Purple Prose
I recently finished reading The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Then I looked at the reviews on the Amazon site and noted that one said the book was full of purple prose.What's that? I wondered, though I thought it had to do with his descriptive talent. Since I wasn't sure I looked for more information in Wikipedia's article, Purple Prose, which states that the term originated with the poet, Horace, who lived from 65–8 BCE.
He wrote:
I like this definition: "Modern critics use 'purple prose' to refer to any writing that is undermined by its overstylized and formulaic nature."
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?
Translated:
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?
And for the record, I enjoyed the descriptiveness of Crane's writing, and didn't think it detracted from the novel at all. It is a skill I wish I had more of.
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