Re: Kafka and rile and Perplexity State University

Right, Daniel, I agree. But even defining poetry and prose as mutually
exclusive categories (I believe there is prose with poetic qualities,
but don't believe in the "prose poem") doesn't mean we've defined the
qualities themselves.

This is fairly difficult, I think -- there are real problems with
definitions like the ones offered by Michael from dictionary.com. For
example, looking at these lines:

> by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme.

I would say all characteristics except meter and rhyme can be equally
applied to prose, and there is much poetry that doesn't adhere to
specific meter or rhyme schemes.

So the definition just doesn't work well -- I haven't read a definition
that really covers everything we'd call poetry and everything we'd call
prose.

I'd be more inclined to think that a _specific kind_ of attention to the
individual line (which may or may not employ rhyme or meter) is more
characteristic of poetry than of prose, but again, I don't think this
will hold for all poetry written in English (just to limit the subject a
bit).

Jim

Yocum Daniel GS 21 CES/CEOE wrote:
> Jim, prose is always not a poem.
> Daniel
>
> Oh good lord...don't get that discussion going :).
>
> Jim
>
>
>>So when is prose not a poem?
>>
>>Daniel

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Received on Mon Jun 30 13:29:48 2003