Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting.
Prose uses writing conventions and formatting that may highlight meaning—for instance, the use of a new paragraph for a new speaker in a novel—but does not follow any special rhythmic or other artistic structure.
Sometimes, these differences are transparent to those using the languages; linguists studying extremely literal transcripts for conversation analysis see them, but ordinary language-users are unaware of them.
[3] It was the lingua franca among literate Europeans until quite recent times, and the great works of Descartes (1596–1650), Francis Bacon (1561–1626), and Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) were published in Latin.
Latin's role was replaced by French from the 17th.- to the mid-20th century, i.e. until the uptake of English: Prose usually lacks the more formal metrical structure of the verses found in traditional poetry.
[5] American novelist Truman Capote, in an interview, commented as follows on prose style: I believe a story can be wrecked by a faulty rhythm in a sentence— especially if it occurs toward the end—or a mistake in paragraphing, even punctuation.