, prose; not in verse; as, prose composition. [1913 Webster] 2. Possessing or exhibiting unpoetical characteristics; plain; dull; prosaic; as, the prose duties of life. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prose — [ prouz ] noun uncount * written language in its ordinary form, as opposed to poetry: She writes beautiful prose. in prose: He recorded his emotions in prose and verse …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Prose — Prose, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Prosed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Prosing}.] 1. To write in prose. [1913 Webster] 2. To write or repeat in a dull, tedious, or prosy way. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prose — Prose, v. i. 1. To write prose. [1913 Webster] Prosing or versing, but chiefly this latter. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prose — early 14c., from O.Fr. prose (13c.), from L. prosa oratio straightforward or direct speech (without the ornaments of verse), from prosa, fem. of prosus, earlier prorsus straightforward, direct, from Old L. provorsus (moving) straight ahead, from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • prose — prose·man; prose; trans·prose; …   English syllables

  • prose — [prōz] n. [ME < MFr < L prosa, for prorsa (oratio), direct (speech) < prorsus, forward, straight on < proversus, pp. of provertere, to turn forward: see PRO 2 & VERSE] 1. the ordinary form of written or spoken language, without rhyme… …   English World dictionary

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