Prose is ordinary written language, the kind you're reading right now. It flows in sentences and paragraphs, following the natural patterns of how people talk and think. Most books, articles, letters, and stories are written in prose.

The word helps us distinguish regular writing from poetry, which arranges words in lines and often uses rhythm and rhyme. When you write an essay about your summer vacation or read a chapter in a novel, you're working with prose. Charlotte's Web, The Chronicles of Narnia, and this very definition are all written in prose.

Good prose can be just as beautiful and powerful as poetry, even without rhymes or special line breaks. Writers craft prose carefully, choosing words that flow smoothly and create vivid pictures in readers' minds. Some prose is simple and direct, while other prose uses elaborate sentences with rich vocabulary. The key is that it moves forward naturally, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, like a conversation or a story being told around a campfire.

When someone writes well, we might say they have a gift for prose or that their prose style is engaging and clear.