::Topic One: Purple Prose.

I was watching Jeopardy the other day, and there was a category called ‘Purple Prose’. Curious, I researched it on the site where most highschoolers get their info– Wikipedia. Here is their definition:

“A term of literary criticism, purple prose is used to describe passages, or sometimes entire literary works, written in prose so overly extravagant, ornate or flowery as to break the flow and draw attention to itself. Purple prose is sensuously evocative beyond the requirements of its context. It also refers to writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment or pathos in an attempt to manipulate a reader’s response.

When it is limited to certain passages, they may be termed purple patches or purple passages; these are often noted as standing out from the rest of the work.“

-Wikipedia article, “Purple Prose”.

In otherwords, it’s an overly-dramatacized piece of literature that makes the audience feel the way the author wants them to feel. So…hop to it, and have fun!

~ by celesse on January 21, 2008.