Prose poems

Prose poetry is poetry written in prose instead of using verse but preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis and emotional effects.

"The simplest definition is that a prose poem is a poem written in prose....But, not unlike "free verse," the oxymoronic name captures the complex nature of a beast bred to challenge conventional assumptions about what poetry is and what it can do." 'The prose poem is a composition printed out as prose that names itself as poetry, availing itself of the elements of prose, while foregrounding the devices of poetry.'

Technically a prose poem appears as prose, reads as poetry, yet lacks line breaks associated with poetry but uses the latter's fragmentation, compression, repetition and rhyme. and in common with poetry symbols, metaphor, and figures of speech.

Prose poetry should be considered as neither primarily poetry nor prose but is essentially a hybrid or fusion of the two, and accounted a separate genre altogether. On the other hand, the argument for prose poetry belonging to the genre of poetry emphasizes its heightened attention to language and prominent use of metaphor. Yet prose poetry often can be identified as prose for its reliance on prose's association with narrative and on the expectation of an objective presentation of truth..

Haibun is a Japanese form of prose poem, being a work that combines haiku and prose originated by Matsuo Basho in the 17th century and best exampled by his book thereof, Okuno Hosomichi, in which he used a literary genre of prose-and-poetry compositions of multidemensional writing. In the West, prose poetry originated in early 19th century France and Germany as a reaction against dependence upon traditional uses of line in verse.

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