prose history

The status of prose has changed throughout its history. The early literature of many societies consists mostly of poetry.[citation needed] Early prose was often restricted to mundane and everyday uses, such as legal documents and yearly records. Academic subjects such as philosophy and history were generally written in prose, but fiction does not often appear in prose until much later.[citation needed] Poetry is still often regarded as a higher form of literature than prose, but the relatively recent development of the novel has challenged that view.

Prose was at one time synonymous with dull, unimaginative or laboured writing, and the meaning of the word "prosaic" has developed "containing or characteristic of prose" to "lacking in imagination or spirit; dull."[citation needed] Prose that is too ornate and overblown for its context is called purple prose.

The use of prose as opposed to poetry in Shakespeare distinguishes classes of characters in some plays, and changing mental states and moods of characters in others. In Romeo and Juliet, servants speak in prose. In Othello, Othello shifts from poetry to prose as his suspicion of Desdemona's infidelity increases.