Talk:Prose poetry

Archaeological form

What does the author mean by an "archaeological" form of poetry?— Preceding unsigned comment added by Aaslatten (talk • contribs) 20:48, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Essays

LAYERS: Two Essays Toward Understanding the Prose Poem

By David B. McCoy, dbmccoy@email.com

So I decided to cut loose and give emphasis to the imagination rather than to the line. --David Ignatow

One

Up until the twentieth century, poetry in the English language was dominated by strictly metered lines that rhymed. Because the meter specified a line’s length, little attention had to be paid to line breaks. Therefore, once the writer determined the subject of the poem, it was his/ her job—while working within the confines of acceptable meter and rhyme—to hammer out a poem.

Finding both fixed meter and rhyme roadblocks in communicating ideas or emotions, poets abandoned end-rhyme and fixed meter in favor of free verse (meter more natural and more reflective of the poet’s voice). In doing so, great attention was drawn to the use of line breaks.

Unlike metered verse, where the writer relies on a set number of feet to determine a line’s length, a writer of free verse relies on the meaning or the emotion of words themselves. Other times, a line break reflects a half- or full-pause in a sentence. Some writers utilize a line break in such a way that it leads the reader’s eyes to the next line. However, for most writers of free verse, the rationale of a line’s length is much more arbitrary.

But regardless of whether a writer chooses to write metered verse or free verse, the “music” of the poem (created in part through rhyme, meter, and line breaks) is as important as the idea or intended image of the poem. It is this—the music/ image duality—the prose poet rejects. To the prose poet, the “music,” brought into being through the manipulation of rhyme, meter, and line breaks, serves only as noise disrupting the image.

This is not to imply that prose poetry is absent of its own music—any good piece of literature is musical. But to prevent the disruption caused by rhyme, meter, and line breaks, the prose poet uses as his/her main unit of composition the sentence. “The sentence…while it does contain rhythmic patterns, has as its core a visual bias” (Stephen Fredman). This, then, allows the prose poet to squarely focus on the intended image.

Two

Appearing like a solitary out-crop of rock on the poetic landscape is the prose poem. Although Americans are at last embracing this form, little has been written about it. Hoping not to belittle the thing, I offer some generally accepted notions about the prose poem.

• The prose poem is short, rarely more than a page or two in length.
• Because the prose poem embraces the sentence, it is written as blocks of paragraphs.
• Rhyme and meter virtually disappear or are hidden snugly within the text. What replaces rhyme and meter for some writers is a concentration on the syntax of the sentence.
• Titles are brief, usually a single word relating to the story, object or image of the poem.
• Although the repetition of verse is dropped, repetition of a word or phrase may be used to bind the text.
• While some prose poems are descriptive, anecdotal stories, others lean toward the fable. But instead of teaching moral lessons, the stories turn fictitious to the point of becoming surrealistic.
• At the center of many prose poems is an object or image. Here the author uses whatever means or devices necessary to explore its thickness. Other times, it may be a moving away from the object which drives the poem.
• Exploring an object’s duality is also a favorite with prose poets. For instance, the image or object described is so out of keeping with ordinary assumptions about it, the reader cannot keep from contrasting it with what is thought to be “normal.” Sometimes, an image or object is presented in such a way as to highlight the differences between what “appears” to be with what, in fact, “is.”
• Because of the rebellious nature of the prose poem, the abandonment of even the broadest rules of meter and rhyme, and the adoption of the sentence, it is difficult to say anything too definitive about the form. Perhaps this aura of uncharted waters is fueling an interest in the prose poem. Whatever the cause, it is something limited only by one’s imagination.— Preceding unsigned comment added by DavidMcCoy1 (talk • contribs) 21:32, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Prose Poetry

What is the difference between "prose poetry" and "free verse" besides the line breaks? --Gheuf 07:34, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

"half dozen masterpieces of poetic prose in the world"

In her preface to "By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept" by Elizabeth Smart, Brigid Brophy describes the novel as one of the "half dozen masterpieces of poetic prose in the world". Can anyone find a reference to Brophy saying what the other 5 are - or, indeed, can they suggest them? Also, I have written that Smart's novel is a relatively isolated example of poetic prose in mid-20th century English literature: this seems to be true from my own readings and from what is in the wiki, but please correct me if I am wrong. --Frankieparley 09:38, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

I'd suggest that Djuna Barnes' 'Nightwood' is certainly an example of mid 20th century poetic prose. T.S. Eliot held it in high regard for this reason, and suggested that only those trained in the art of reading poetry could truly appreciate the work. 217.42.64.154 (talk) 11:50, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

Propose: Enlarged Discussion on What Characterises a Piece as Prose Poetry

I'd like to enlarge this discussion at the top of the article: I think this might interest readers and help lead them to works similar in style to one that they have particularly enjoyed. I added (in the history section of the article, which is maybe not the best place for it) that T.S. Eliot discussed what defines the genre, arguing that rhythm and musicality are crucial. This may contradict some of what David B. McCoy says above in this talk page - as, indeed, may the length of many putative pieces of prose poetry. Maybe consistent use of poetic elements in crucial for a text to be classed as a prose poem; other texts could be classed under a new category of "poetic prose". Currently, what expertise I have to enlarge this debate is still at a nascent stage. Contributions and references are therefore welcome. --Frankieparley 07:26, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Characteristics

The "Characteristics" section sounds more like an argument between two people than an actual section describing the characteristics of prose poetry. I read the section and I still don't know what the characteristics are, other than some people think it's not poetry. --69.140.219.88 (talk) 18:42, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

Completely agree. Also, the notion that because it has affinities with prose the reader will have an "expectation of an objective presentation of truth" is ridiculous. Only the prose of realist novel could (possibly) be saddled with that expectation, but even then such a comment would be dangerous to make. 217.42.64.154 (talk) 11:46, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps the Most Famous Example of this Genre

Perhaps the most famous example of this genre comes to us from the Bible: Genesis 1:1-2:3. We don't know exactly how the ancient Hebrews divided their lines, but this chapter is clearly more poetic in its narrative form than the rest of Genesis, which is mostly straight-forward prose. Genesis 1 utilizes poetical forms common to later Hebrew poetry, such as parallelism of language and thought, figurative imagery, and most likely a non-literal representation of the Creation.

Sources

This article does not cite any sources on its glossery information about the prose poem or prose poetry, which is a major problem. If anyone has any sources to add, please do so quickly to ensure that the article meets with WP:citeMrathel (talk) 15:19, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

I'm particularly interested in a source for: "Throughout the nineteenth century, Germany and Austria produced a large body of prose poetry, without calling it that." 174.44.100.116 (talk) 15:45, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

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Poetry is beautiful. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 15th Floor Poet (talk • contribs) 19:07, 30 October 2009 (UTC)