Writing Poetic Prose
How to Make Writing Lyrical and Musical
Dec 18, 2008 Michelle Pannecoucke
Some writers have excellent ideas but weak ways of expressing them. Sometimes it is because of weak grammatical skills, and sometimes it is just choppy language. Smoothing out the language can make the story more readable and distract less from the story behind the language.
Traditional poetry has a set of conventions that defines the art. These conventions can be included in prose, although not as strictly observed, nor as often displayed. Important poetic tools that can be fairly well placed in your prose and will help in writing lyrical fiction are alliteration, rhythm and rhyme, and musicality.
Alliteration
Alliteration is a string of words that all or almost all begin with the same letter or sound. For example: Our funny feline friend flips fish. Alliterations can also be embedded within words and repeat certain sounds. For example: Little Billy Boyle blows bubbles. Using alliterations in small doses within prose is a tactful way to give a sentence rhythm.
Rhythm and Rhyme
Two words that sound alike are rhyming words. A popular rhyme in poetry is the end rhyme, with rhyming words at the end of corresponding lines. Internal rhymes are often found in poetry as well and add a lyrical rhythm to the lines. End rhymes work well for poetry when the corresponding lines are the same length, as in they contain the same amount of syllables. Prose sentences, however, should not all have the same amount of syllables and they normally do not. In this case, internal rhymes in prose work better than end rhymes. Rhythm will come when alliteration and rhyme are tactfully placed within the narration. The best way to tactfully use rhymes and alliteration in prose is to try not to overdo it.
Musicality
Musicality will come when the rhythm of the narration flows through well-placed poetic techniques. To test the musicality of the writing, read it out loud and consider these questions: Can a sentence be read through in one breath? Is it a tongue twister or does it roll off the tongue easily? Does it still properly convey the meaning of the sentence?
This last question is important for remembering that the writing is prose and not poetry, and for remembering the distinction between writing poetry and writing prose. Techniques that can be nicely intertwined with the poetic patterns discussed are the use of humour and active verbs.
Humour
Everyone loves a chuckle. The most dramatic tear-jerking stories have comic relief. A writer may allow his or her own sense of humour to come through in the writing. This humour in appropriate places will not deter the musicality of the prose, but will add to it.
Active Verbs
Appropriate verbs for your narration are less about musicality and more about quality writing. Appropriate verbs during dialogue help show the character’s mood and actions rather than telling about them. For example, rather than saying that a character is happy about something, make that character make a statement with a smile or a grin. A writer may even describe the smile or grin. Using verbs that better describe the action of the story will help the poetic devices more than weak statements will.
Consider these ideas for making prose writing as rhythmic and musical as it can be without losing meaning or personal style.
Poetic Prose
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