"Prose talks and poetry sings"

Prose and poetry, while both forms of writing, offer fundamentally different experiences to readers and listeners. Prose communicates in statements, explanations, and narratives designed to convey information directly, like conversation. It is the language of everyday life, functioning as a vehicle for clarity, logic, and structure. Through prose, ideas are expressed plainly, arguments are built, and stories are told in a manner that mirrors ordinary speech. It “talks” because it seeks to communicate, and to be understood, through reasoned progression of thought, much as people talk to one another, intent on being clear and precise.

In contrast, poetry elevates language beyond its utilitarian function. Rather than simply relaying facts or events, poetry is concerned with rhythm, sound, imagery, and emotion. It “sings” because, like song, it moves through patterns, cadences, and resonances that evoke feelings or ideas beyond the literal meanings of words. The music of poetry lies in its ability to compress layers of meaning into carefully chosen words and structures, achieving beauty, ambiguity, or emotional impact that transcends logical explanation. Poetry’s rhythms, repetitions, and meter invite the reader to hear language as music, to experience it as something evocative and alive.

The difference between prose and poetry is not merely one of structure or form, but of intention and effect. Where prose seeks to inform, persuade, or narrate, poetry seeks to move, to awaken, to exalt. The “talk” of prose invites understanding; the “song” of poetry invites feeling. Through its singing, poetry can give voice to the ineffable, allowing us access to experiences that stir the soul rather than satisfy the mind. Grillparzer’s dictum emphasizes that the highest purpose of poetry is not to talk plainly, but to sing: to turn language into something closer to music, touching us in ways conversation never could.