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Prose poem

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A work in prose that employs poetic techniques such as heightened imagery and compression.

Detailed Definition
A prose poem is a composition that exhibits poetic qualities—such as heightened imagery, metaphor, rhythm, and emotional intensity—while eschewing line breaks and traditional verse form; pioneered by Baudelaire and later used by Rimbaud and contemporary poets, it blurs genre boundaries to explore new expressive possibilities.
Example
Example in poetry:
Prose poem: Charles Baudelaire’s "Be Drunk" begins: "You have to be always drunk... in order not to feel the horrible burden of Time," blending poetic imagery with prose form.
Additional Notes
Prose poem: A composition in prose that exhibits poetic qualities (imagery, rhythm, compression); lacks line breaks but retains lyric intensity; pioneered by Baudelaire and popular in modernism.
Also Known As
Prose poetry Paragraph verse Block poem Non-lined poetry Poème en Prose Prose poétique
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