Types Of Prose

You are just going to encounter a piece of prose as you browse through the next few lines. Yes, prose is any written matter that is expressed in ordinary language as opposed to poetry that uses rhymes, meters, and imagery to convey ideas and emotions. Derived from the Latin word ‘prôsa’, prose literally transforms into ‘straight-forward’. Hence, you would always find prose articles to be descriptive, narrative, or explanatory. Any spoken and writing language that is expressed in a sentence without any regular rhythmic pattern is termed as prose. Say, for instance, any article that you find in a magazine is a prose narrative. Further, the latest science fiction you read is a prose. In fact, prose can be a novel, essay, short story, drama, fable, fiction, folk tale, legend, biography, hagiography, literature, myth, saga, theme, or tragedy. Learn about some of these kinds of prose writing in detail by navigating through the following lines.

 

 

A prose narrative limited to a certain word limit is defined as a short story. It generally includes descriptions, dialogues, and commentaries. However, one characteristic that distinguishes a short story from the other kinds of prose is the concentration on a compact narrative with detailed character drawing. In general, short stories are believed to have existed decades back, even before the art of writing was known to man. The oldest recorded example of a short story is considered to be the Egyptian tale of “The Two Brothers” dated around 3200 BC.

 

Similar to a short story, a novel includes uncertain information since it centers on different types and possibilities. However, the length of a novel is highly undecided due to the numerous characters and situations included in it. In short, a novel is a comprehensive narrative on a large scale, in particular. Just like short stories, novels, too, have known to exist ever since literature came into existence. Amongst all the prose kinds, the novel dominates the industry, both in terms of quality and quantity. However, considering its quantity, its only rival is the magazine short story.

 

A fable is a short allegorical tale emphasizing on a moral or any principle of behavior. The characters of fables are usually animals that portray like human beings, though they keep their animal traits intact. The moral of these fables is highlighted towards the end of the story in the form of a proverb and is generally enacted. The oldest fables describe stories of why crows are black, or why different animals display different characteristics, such as a sly fox, a dignified lion, and so on. The earliest fables came from Greece and India, while the oldest Western fables were those of Aesop.

 

Stories of kings, princesses, poor farmers, and queens are not new to any one of us. They are generally guided by supernatural or magical events that fascinate us to get engrossed in them. These short stories are nothing but fairy tales. They are distinguished by generalized characters without being individualized or localized; thus, the names ‘a king’, ‘a queen’, ‘a poor farmer’, and ‘a princess’. Fairy tales begin with misfortunes graduating towards undergoing adventures and solving mysteries, and ending in a happily-ever-after mode, thereby rewarding the virtue. These stories often revolve around charms, magic, disguise, and spells. Hans Christian Andersen (Danish), Basile (Italian), the Grimm Brothers (German), Perrault (French), and Keightley and Croker (English) are known to create some of the most famous collections of fairy tales.

 

Tale
A tale is a kind of prose narrative that describes strange and wonderful events in the form of somewhat bare summary. However, the main character is not focused on or given due importance. In fact, the goal or purpose of the tale is highlighted and given front seat rather than the main protagonist himself. For example, in the tale English folk of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, the beanstalk and the giant are highlighted instead of Jack’s personality.