Blowing My Lines
Date of Completion
2016
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
English
Thesis Type
College of Arts and Science Honors, Honors College
First Advisor
Major Jackson
Second Advisor
Greg Bottoms
Third Advisor
Adrian Ivakhiv
Keywords
prose, poem, prose poetry
Abstract
As a form, prose poetry is largely considered to have originated in 19th century Europe, namely France and Germany, as a transgression against traditional forms of verse. Since its creation, the prose poem has endured for nearly two centuries, however its tenure still pales in comparison to other much older forms such as the sonnet, the Ghazal, and the Japanese Tanka, all of which date back to the 1200’s or earlier and are still being composed today. Considering that throughout the course of its existence the prose poem has endured criticism for its supposed lack of poetic quality compared to verse forms, this project demonstrates the ways in which its structure translates to the creative impulses of the modern-day writer as compared to its historical tradition. The introduction to the manuscript outlines the history of the genre and its popular usage throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century while the manuscript demonstrates the prose poem's usefulness as a genre in contemporary poetry.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Dolbashian, Aidan Charles, "Blowing My Lines" (2016). UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses. 100.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/100