This article is about the literary term. For the album by Deep Purple, see Purple Passages.
In literary criticism, purple prose is overly ornate prose text that may disrupt a narrative flow by drawing undesirable attention to its own extravagant style of writing, thereby diminishing the appreciation of the prose overall.[1] Purple prose is characterized by the excessive use of adjectives, adverbs, and metaphors. When it is limited to certain passages, they may be termed purple patches or purple passages, standing out from the rest of the work.
Purple prose is criticized for desaturating the meaning in an author's text by overusing melodramatic and fanciful descriptions. As there is no precise rule or absolute definition of what constitutes purple prose, deciding if a text, passage, or complete work has fallen victim is a somewhat subjective decision. According to Paul West, "It takes a certain amount of sass to speak up for prose that's rich, succulent and full of novelty. Purple is immoral, undemocratic and insincere; at best artsy, at worst the exterminating angel of depravity."[2]
The term purple prose is derived from a reference by the Roman poet Horace[3][4] (Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 65–8 BC) who wrote in his Ars Poetica (lines 14–21):[5]
Inceptis grauibus plerumque et magna professis purpureus, late qui splendeat, unus et alter adsuitur pannus, cum lucus et ara Dianae et properantis aquae per amoenos ambitus agros aut flumen Rhenum aut pluuius describitur arcus; sed nunc non erat his locus. Et fortasse cupressum scis simulare; quid hoc, si fractis enatat exspes nauibus, aere dato qui pingitur?
Weighty openings and grand declarations often Have one or two purple patches tacked on, that gleam Far and wide, when Diana's grove and her altar, The winding stream hastening through lovely fields, Or the river Rhine, or the rainbow's being described. There's no place for them here. Perhaps you know how To draw a cypress tree: so what, if you've been given Money to paint a sailor plunging from a shipwreck In despair?[6][7]
Your opening shows great promise, and yet flashy purple patches; as when describing a sacred grove, or the altar of Diana, or a stream meandering through fields, or the river Rhine, or a rainbow; but this was not the place for them. If you can realistically render a cypress tree, would you include one when commissioned to paint a sailor in the midst of a shipwreck?[original research?]
Referencesedit
Coles Editorial Board, Dictionary of Literary Terms, Rama Brothers, 2001.
Look up purple prose in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
January 01, 1970
purple, prose, this, article, about, literary, term, album, deep, purple, purple, passages, literary, criticism, purple, prose, overly, ornate, prose, text, that, disrupt, narrative, flow, drawing, undesirable, attention, extravagant, style, writing, thereby, . This article is about the literary term For the album by Deep Purple see Purple Passages In literary criticism purple prose is overly ornate prose text that may disrupt a narrative flow by drawing undesirable attention to its own extravagant style of writing thereby diminishing the appreciation of the prose overall 1 Purple prose is characterized by the excessive use of adjectives adverbs and metaphors When it is limited to certain passages they may be termed purple patches or purple passages standing out from the rest of the work Purple prose is criticized for desaturating the meaning in an author s text by overusing melodramatic and fanciful descriptions As there is no precise rule or absolute definition of what constitutes purple prose deciding if a text passage or complete work has fallen victim is a somewhat subjective decision According to Paul West It takes a certain amount of sass to speak up for prose that s rich succulent and full of novelty Purple is immoral undemocratic and insincere at best artsy at worst the exterminating angel of depravity 2 Contents 1 Origins 2 See also 3 Notes 4 ReferencesOrigins editThe term purple prose is derived from a reference by the Roman poet Horace 3 4 Quintus Horatius Flaccus 65 8 BC who wrote in his Ars Poetica lines 14 21 5 Inceptis grauibus plerumque et magna professis purpureus late qui splendeat unus et alter adsuitur pannus cum lucus et ara Dianae et properantis aquae per amoenos ambitus agros aut flumen Rhenum aut pluuius describitur arcus sed nunc non erat his locus Et fortasse cupressum scis simulare quid hoc si fractis enatat exspes nauibus aere dato qui pingitur Weighty openings and grand declarations often Have one or two purple patches tacked on that gleam Far and wide when Diana s grove and her altar The winding stream hastening through lovely fields Or the river Rhine or the rainbow s being described There s no place for them here Perhaps you know how To draw a cypress tree so what if you ve been given Money to paint a sailor plunging from a shipwreck In despair 6 7 See also editBulwer Lytton Fiction Contest to find the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels Concision a communication principle of eliminating redundancy Description one of four rhetorical modes along with exposition argumentation and narration Elegant variation unnecessary use of synonyms Euphuism deliberate excess of literary devices fashionable in 1580s English prose Order of the Occult Hand a group of journalists who sneak the phrase It was as if an occult hand had into published copy Verbosity in which a speech or writing uses more words than is necessaryNotes edit A Word a Day purple prose Wordsmith org Retrieved 26 December 2014 West Paul 15 December 1985 In Defense of Purple Prose The New York Times Retrieved 26 December 2014 Nixon Cheryl 2008 Novel Definitions Broadview Press pp 194 ISBN 978 1770482074 Retrieved 19 May 2013 Macrone Michael 1994 It s Greek to Me HarperCollins pp 147 ISBN 978 0062720443 Retrieved 19 May 2013 Horace 18 BC Ars Poetica Lines 14 21 Kline A S 2005 Horatti Flacci Ars Poetica epistulae 3 Retrieved June 17 2019 Alternative translation Your opening shows great promise and yet flashy purple patches as when describing a sacred grove or the altar of Diana or a stream meandering through fields or the river Rhine or a rainbow but this was not the place for them If you can realistically render a cypress tree would you include one when commissioned to paint a sailor in the midst of a shipwreck original research References editColes Editorial Board Dictionary of Literary Terms Rama Brothers 2001 nbsp Look up purple prose in Wiktionary the free dictionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Purple prose amp oldid 1175346248, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
