INTRODUCTION TO POETRY

Prose is a narrative piece of writing that which applies flow of speech to the very end
without any form of rhythmic structure as in the case of poetry.

Prose is the use of natural language and speech within a closely defined structure of
writing. It is different from poetry in that it is not rhythmically structured.

Types of Prose
1. Fictional Prose
2. Non-Fictional Prose

Fiction
This is the form of any work that deals, in part or whole, with information or events that
are not real, but rather, imaginary and theoretical, that is, invented by the author

Types of Fiction

Mystery: This is something that is impossible or difficult to figure out. It can be a

secret, riddle or a puzzle, hence needs intelligence in order to reveal the unknown. A
mystery is mostly an investigation activity whereby a detective has to solve a puzzle so
as to find a solution to crime and crack the case.

Fantasy: This is a type of fiction that employs magic and other supernatural
phenomena as the primary plot element theme or setting. Many works within the genre
take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. It is
distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it
steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great
deal of overlap between the three, all of which are sub-genres of speculative fiction.

Fable: This is a succinct fictional story in prose or verse, that features animals,
mythical creatures, plants, inanimate o objects or forces of nature which are
anthropomorphized(I.e. given human qualities such as verbal communication), and that
illustrated or leads to an interpretation of a moral lesson, which may at the end be
added explicitly in a pithy maxim.
Allegory: This is a rhetorical device in which characters or events in a literary, visual,
or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas and concepts. Allegory has been used
widely throughout the histories of all forms of art; a major reason for this is its immense
power to illustrate complex ideas and concepts in ways that are easily digestible and
tangible to its viewers, readers, or listeners. An allegory conveys its hidden message
through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events. Allegory is generally treated
as a figure of rhetoric; a rhetorical allegory is a demonstrative form of representation
conveying meaning other than the words that are spoken.

Parables: This is a succinct didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or
more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ
animals, plants, inanimate objects or forms of nature as characters, whereas parables
have human characters. A parable is a type of analogy.

Romance: This is the expressive and pleasurable feeling from an emotional attraction
towards another person associated with love. In the context of romantic love
relationships, romance usually implies an expression of one’s strong romantic love or
one’s deep and strong emotional desires to connect with another person intimately or
romantically.

Folktales: A folktale is a story or legend handed down from generation to generation

usually by oral retelling. Folktales often explain something that happens in nature or
convey a certain truth about life. They are in truth about life. They are fictitious stories
told to amuse and amaze the listeners.

Creative Writing: This is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal
professional, journalistic, allegoric or technical forms of literature, typically identified by
an emphasis on narrative craft, character development and the use of literary tropes or
with various traditions of poetry and poetics. It can be technically considered to be any
writing of original composition. In this sense, creative writing is a more contemporary
and process-oriented name for what has been traditionally called literature, including
the variety of its genres.

Novel: It is a long fictive work of 50,000 words or more with imaginative human
characters in which the events are presented in a continuous piece of writing as if they
were real or actually took place. e,g, Native Son by Richard Wright, Faceless by Ama
Darko.

Short Story: It is a small form of a novel. It is a work of at least 2,000 words not
exceeding of 7,500 words with just a few characters whose actions revolve around a
single event as against the novel with many characters. e.g. Forest of Flowers by Ken
Saro-Wiwa.

Novella: This is neither a complete novel nor a short story. It is vague as it is longer
than a short story and shorter than a novel. It is a work of at least 7,500 words but less
than 50,000 words.

Non-fiction

Non-fiction is another type of prose that is factual rather than imaginative in nature.
Because it is more factual and less imaginative, it may use less figurative language.

Types of Non-fictions

Biography: This is a book about a person’s life written by someone else. It is also
known as a bio. It is a detailed description or account of a person’s life. It entails more
than basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death – a biography also
portrays a subject’s experience of these events.
Autobiography: This is a book that someone writes about his or her own life. It is a
written account of the life of a person written by that person. It is based on the writer’s
memory. It is closely associated with the memoir.

Memoir: This is a book a person writes about a particular time in his or her lifetime. It
does not cover from birth to death. It is a collection of memories that an individual
writes about moments and events both public and private that took place in the
author’s life. The memoir tells a story from a life, the whole autobiography tells the
story of a life.

Diary or Journal: This is a day-by-day account of a person’s life. It is a record with

discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a
day or other period. A personal diary may include a person’s experiences, and/or
thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer’s direct
experience.

Essay: This is a short non-fiction work about a particular topic called an essay. It looks
at one subject in a limited way. Essays are generally short pieces of writing written
from an author’s personal point of view, but the definition is vague, overlapping with
those of an article, a pamphlet and a short story.

Historical Document or Speech: This is an official statement that records the social
and political beliefs of groups of people, and individuals in history and exposes the
readers to the language and attitude of the time.

Documentary: It is a non-fiction form that uses primary and secondary sources.