Page 22 - Grasp English C1 (Student Book)
P. 22

2        Lıterature












                                                           Prose and poetry are two forms of literature.  The main
                                                           differences are in the structure of the text and the purpose
                                                           of the writing.

                                                           Prose is generally more straightforward and  pragmatic.
                                                           It conveys information or tells a story. It is constructed in
                                                           sentences and paragraphs, which are usually grammatically
                                                           accurate and linked together with cohesive devices. Prose
                                                           may  be  fictional  or  non-fictional.  It  can  include  narrative,
                                                           dialogue, expository text and much more. However, ultimately
                                                           the main purpose of prose is usually to convey information, be
                                                           it in the form of a story, a news report, an opinion, biography,
                                                           blog and so on.

                                                           Poetry is a more creative and imaginative style of writing. For
                                                           a start, it appears differently on a page. The text is broken
                                                           up into lines and stanzas, so that the text not only imparts
                                                           information but also incorporates elements of rhythm. Even
                                                           the appearance of the text on the page contributes to the
                                                           creativity of the poem’s message. Some poems follow a
                                                           fixed format, such as the sonnet, which has a fixed rhyming
                                                           sequence, and a fixed structure of 14 lines, each with ten
                                                           syllables. The syllables also have a specific metre, that is, the
                                                           pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Sonnets use a
                                                           meter known as the iamb, in which syllables are alternately
                                                           stressed and unstressed. Other poetic meters exist, such as
                                                           the dactyl, in which one stressed syllable is followed by two
                                                           unstressed syllables, such as in the word  Fly-a-way,  or the
                                                           anapest, where  two unstressed syllables are followed  by a
                                                           stressed syllable, such as in the phrase at the top of a hill.
                                                           Sonnets also have a strict structure of rhyme.
                                                           However, not all poems rhyme or have a strict rhythm, so it
                                                           is sometimes difficult to define what poetry actually is. Some
                                                           people might say it uses more  figurative language, but
                                                           prose  can contain just as many similes, metaphors, before
                                                           elements of personification as a poem, and use sound
                                                           patterns like alliteration and onomatopoeia; while poetry
                                                           can be purposefully stark and bland in its choice of words.
                                                           Another suggestion for distinguishing between the two is
                                                           that the purpose of prose is to convey a message while the
                                                           purpose of poetry is to convey experiences and feelings.
                                                           However, that definition, too, seems to undermine the sensual
                                                           nature  of some  prose  and  limit  the  purpose  of  poetry.  It is
                                                           strange that texts that we can immediately recognise as
                                                           poetry and prose, are so difficult to define.






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