The prose is a writing style that follows the natural flow of
words. It is also believed that this kind of writing is the most popular in
both fiction as well as non-fiction. The word comes from the Latin “prosa
oratio,” meaning “straightforward.”
Before going into further details, it would be interesting to
share the outlines. We will study in this brief but spectacular assignment, the
types of prose, classical versus modern prose, the difference between prose and
poetry, prominent prose writers and their works, different styles of prose, its
evolution, and importance.
The prose is an ordinary language that follows regular grammatical
conventions and does not contain a formal metrical structure. This definition
of prose is an example of prose writing, as is the most human conversation,
textbooks, lectures, novels, short stories, fairy tales, newspaper articles,
and essays.
Most literary critics and readers agree that prose is the simplest
and easiest way to deliver something. It vividly elaborates the themes and
makes the text easier for readers by putting a story with characters, setting,
conflict, a plot, and a final payoff.
Prose can be divided into four types. It can differ depending on
the style and purpose.
Prose that is based on the facts and figures having a true story
is nonfiction. In this regard, newspapers, books, diaries, and articles can be
included in this type of prose.
The type of prose which is based on fiction is called fictional
prose. It is the most prominent kind used in novels and short stories. It has a
proper setting, plot, and character. Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist; Benjamin
Disraeli, Sybil, and Charles Kingsley, Alton Locke are famous fictional
working.
The prose that is in dramatic style written for oral or recitation
is called heroic prose. Examples of heroic prose are the 13th-century Icelandic
sagas. The “heroic sagas,” such as the Vǫlsunga saga (c. 1270) and the Thidriks
saga (c. 1250), are based on the ancient Germanic oral tradition of the 4th to
6th century and contain many lines from lost heroic lays.
The last kind is prose poetry written in poetry form. It has
rhythm and rhyme. French poet Charles Baudelaire wrote prose poems, including
“Be Drunk” which starts: “And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace or the
green grass of a ditch, in the mournful solitude of your room.”
It is noticeable that the modern prose style is slightly different
from the classical style. Individualism, experimentation, absurdity, formalism,
and symbolism are the chief characteristics of modern prose while in classic
prose, the writer assumes equal footing with the reader. She acts as though she
and the reader share the same viewpoint, and she directs both of their
attention toward the subject.
The prose is a different kind of writing style from poetry as
well. As we aforementioned that prose is a natural flow of language while
poetry has a proper style. It specifically contains a metrical scheme and
element of rhyme which generates elements of rhythm.
An example of a piece of poetry is as under.
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
When you are writing literary writing, you are
communicating something sub textual with emotions and poetry. The prose has to
have a voice; it's not just typing. It takes a while to get that voice.
Joyce Carol Oates
And the prose is like, "Love is the most powerful thing. It
can convert hate into love, but it can't be applied
universally." If you write, "I walked about all alone over
the hillsides," that's prose. If you say, "I wandered lonely as a
cloud/That floats on high o'er vales and hills" that's poetry.
Prose work started with Sir Philip Sydney (1554-1586), and he is
generally considered as the father of prose. He has written many proses
especially Arcadia, a heroic romance. His critical work 'The Defense of Poesy'
is also written in a prosaic style. Let's take an example from Arcadia.
"Ow sir (said they) thus for ourselves it is. We are in the
profession but shepherds,
1and in this country of Laconia little better than strangers, and
therefore neither in skill nor abilities of power greatly to stead you. But
what we can present to you is this: Arcadia, of which countries we are, is but
a little way hence, and even upon the next confines."
Jonathan Swift, Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, and Thomas De
Quincey are contemporaries of Sydney and contributed a lot to the evolution of
prose. William Shakespeare, the father of English also well-known for his
poetical works but he was an intellectual playwright. He has written King Lear,
Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet in the prosaic style of writing. Ruth Scur's
name comes to mind when we talk about prose. He contributed significantly to
the development of prose.
In a strict sense, it can never be said that Prose's work was
started by Sir Philip Sydney, but it is believed that he started modern prose
writing.
The earliest prose work was written in the 7th century, the law
code of King Aethelberht I of Kent, and many translations of the Gospel of St.
John, though these do not survive. King Alfred has translated many
pieces into English in this style in the 9th century also considered as prose
works. The evolution goes on to the renaissance period where we mentioned
earlier that many writers enthusiastically wrote prose.
Apart from the chronological study of prose and its evolution,
George Orwell, Francis Bacon, Charles Lamb, George Bernard Shaw, and Bertrand
Russell; who is by all respects, a productive prose writer, who wrote
abundantly. He is the prominent writer of the present century who wrote on a
variety of subjects of human interest, with great zeal and zest. He expressed
his acumen and writing power in a forceful and logical style.
Conclusion
All the discussion can be summed up that prose is a prominent
style of writing, which is started in the 7th century, and extended its scope
by Sir Philip Sydney, a renaissance writer. Although critics divided to trace
the founder of prose, many writers played a huge role in the development of
prose. For example, William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, Ben Johnson,
Francis Bacon, Charles Lamb, G.B Shaw, and Bertrand Russel. It is also
considered the easiest way of communication through writing. Among the four
ways of writing prose, heroic poetry and fictional prose are popular since from
the 8th century and up till now. Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), best known for War
and Peace, Anna Karenina, A Confession, and George Orwell (1903-1950), 1984,
Animal Farm are the best examples of pieces of writing written in prose.
