People around me think that prose writing takes less effort, implying that prose writers have less verbal ability, and that people who write poems are smarter. What do you think about this?
Dear Cameen
Not everyone can write either; only very very few can write both.
Prose writing is, in a way, proselytizing, ie. trying to convert the reader to his point of view. For this one needs good verbal ability, command of language and argumentativeness. That is all. One can, by effort or training, become a proselytizer. It is sort of Science
Poetry is different. He just pours out his 'heart', and a true poem has to come from mind (not brain!) through his heart. What there is in the poem may not be felt by all; may be you have to be on the same wavelength to feel this. One can never become a poet, one just is or is not. I can write reasonably good prose, but I know that I can never write a poem. Of course some thing may 'click' in me in my old age. Poetry is an Art.
Good story/novel writing will come some where in between
Narayanan
Neither is inferior to the other
Do you really suppose that there is any sense in the questions of the kind?
Both poetry and prose demand rigorous effort. Poetry is often more difficult to interpret. However, memoir is classified as creative non-fiction and is often poetic. Oscar Wilde wrote a series of essays which he designated "Poetry in Prose." Both poetry and prose are subject to the skill of the creator. There are only inferior authors and inferior poets--but neither poetry nor prose is inferior to the other.
Dear Mr. Spalding,
Thank you very much for kindly sharing your thought. Your explanation will enable me to argue better in this unfinished "prose vs. poetry" issue here at our department.
Best regards,
Cameen
Dear Dr. Jawaid,
Thank you very much for kindly sharing your thought.
Best regards,
Cameen
Dear Cameen
Not everyone can write either; only very very few can write both.
Prose writing is, in a way, proselytizing, ie. trying to convert the reader to his point of view. For this one needs good verbal ability, command of language and argumentativeness. That is all. One can, by effort or training, become a proselytizer. It is sort of Science
Poetry is different. He just pours out his 'heart', and a true poem has to come from mind (not brain!) through his heart. What there is in the poem may not be felt by all; may be you have to be on the same wavelength to feel this. One can never become a poet, one just is or is not. I can write reasonably good prose, but I know that I can never write a poem. Of course some thing may 'click' in me in my old age. Poetry is an Art.
Good story/novel writing will come some where in between
Narayanan
Neither is inferior to the other
Dear Dr. Bhattathiri,
Thank you very much for kindly sharing your thoughts. Please allow me to also use your explanation to "beat up" my dear colleagues here about this issue.
Cameen
Geoge Stoica's answer sums up the situation, concisely!
Prose is very different from poetry. Good prose should be mellifuous with good turns of phrase pleasant to hear when it is read aloud. By contrast poetry should be good enough to be sung with repetitions of consonant and vowel sounds and with a poignant message. A good poem is likened to a symphony with the same theme repeated in different ways.
Not really. Prose is prose, a distinctive manner of writing, with great authors like Cervantes, Voltaire, Flaubert, Tolstoy, García Márquez, Murakami, etc. Poetry is poetry, a special use of language that tends to indulge in figural language. There are hundreds of extraordinary poets. But prose is inferior to poetry if it is bad prose by a mediocre author. Otherwise iit is just as good as poetry.
Best regards, Lilliana
Prose is certainly not inferior to poetry. Some writers are more gifted than others, so it simply depends who wrote the poetry or the prose. Oscar Wilde wrote brief stories that he called "poetry in prose." These are clearly poetic and fraught with imagery. Who could possibly read them and declare that poetry was superior to prose? Although poetry and prose serve different purposes, they stand, in my view, as equal partners.
To ask whether poetry is superior to prose is similar to asking whether realistic art is superior to Impressionism, or whether an opera is superior to a play. In the end, art is art, and it is merely a matter of preference. Whatever opens conduits into the mind and heart is different for every individual. Whatever it is that moves and inspires you most is, I suppose superior.
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