Identifying Prose, Poetry and Playscripts
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Basics on the topic Identifying Prose, Poetry and Playscripts
What are the three genres of literature? There are multiple categories of literature, like drama or playscripts, nonfiction prose, fiction prose, poetry. The main three genres within fiction are prose, poetry and drama. A playscript is the text used to represent a drama or a play. You might be wondering why it is important to know the difference between drama and prose or the difference between prose and poetry. Knowing how to identify different genres of literature helps us organise our thoughts, retell and report the text and know how to read it.
In the text below you will find drama, prose and poetry examples that will help you understand the features of each genre.
What is Prose?
Prose is the most common form of text. There are lots of examples of prose writing that you see every day, such as chapter books, short stories, letters, essays and articles.
Let’s have a look at some features of prose:
Can you name a text that you have recently read that was written in prose? It could be a letter from your friend, or a chapter book you read last month - there are a lot of prose texts around you!
What is Poetry?
Poetry is the type of writing that is used to create a strong feeling in a reader. Texts written in poetry are called poems. What is the difference between poetry and a poem? Poetry is the type of writing, but a poem is one piece of poetry.
Let’s identify the features of poetry:
Now, you can answer the question “what is the difference between poetry and prose?” and explain how these two types of writing are different from each other. Prose is written in sentences that form paragraphs, and poetry uses lines that form stanzas and poetry can have rhyme and rhythm.
But what do poetry and prose have in common? They are both forms of literature and both of them use figurative language to convey an idea.
Now, that you know about the similarity and difference between poetry and prose, let’s learn to identify the features of drama.
What is a Playscript?
A playscript or a drama is a text written to be performed as a play on stage. To understand the features of drama, have a look at one of the drama story examples:
Unlike prose and poems, playscripts are divided into acts and scenes. Not all elements of a playscript text are supposed to be read out loud on stage. Things like scene descriptions, names of the characters in front of their lines and stage directions are there to guide actors and a director of a play.
Prose, Poetry and Drama – Summary
Poetry, drama and prose pieces are forms of literature. They all have different features. Let’s review what we have learned about prose, poetry and drama or playscripts.
- Prose is written in sentences that follow one another and form paragraphs.
- Poetry is written in lines that are grouped together to form stanzas. It may have rhyming words and a rhythm.
- Drama is written to be performed on stage within a playscript. It includes a cast of characters, scene descriptions, lines for characters to speak and stage directions. It is divided into acts and scenes.
| Prose | Poetry | Drama |
|---|---|---|
| written in sentences | written in lines | includes a cast of characters |
| one sentence follows after another | lines are grouped together to make stanzas | divided into acts and scenes |
| sentences form paragraphs | may have rhyming words | includes scene descriptions |
| can have rhythm | has lines for the character to speak | |
| contains stage directions |
Today we learned all about drama, poetry and prose difference. We hope you have enjoyed the article and the video. You can use them now to create poetry, prose, and drama anchor chart. To see drama, and prose vs poetry examples, check out our poetry, prose, and drama worksheets, as well as poetry, prose, and drama activities.
