PROSE AND POETRY

Raphael Zaldy Villase‫؜‬ñor

 PROSE

• Prose is any written work that follows a basic grammatical structure;

basically, words and phrases arranged into sentences and paragraphs.
• It is written language (literature) that follows the natural patterns found in everyday
speech.

• Prose is verbal or written language that follows the natural flow of speech.
It is the most common form of writing, used in both fiction and non-
fiction.
• Prose comes from the Latin “prosa oratio,” meaning “straightforward.”

• This stands out from works of poetry, which follow a metrical structure
(think lines and stanzas).
 In literature, writing in prose serves as:

• Fulfill a story’s promise. In literature, the basic purpose of prose in writing

is to convey an idea, deliver information, or tell a story. Prose is the way a
writer fulfills his/her basic promise to a reader to deliver a story with
characters, setting, conflict, a plot, and a final payoff.
• Create a voice. Each writer has their own way of using language, called a
writer’s voice. Using prose in different ways helps writers craft and show
off this voice.
• Builds rapport through familiarity. Prose is often conversational in tone.
This familiarity helps connect readers to a story and its characters.
“Diana and I don’t think it, but we are witness to what could be
the no-holds-barred match of the millennium. Half the
expedition’s security force are bruised and bloodied on the
floor, the other half are circling Shiva like hyenas around a 600-
pound wounded silverback. These men, they worship Shiva like
royalty, to them he was the Sultan of Slam. But we caught him
programming an escape pod to rocket back to Earth and crash
into the Indian Ocean. He wanted to be in it. None of us would
have that.”

– The Dues of the Unbound, Pocholo Goitia

“Naberdyin ka na ba, Intoy? Balita sa ‘kin ni Berto, di pa
raw. Sya daw madami na. Yabang nun ‘no? Madami na raw
syang na-ano. Eh, king sinu-sino lang naman ang mga ‘yun.
Sina Jenny Kikay na inanakan ng mga kundoktor at drayber,
si Neneng Bayag na pekpek palit-bato, si Selyang Kuto na
tinatanggihan na sa basnig at si Cheche Tatse, ekskyus lang
‘no, mas mataba pa sa akin ‘yun. Ang mga type talaga ni
Baka… ‘la pala sya. ‘Kaw, type mo ba ang tulad ko?”

- Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino, Eros Atalia

“The Odyssian, on the day it was launched, was called mankind’s spearhead
and last hope. It is the chariot of the first colonial mission tagged for
interstellar travel to a habitable planet along the galaxy’s inner ring. We
were twelve hours from entering an anomalous region of compacted
spacetime when this little squabble erupted, a short million miles past the
System’s comet belt. The anomaly was a wormhole, and it drew asteroids
into it. It would shorten our voyage to four hundred years, as opposed to
the four hundred centuries it would take if we tried the direct route with
our engines capable of still subluminous speeds. These were our last twelve
hours in the Solar System–Humanity’s only home so far. Fleeting as
wormholes are, as soon as we enter this one, it would collapse. We’d be
stranded in frontier space for ages. Shiva, the lummox, just had to act up
at take a good last look.”

- The Dues of the Unbound, Pocholo Goitia

“Kakaputok pa lang ng araw. Malamig pa ang hanging labi ng nagdaang gabi
sa palabas na Nobyembre at papasok na Disyembre. Maliban sa plastic,
goma, sako, at kung ano-anong basura ay may mangilan-ngilan pa ring patay
na water lily na sumasabit sa kanilang sagwan. Water lily na tangay mula pa
sa look ng Maynila, galing sa tubig-tabang. Pagkaraan ng ilang araw na
animo kusang pagpapatianod mula sa Maynila patungo sa dalampasigan ng
Cavite, maninilaw hanggang sa maging kulay bulok na kahoy ang lulutang-
lutang na dating matingkad na berdeng halaman na kinilala sa tawag na
water lily. Ngunit ang lamig ng umagang iyon ay hindi makapigil sa ilang
magtatahong na maisalba pa ang kanilang tanging kabuhayan mula sa
pesteng alig na dumadalas na ang dalaw nitong nakaraang mga taon. Nakita
nilang marami na ring pumalaot para sagipin ang pwede pang sagipin.”

– Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino, Eros Atalia

 POETRY

• Poetry is the oldest literary form, predating the written word (and
therefore, prose) by several millennia. Its is the oldest form of literature in
human history, and many rules and styles have been codified over the
centuries.

• Poetry is literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of

experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and
arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm

• Poetry is the extraordinary perception of the ordinary; this is done through

the use of fewer words, chosen carefully, to convey an emotional message.
The confusing functions of poetry

• to communicate — to obfuscate

• to give pleasure — to provoke and disturb

• to include most readers — to exclude most readers

• to celebrate balance — to celebrate excess

hindi mo rin mapapansin Matatagpuan mo na lamang ang sariling
ang pag-ugoy ng pendulo, hindi makabangon sa pagkakahandusay

mula sa pagdapo ng sereno sa higaang pagkakaitan ka ng ginhawa.

hanggang sa pangangapal ng hamog. Pipikit ko na lamang

Ikukubli ito sa iyo ng namimigat at iisiping hindi pangungulila

mong talukap habang nananalanging ang pumapatak sa yakap na unan.

akapin ka nawa ng himbing Saka mo itatanong sa iyong sarili

makalipas ang ilang magdamag. kung mayroon kayong hindi iningatan.

Panimula ng Pagtanggap, Zaldy Villaseñor

Does he really think I’m still not over him?, she asks
Me while she thumbs through her journal.
Far is that day in May when
They looked out a friend’s window, counting
Passengers in jeepney’s passing,
Or June, splurging afternoons
In parks.

She does need him—

The way she needs journals, doorknobs,
Windows, those
Things we open with intention
To close: a necessary hesitation,
An awkward cord of doubt.

- Miles, Glenn Atanacio