A ''prosimetrum'' (plural ''prosimetra'') is a poetic composition which exploits a combination of

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the fo ...

(''prosa'') and verse (''metrum'');Braund, Susanna.
Prosimetrum
. In Cancil, Hubert, and Helmuth Schneider, eds. ''Brill's New Pauly''. Brill Online, 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2015. in particular, it is a text composed in alternating segments of prose and verse.Brogan, T.V.F. "Prosimetrum". In Green et al., pp. 1115–1116. It is widely found in Western and Eastern literature. While narrative ''prosimetrum'' may encompass at one extreme a prose story with occasional verse interspersed, and at the other, verse with occasional prose explanations, in true ''prosimetrum'' the two forms are represented in more equal measure.Harris & Reichl, p. 11. A distinction is sometimes drawnHanson, Kristin, and Paul Kiparsky. "The Nature of Verse and Its Consequences for the Mixed Form". In Harris & Reichl, p. 36. between texts in which verse is the dominant form and those in which prose dominates; there the terms ''prosimetrum'' and ''versiprose'' are applied respectively.

Usage of term

The term ''prosimetrum'' is first attested in the ''Rationes dictandi'' of Hugh of Bologna, in the early 12th century. Sources differ on the date, one suggesting around 1119, another about 1130. Hugh divided metrical composition into three kinds: quantitative verse (''carmina''), verse based on syllable count and assonance (''rithmi''), and "the mixed form ... when a part is expressed in verse and a part in prose" (''prosimetrum'').Dronke, p. 2. The derived adjective ''prosimetrical'' occurs in English as early as Thomas Blount’s ''Glossographia'' (1656) where it is defined as "consisting partly of Prose, partly of Meteer or Verse". Works such as historical chronicles and annals, which quote poetry previously composed by other authors, are not generally regarded as "true" ''prosimetra''. In the Old Norse-Icelandic tradition, however, vernacular histories and family sagas that quote verses by other authors are commonly accepted as ''prosimetra''. Quoted or "inset" verses are a familiar feature of longer historical texts in the Old Irish and Middle Irish traditions as well.Mac Cana, Proinsias. "Prosimetrum in Insular Celtic Literature." In Harris & Reichl, pp. 110–111. The role of such verse quotations within the prose narrative varies; they may be mined as historical source-material, cited as factual corroboration of an event or recited by a character as dialogue.

Examples

*''

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

'' (c. 1st century CE) by

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
*''The

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

'' (c. 4th century?) *'' Maqamat Badi' az-Zaman al-Hamadhani'' (4th century) *'' Consolation of Philosophy'' (c. 524) by

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the t ...

*''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'' (c. 8th century?) * ''De rectoribus christianis'', by Sedulius Scottus (9th century) *'' The Ring of the Dove'' (c. 1022) by

Ibn Hazm Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ( ar, أبو محمد علي بن احمد بن سعيد بن حزم; also sometimes known as al-Andalusī aẓ-Ẓāhirī; 7 November 994 – 15 August 1064Ibn Hazm. ' (Preface). Tr ...

*'' Cosmographia'' (c. 1147) by

Bernard Silvestris Bernardus Silvestris, also known as Bernard Silvestris and Bernard Silvester, was a medieval Platonist philosopher and poet of the 12th century. Biography Little is known about Bernardus's life. In the nineteenth century, it was assumed that Berna ...

*''

Acallam na Senórach ''Acallam na Senórach'' ( Modern Irish: ''Agallamh na Seanórach'', whose title in English has been given variously as ''Colloquy of the Ancients'', ''Tales of the Elders of Ireland'', ''The Dialogue of the Ancients of Ireland'', etc.), is an im ...

'' (c. 12th century) *''

Buile Shuibhne ''Buile Shuibhne'' or ''Buile Suibne'' (, ''The Madness of Suibhne'' or ''Suibhne's Frenzy'') is a medieval Irish tale about Suibhne mac Colmáin, king of the Dál nAraidi, who was driven insane by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn. The insanity ma ...

'' (c. 12th century) *''

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

'' (1188) by Godfrey of Viterbo *''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

'' (c. 1208) by

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark ...

*''

Aucassin et Nicolette ''Aucassin et Nicolette'' (12th or 13th century) is an anonymous medieval French fictional story. It is the unique example of a ''chantefable'', literally, a "sung story", a combination of prose and verse (similar to a '' prosimetrum''). Histo ...

'' (c. 13th century) *''

The Secret History of the Mongols ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' (Middle Mongol: ''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan''; Traditional Mongolian: , Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal fam ...

'' (c. 13th century) *'' La Vita Nuova'' (c. 1295) by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

*'' Eyrbyggja saga'' (c. 13th century) *''

Grettis saga ''Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar'' (modern , reconstructed ), also known as ''Grettla'', ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong'', is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic out ...

'' (c. 14th century) *'' Arcadia'' (1504) by Sannazaro *'' Diana'' (1559), by

Jorge de Montemayor ( es, Jorge de Montemayor) (1520? – 26 February 1561) was a Portuguese novelist and poet, who wrote almost exclusively in Spanish. His most famous work is a pastoral prose romance, the ''Diana'' (1559). Biography He was born at Montemo ...

*''

The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia ''The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia'', also known simply as the ''Arcadia'', is a long prose pastoral romance by Sir Philip Sidney written towards the end of the 16th century. Having finished one version of his text, Sidney later significantly ...

'' (1590), by

Philip Sidney Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

*''

The Lover's Watch ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1686), by

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

(translation of '' La Montre d'amour''

666 666 may refer to: * 666 (number) * 666 BC, a year * AD 666, a year * The number of the beast, a reference in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament Places * 666 Desdemona, a minor planet in the asteroid belt * U.S. Route 666, an America ...

by Balthazar de Bonnecorse) *''

Oku no Hosomichi ''Oku no Hosomichi'' (, originally ), translated as ''The Narrow Road to the Deep North'' and ''The Narrow Road to the Interior'', is a major work of ''haibun'' by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, considered one of the major texts of Japanese l ...

'' (1694) by

Matsuo Bashō born then was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative '' haikai no renga'' form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest ma ...

* '' Spring and All'' (1923) by

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

* '' In Parenthesis'' (1937) by David Jones *''

Pale Fire ''Pale Fire'' is a 1962 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional poet John Shade, with a foreword, lengthy commentary and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic co ...

'' (1962) by

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...

Alexis, André. ''Beauty and Sadness''. Toronto: House of Anansi, 2010. p. 157.

References

Bibliography

* Dronke, Peter. ''Verse with Prose from Petronius to Dante''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1994. *Green, Roland, et al., ed. ''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. *Harris, Joseph, and Karl Reichl, ed. ''Prosimetrum: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Narrative in Prose and Verse''. Cambridge, Eng.: D. S. Brewer, 1997. *Jones, Samuel, Aled Jones, and Jennifer Dukes Knight, ed. ''Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, 24/25, 2004 and 2005''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009. *O’Donoghue, Heather. ''Skaldic Verse and the Poetics of Saga Narrative''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. *Ross, Margaret Clunies. ''A History of Old Norse Poetry and Poetics''. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2005. {{authority control Literary genres

Usage of term

Examples

See also

References

Bibliography