What makes a prose poem

Cassandra Atherton is associate professor of writing and literature at Deakin University, Australia. An award-winning prose poet, she established the Stein Award for women prose poets.

Close to the Lithub Daily Thank you for subscribing! Just Because You're Paranoid Danielle Evans on Mrs. November 12, by Caitlin Flynn. Like us on Facebook. Read More. Loading Comments Prose Poem Explore the glossary of poetic terms.

History of the Prose Poem Form Though examples of prose passages in poetic texts can be found in early Bible translations and the Lyrical Ballads of William Wordsworth , the form is most often traced to nineteenth-century French symbolists writers. A fine example of the form is Baudelaire's "Be Drunk," which concludes: And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace or the green grass of a ditch, in the mournful solitude of your room, you wake again, drunkenness already diminishing or gone, ask the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock, everything that is flying, everything that is groaning, everything that is rolling, everything that is singing, everything that is speaking.

More about the Prose Poem Form Among contemporary American writers, the form is widely popular and can be found in work by poets from a diverse range of movements and styles, including James Wright , Russell Edson , and Charles Simic.

Academy of American Poets Educator Newsletter. Teach This Poem. Follow Us. Find Poets. Poetry Near You. Jobs for Poets. Read Stanza. Use descriptive words. Poetry is all about getting a reader to see what you see. Make sure to describe people, places, things, and actions with words that convey the message you are trying to get across.

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Co-authored by:. Co-authors: 5. Updated: February 18, Categories: Writing Poetry. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 16, times. Did this article help you? Yes No. Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Ed Nichols Sep 8, By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Follow Us. Prose just means language in its ordinary form.

There fewer rules when it comes to writing a prose poem. If prose is ordinary language than poetry, by its nature, is poetic. But, what does that mean? What makes language poetic and not ordinary prose? Well, poetry is one of those things that can be hard to pin down into an exact set of parameters. Poetry, at its core, is the expression of meaningful feelings and ideas through language.

Poetry has a distinctive style or a feeling. Poems feel poetic because they use the elements of poetry or tools that writers use to express themselves. What are those? There are a lot more than three elements of poetry. Rhyme — or the repetition of syllables. You might rhyme lime and time. Repetition — repetition is repeating a word or phrase over and over to emphasize a point.

Metaphor — the definition of metaphor is to directly compare two, unlike things to make a point. The keyword here is direct. When we get down to it, the difference between prose, or normal writing, and poetry is structure.