Frequently Asked Questions about Poetry, Prose and Drama
Transcript Identifying Prose, Poetry and Playscripts
Zayd and Ari are having a difficult time deciding which section to get a book from in the library! "If only we knew how to identify prose, poetry and playscripts." It looks like Zayd and Ari need help identifying prose, poetry and playscripts. Literature can be identified as prose, poetry or playscripts. Knowing what type of literature you are reading is important because it helps organise your thoughts, retell or report and know how to read the text! First, let's take a look at features of prose. Prose is the most common writing form. Prose includes literature such as chapter books, letters and essays, to name a few examples! So, what are the features of prose? Prose is written in sentences. One sentence follows after another. Sentences form paragraphs. Zayd and Ari know what prose looks like now, so let's take a look at text features of poetry. Poetry is usually written in lines, lines are grouped together to make stanzas, some may have rhyming words and can have a rhythm. Zayd and Ari can identify poetry now, so let's look at playscripts! A playscript is written to be performed as a play. Playscripts usually look like this. So, what are the features of a playscript? Playscripts include a cast of characters, which helps you to identify the characters that are involved. Playscripts are usually divided into acts and scenes, which makes the playscript manageable for both the audience and the people performing the play. Playscripts include scene descriptions, which helps to set the scene, and allows for recreation of the setting to set the mood if you are performing the play. This is usually written in italics, and not read aloud during performance. Playscripts include lines for the characters to speak, and you never read out the name of the speaker, as the audience can see who is speaking. Finally, playscripts also include stage directions. These are written in square brackets and are also never read out loud. They give directions for the characters to follow, to add to the mood or atmosphere of the scene. Have you ever seen or read a play before? Share the name of the play in the comments! Zayd and Ari have decided they want to read a playscript, so while they find one, let's review! Remember, literature can be identified by whether it is prose, poetry, or a playscript. Prose is written in sentences, one sentence follows after another, and sentences form paragraphs. Poetry is written in lines, these are grouped together to make stanzas. They may have rhyming words and can have a rhythm. Playscripts include a cast of characters, acts and scenes, scene descriptions, lines for the characters to speak and stage directions. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks!" "Zayd, Zayd! Wherefore art thou, Zayd!"
Identifying Prose, Poetry and Playscripts exercise
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Find the sentences that are correct.
HintsAn example of prose is a story written in paragraphs.
There are 4 correct choices.
SolutionTRUE
- Literature can include prose, poetry and playscripts.
- Prose is written in sentences and paragraphs.
- Poetry is written in lines which are grouped together to create stanzas.
- Playscripts are anything written to be performed as a play.
- Poetry always uses rhyme and rhythm.
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Sort the different types of literature.
HintsA play is something that is performed by actors who learn lines.
Typically, the language of poetry tends to be more expressive or decorated, and the language of prose is more narrative.
Prose is the most common form of literature.
SolutionPROSE
- Chapter books
- Letters
- Essays
- Poems
- Plays
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Distinguish between prose, poetry and playscripts.
HintsPlayscripts are anything written to be performed as a play. So it needs to leave directions for performance details.
Prose and poetry have different names for their format of writing, although the text features may sometimes look similar.
There is one mention of prose, one mention of poetry, and three mentions of playscripts.
SolutionPROSE
- This is written with sentences, which then form paragraphs.
- This is written in lines, which are then grouped together to create stanzas.
- This is written with a cast of characters.
- This is written with stage directions.
- This is written with the character's name written before dialogue, though you do not read the name out loud.
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Identify the distinguishing characteristics of a piece of literature.
HintsHow do you know this is the first part of the play? Use this to answer question two.
Answer question 5 by identifying what is written in brackets. Brackets look like this: ( )
In this type of literature, not everything that is written is read out loud by the reader.
SolutionWe know this is a playscript because of some key characteristics.
There are acts and scenes to break up the text into sections.
There is also a scene description to help you visualise the setting and characters.
There are lines for the characters to speak. You do not read the name of the character before their line.
There are also stage directions written in brackets. These are never read out loud when the play is performed. -
What is NOT literature?
HintsNot all written text is literature. An example of a non-literary text is a shopping list.
There is one correct choice.
SolutionProse, poetry and playscripts are all types of literature.
However, some written words such as shopping lists are NOT considered literature.
A birthday card is not literature. -
Identify the type of literature and distinguishing characteristics.
HintsHat and cat, or fine and mine, are rhyming words.
An exception is when a pattern or trend changes.
Cat, mask, hat, task is a rhyming pattern where the first and third, and second and fourth words rhyme.
Cat, mask, hat, orange is a pattern with an exception, orange.The name for a group of text is different in prose and poetry. In prose a group of related sentences is called a paragraph.
Rhythm describes a tempo.
Solution1) This piece of literature is poetry.
2) We know what type of literature this is because of some distinguishing features.
This piece of literature uses a type of rhyming, where the end of the last word in the first and third lines, as well as the second and fourth, sound similar or the same.
There are exceptions to this.
3) This piece of literature has a rhythm, or beat.
4) The lines form groups, called stanzas.
