Purple prose: Difference between revisions
Opencooper (talk | contribs) →Origins: formatting |
Removed an opinion Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
In [[literary criticism]], '''purple prose''' is [[prose]] text that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Word a Day – purple prose |url=http://www.wordsmith.org/words/purple_prose.html |website=Wordsmith.org |accessdate=26 December 2014}}</ref> Purple prose is characterized by the excessive use of adjectives, adverbs, and [[metaphor]]s. When it is limited to certain passages, they may be termed '''purple patches''' or '''purple passages''', standing out from the rest of the work. |
In [[literary criticism]], '''purple prose''' is [[prose]] text that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Word a Day – purple prose |url=http://www.wordsmith.org/words/purple_prose.html |website=Wordsmith.org |accessdate=26 December 2014}}</ref> Purple prose is characterized by the excessive use of adjectives, adverbs, and [[metaphor]]s. When it is limited to certain passages, they may be termed '''purple patches''' or '''purple passages''', standing out from the rest of the work. |
||
Purple prose is criticized for desaturating the meaning in an author's text by overusing melodramatic and fanciful descriptions. As there is no precise rule or absolute definition of what constitutes purple prose, deciding if a text, passage, or complete work has fallen victim is a somewhat subjective decision. According to [[Paul West (writer)|Paul West]], "It takes a certain amount of sass to speak up for prose that's rich, succulent and full of novelty |
Purple prose is criticized for desaturating the meaning in an author's text by overusing melodramatic and fanciful descriptions. As there is no precise rule or absolute definition of what constitutes purple prose, deciding if a text, passage, or complete work has fallen victim is a somewhat subjective decision. According to [[Paul West (writer)|Paul West]], "It takes a certain amount of sass to speak up for prose that's rich, succulent and full of novelty."<ref>{{cite news|last1=West|first1=Paul|title=IN DEFENSE OF PURPLE PROSE|journal=New York Times|date=15 December 1985|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/15/books/in-defense-of-purple-prose.html?pagewanted=2|accessdate=26 December 2014}}</ref> |
||
==Origins== |
==Origins== |
||
Revision as of 06:08, 27 May 2019
In literary criticism, purple prose is prose text that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself.[1] Purple prose is characterized by the excessive use of adjectives, adverbs, and metaphors. When it is limited to certain passages, they may be termed purple patches or purple passages, standing out from the rest of the work.
Purple prose is criticized for desaturating the meaning in an author's text by overusing melodramatic and fanciful descriptions. As there is no precise rule or absolute definition of what constitutes purple prose, deciding if a text, passage, or complete work has fallen victim is a somewhat subjective decision. According to Paul West, "It takes a certain amount of sass to speak up for prose that's rich, succulent and full of novelty."[2]
Origins
The term purple prose is derived from a reference by the Roman poet Horace[3][4] (Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 65–8 BC) who wrote in his Ars Poetica (lines 14–21):[5]
Inceptis grauibus plerumque et magna professis |
Weighty openings and grand declarations often |
See also
Notes
- ^ "A Word a Day – purple prose". Wordsmith.org. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ West, Paul (15 December 1985). "IN DEFENSE OF PURPLE PROSE". New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ Nixon, Cheryl (2008-12-30). Novel Definitions. Broadview Press. pp. 194–. ISBN 9781770482074. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ Macrone, Michael (1994-05-18). It's Greek to Me. HarperCollins. pp. 147–. ISBN 9780062720443. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ^ Horace (18 BC). Ars Poetica. Lines 14–21.
- ^ title=HORATII FLACCI ARS POETICA - epistulae 3 - Translated by A. S. Kline, 2005|url=http://www.yorku.ca/pswarney/Texts/ars-poetica.htm
- ^ Alternative translation:
Your opening shows great promise, and yet flashy
purple patches; as when describing
a sacred grove, or the altar of Diana,
or a stream meandering through fields,
or the river Rhine, or a rainbow;
but this was not the place for them. If you can realistically render
a cypress tree, would you include one when commissioned to paint
a sailor in the midst of a shipwreck?[original research?]
References
- Coles Editorial Board, Dictionary of Literary Terms, Rama Brothers, 2001.
