What Is Prose Poetry?

February 11, 2026 by Jamie Valentine

Introduction

Prose poetry at first glance defines logic with its name. Prose is often called the 'ordinary man's' language while poetry is described often as being 'flowery' in some circles. Prose is anything written that's not poetry. While poetry is writing that is structured, has rhyme more often than not, and goes beyond what the words on the page mean by using figurative language. These forms are unique to each other like siblings, one may look or act like the other but the two are distinct.

Prose writing vs. Poetry writing

The classics you probably had to read in school like Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, How to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson are all written in prose. Your favorite novel? Unless its Homer's Odyssey, it will more than likely be prose. (Conversation on epic poems at another time.) This article? prose. Any post on social media? Probably prose unless otherwise stated. Advertisements on billboards? prose. A scientific paper you read in college: prose. Most of the writing we encounter in our daily lives is going to be prose. While a scientific paper is trying to inform, a billboard is trying to persuade, and a post is trying to entertain all these written works are meant to be interpreted literally. There is usually one sure way to interact with each of these works, and further interpretation can be taken but doesn't have to be done. Poetry is a bit different.

While Poetry comes in many different shapes and sizes from the tiny haiku to the thick epic; it may be structured like the sonnet or the villanelle, but it can also be free verse; it can have rhyme or other forms of figurative language like alliteration or dynamic imagery. Does that mean a novel or a work of prose can't have? No, many works of prose use figurative language used in poetry all the time, but it is the way multiple forms of figurative language interact with each other and the structure of the piece which often give poetry its meaning. The white space in poetry often says as much as the words on the page itself. But because of the details within poetry, two people can read the same haiku or sonnet and come up with two similar or two very different interpretations. Poetic language must be precise because poems are usually small, meaning that you can't go on and on about one thing like setting or character or plot the way you could prose novel. Usually, poetry focus on one topic and develop that to its fullest. Two poems I can think of that explore one idea are two villanelle that focus on grief one by Elizabeth Bishop called "One Art" and the other by Dylan Thomas titled "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night". Both of these poems use the conventions of the villanelle such as its rhyme scheme and the repetition of certain words to develop their own experiences with grief. But what does this have to do with prose poetry?

Prose Poetry

Prose is an essence the common word. It is language with no particular rhyme or meter. Most novels are written in prose; therefore, they are prose novels. Many professors might just call them prose and move on with their day, kudos to them. However, people wanted to write poetry that wasn't your typically grandaddy's sonnet, no, something not too structured and not too free. Prose poetry does just that. It is not entirely free of convention; prose poems often exist in paragraphs instead of stanzas, because of this they can't ignore punctuation. Prose poems will have periods and in some cases dashes (-) or slashes (/) to separate ideas. Typically, one stanza is its own idea, but an idea can be carried over for several.

Where do you even find prose poetry?

Prose poetry is often experimental and is either used in a project entirely dedicated to prose poetry or used to compliment a mixed media project. Mixed media projects often have various types of structured poetry, art, photography, prose, mosaic pieces, and prose poetry; whatever the author would like to use to convey the feelings they'd like to display.

The history of prose poetry in the west starts France with a man named Aloysius Bertrand. He wrote Gaspar De la Nuit [Gaspard of the Night]. However, who we most often associate with the popularity of this original bloom of prose poetry is Charles Baudelaire's work Le Spleen de Paris as well as Le Fleur del Mar [The Flowers of Evil]. I mean even the name itself invites interest "the spleen of Paris" is an excellent title. When I think of the title I first think of Paris as a person or a living thing with a spleen, and contrast that with ideas that I have of Paris which would be the metal solid non-living Eifel tower. Immediately this creates intrigue for any reader, what else is living? People, duh. And people he does speak about, including himself. The book is humorous in a sarcastic way, often poking fun at life in Paris in the 19th century. "Double Bedroom," for example, talks about how listless the narrator feels, his manuscript editor comes asking again for the manuscript, then takes opium, and suddenly time is zooming for him. A very simplified version of the poem, but I can talk more about it in a different post. If I ever get to learning French, I'd sure love to try reading the original text.

A more notable prose poet would be Gertrude Stein who published her classic "Tender Buttons" in 1914. Today many scholars and non-scholars alike still read Stein and examine her poetry through various studies of thought, often a classic in feminist literature. But today around the world many more writers are publishing their works in prose poetry. Adding more life onto the poetic tapestry of literature and sometimes confusing many undergrads along the way. Which is why this is here, to roughly give the reader; who I assume is a very confused undergraduate student in some type of writing program (like I was), a multimedia artist who decided to see what they could add to their repertoire or developing biography/memoir, or just the poetry enthusiast hungry to know why prose poetry exists in the first place.

If you have any additional questions, be sure to write them down in the comments below, and I'll keep an eye out for great ongoing prose poetry recommendations as well as deep dives into some classics. Stay tuned and have a great day!

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