The Pros of Prose
By Juliet Stouffer
When it comes to the debate between prose and poems, I find myself in a love-love relationship with both, but then I remember the way stories made five-year-old me feel alive. So, as much as I hate to battle with my beloved poetry, I must fight for the honor of prose today.
I find prose to be better than poetry because it can create full-fledged worlds, which poetry has a hard time achieving. Now, I don’t mean concrete details that make it clear what is happening; I mean the way poetry can’t always express comedic dialogue, character building, and the like, as well as prose can. These are important parts of stories and writing for me.
When poetry is brought into prose with stories like “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer or “Astrophel and Stella” by Philip Sidney, there is a sense of confusion that often scares off readers. Now, do I think this accessibility can be broken through? Yes, I do, but I think when it comes to the general public, no one wants to put in effort when they are attempting to read a story. They want the story to be quick and simple like an order from McDonald’s, and for the most part, prose can do that. This doesn’t mean that prose is less advanced because it is not poetry; it just means that it is more palatable. Think about it: which scares you more? The writing style of “The Trojan War” or “Canterbury Tale,” a format full of sonnets, or “Lord of the Rings,” a still complex format of a story, but this time a bit more digestible because it is in prose form?
As an avid writer, I have room for both prose and poetry in my heart, but when I remember my time with prose, I find myself smiling more often. I relish in being able to make expansive plots and write complex characters. New story ideas will stay with me for years, while a poem may just take a few weeks of my time. I do truly love poetry — especially the way it can help me work through my deepest feelings, and be translated into song — but when I think of my life as a reader and writer, I find myself gravitating more towards prose work.
The power of a poem
By Katherine Stoneman
I have always believed that poems are the most beautiful form of art humans can create. To be able to put so much emotion into just a few lines, and make people feel and question, is a gift. Poetry can also take you on journeys, making you cry, fall in love, laugh out loud, or just sit there confused. While prose might tell you exactly what happened, poetry will take you down a road less traveled, which will make you feel deeply and teach you how to live.
Poetry distills language into one of the purest forms. Both sound and silence are necessary to invoke feelings inside the reader. There is a reason we are taught poetry when we are young, because it is able to grow with us: even if we are just trying to rhyme every line, we are thinking about what we want to say and learning how to say it precisely, while attempting to stay true to our intended message.
Poetry calls for creativity. Writing poetry enhances your brain, and transcends logic. You are able to go beyond reason and reach levels of understanding that simple prose does not have access to.
You are allowed to feel with poetry. Any emotion, happy or sad, any confusion, any lingering questions — they can all be felt with poetry. There is beauty within the ambiguity. Poetry does not tell you exactly what it is saying or how to feel, but instead allows the reader to make their own interpretation. Poems are able to last generations, because it does not matter what your life looks like as poetry speaks directly to you.
Poetry, which can be similar to and literally music, has a beat and a melody in the precise way that it is written. The melody synchronizes with your heartbeat as you breathe in every word, connecting every reader with a bodily experience. Poetry is truly timeless, as it is crafted with the thought of repetition in mind. It is meant to be read over and over again, allowing readers to truly understand every word, pause, and thought. Immortality can be found in the lines of poems, as exact feelings and moments are captured for anyone to read at any point in time.
Poetry can truly make you feel alive.
