Young Writers Society

What do you think the line between descriptive, expressive, writing and purple prose is, exactly? What are the differences?

I would really like to know this too. I have never understood what "purple prose" is.

Purple prose is writing that is so extravagant and flowery and dripping with sentimentality that it detracts from the purpose of your piece.

I should know, since I suffer from it myself

-Kylan

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 sensually 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.

Thank you Wikipedia!

Purple prose is exactly that. It's flowery language for the sake of flowery language. It's so beautiful that you forget what you're reading about, and get lost in the (usually) long list of adjectives.

Wikipedia also says this is an example of purple prose:

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

—Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Paul Clifford

Notice how it seems to have too much description? So much description you can't even imagine the scene, because you're overwhelmed by all that is in that one sentence. Even the aside of, "for it is in London that our scene lies," becomes too much and it's difficult to read and comprehend.


I hope that helped? If not, google!

Non-Purple Prose:

"Joe went to the toilet."

Purple Prose:

"Joe staggered to the toilet. *CENSORED*.

Is Purple Prose always bad? Is it TABOO?

I wouldn't really consider Kang227's example to be purple prose.

Something more like, "In his almost violent desperation, Joe stumbled and skidded and slipped towards the toliet, that bastion of modern civilisation, that beautiful bowl of dirtied water and sweet relief."

EDIT: Oh, I guess his origional post was more purple, only it had to be censored.

Is Purple Prose always bad? Is it TABOO?

I would say yes. Because Purple Prose is horrible for the reader. It doesn't need to be purple for it to be pretty. ^_~ Unless you're mocking the idea of purple prose... I would avoid it.

But there is a HUGE difference between properly describing things in a good way and purple prose. There is no exact line of where you cross from one to the other - you have to use your own judgment.

I've written my share of purple prose (or at least, I think it's purple prose) and I hate it. It draws away from the subject matter and its whole purpose is to shout "hey! look at me! aren't I beautiful writing?" I mean, it may be lovely to read, but by the end, the reader is going to be thinking, "'k, that writing really made me respond emotionally, but what the heck was the story about again?"

I hate purple prose. But as to where to draw the line: I think it depends on the piece. I can't really come up with an example. And I don't know if I'd be right anyway.

*sigh* Did I mention that I hate purple prose?

~GryphonFledgling

I wouldn't necessarily consider purple prose to be "beautiful" writing. There's a fine line. You can have very descriptive writing that is beautiful, or very descriptive writing that is purple. Purple prose isn't an excess of good, it's just plain excess.

There's a fine line. You can have very descriptive writing that is beautiful, or very descriptive writing that is purple.

True that.

Purple prose isn't an excess of good, it's just plain excess.

Erm, I'd agree with you inasmuch as I intensely dislike purple prose. However, I'd have to say that I think the very idea behind purple prose is to be pretty. Sure, it's being pretty for the sake of being pretty (who knew prose could be so vain?), but it is supposed to be (one may argue at its rate of success) to be pretty. But there is so much of it that it turns into slop. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

But, as I have said before, I could be wrong.

~GryphonFledgling

People often accuse me of writing Purple Prose, and I want to give my two cents of what I feel it is. Purple Prose is UNECESSARY description. It doesn't matter how eloquent it sounds, thats not what makes it Purple Prose.

-The television ran into the night as he slept. His snoring overpowering the highlight reel that ran endlesly on the screen. In between highlight a commercial would come on with a song by a popular musican ***** new. ***** liked the song because of the video. The video was made by a director he liked.- ((ok this is a very very very bad example, but I had to make it utterly pointless. That is psuedo purple prose)).

As long as the eloquence has a point, I feel, its ok. If the paragraph had gone on to describe why he liked the song it could be used as a method of characterization, and I feel its fine. Of course the obvious examples are more eloquent than this, but its hard to think at 4:45 in the morning.

Purple prose is not the use of excessive description, necessarily, that's referred to in contemporary lit crit as hysterical realism, take, for example, the later work of Don Delillo, an excess in description is determined by the impetus of the style. Purple prose is an archaic verbosity that uses florid language to convey cliched unimaginative mostly visually based imagery. Say, you write a love poem, and rather than using unique observations, you write down a thousand synonyms for blonde, and various jewels comparable to their eyes.

well, just a note, but purple poetry and purple prose are two different things ((although I never understand why people don't just call it purple literature)) but that is nitpicky.

But even excessive use of florid languge is ok if it has a point, again, bad example. I associate purple prose with pedantic.

I don't think that poetry in and of itself is purple prose. You read poetry for beautiful, flowery descriptions and such, so it's excuseable. In fiction writing though, I have this philosophy. If you can make taking a crap sound like the most wonderful thing in the world, you're using purple prose. And crapping ain't that wonderful. Crass, but I like it.