The difference between prose and poetry is the major discourse taken into consideration in this article. Basically, the prose is based upon the big piece of literary work whereas poetry is typically a way for expressing feelings in an artistic manner.
What is prose?
Letters, punctuation, and capitalization are a part of prose, but also have to be taken into consideration when reading poetry. Poetry is the kind of writing where you don’t have to use punctuation. You don’t need to know the difference between prepositions, pronouns, etc. Every line has to be able to stand on its own, in its own way, no matter what it looks like. Poetry is not necessarily subjective, but when people do want to talk about the content or importance of the poem, it has to be properly formatted.
It’s also not rare to see prose with incorrect capitalization or grammatical errors. Since literature is something that is meant to be a reflection of time and place, words have to reflect that without having an issue with how the sentence looks.
What is poetry?
Poetry has long been one of the most ancient forms of communication. However, not many people can seem to put it in words. That is until you look at the dictionary definition, and it doesn’t even look like poetry.
A renowned website dictionary.com definition also points out that “poetry is poetry with a point of view.”
I would argue that writing poetry is not only poetic but beautiful.
Often poets have a natural sense of poetry, but the moment they begin to think about the form of it they are discouraged.
Pros of prose
Some of the basic pros of the prose are here as under
- Does not force the reader to read for meaning
- A bit easier to read
- Less information required to understand the overall message
- It does not need a lot of attention to detail
- Fewer characters needed to express a thought
Cons of prose
Some cons of the prose are hereunder:
- Questions about the author’s intent
- Large blocks of text
- Points of view may be unclear
- No line breaks to show that thought is transitioning
- Provides too much detail
- Confusing some sentences
Manuscripts in both genres should follow standard formatting guidelines. There are formatting codes that should be used.
You can use stylesheets, editors, and macros to format the manuscripts. Although it will increase the production costs, it will prevent headaches and heartaches that come when an author is trying to correct mistakes.
Poetry does have its pros though. Even one word or a small sentence can come under the definition of poetry. Poetry is usually confined to short phrases—another way of expressing what the reader is experiencing.
Pros of Poetry
It doesn’t have to be bound by rules or sentence structure. In many cases, poems don’t have to start with a verb. You could start an entire poem with a noun or a noun-verb phrase. Poetry also allows for more creativity in our writing.
Poetry may seem bland compared to prose because it is not bound by any kind of sentence structure. When you write a poem, you may have the liberty to create a completely unique sentence structure.
Poetry brings more precision to design. It’s all about the movement of words and phrases, and rhyming to follow a rhythm.
Poetry often gives an emotional impact. Words convey a story and emotion in poetry.
Poetry will appeal to many readers because it is lyrical, while prose can be monotonous. Poetry is more pleasant to read because it makes the reader feel something.
Cons of Poetry
Sometimes, poems read like speeches. They often use the same wording, structure, and imagery, so they can be hard to follow.
Poetry is more difficult to write for an audience who is not versed in the language or poetic style of the poem. Because poetry is not rhyming, it might not be ideal to teach your younger readers about rhyming words.
Poetry has a long tradition and history. It is not a new genre of literature. For example, the poetry you have heard for years about your great-grandmother’s kitchen may not be completely factual.
The process of writing a poem will take longer than a prose piece. When you try to describe someone you love, it can feel forced. A verse will just be one word per line. Prose comes with rich details. Poetry is very personal. Poets have to tell the story.
Why Poetry is More “realistic”
Poetry, to me, represents something very real—something that is happening right now. Of course, it’s not simply true to say that “poetry is true”. The past and present life through writing.
I like poetry because it can be a very personal expression of what’s going on at that exact moment in time.
Difference between Prose and Poetry
Prose generally has more consonants than vowels. E.g. Prose: softball, the air conditioner, baseball. The prose is clear and straightforward. Poetry has many words in it and is read with multiple meanings. E.g. Prose: take, meet, small, big, smoke.
Prose has many words in it and is read with multiple meanings. E.g. Prose: take, meet, small, big, smoke. Prose uses capital letters as more of a formatting device than as an indicator of meaning. E.g. Prose: capture, try, handle, pick up, explode, date, create, word, ten, divide, three.
Poetry is made up of many phrases and lines—it is like a dialogue, and it adds more stress to words.
The Bottom Line
As a word-nerd, I know the importance of knowing how to read poetry. The tools you learn from reading can be used to learn how to write poetry as well. This gives you a good foundation to have a working knowledge of the craft.
Ready to write poetry? Here’s how to get started:
1. Your local library or community center offers lots of options. If they don’t, look online and see what you can find. If you live in the US or Europe, chances are you have a community college or university close by. They offer lots of classes in everything from art to design to writing.
2. Find out how your city chooses the poets they invite to read at public readings.
Try to join a poetry group or a writing group in your area.
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