Needs Help: Purple Prose

A number of issues worth a look:

1. Shouldn't this be YMMV? It's evident that people's tolerance levels for purple prose vary. I understand most of the unquestionaly purple ones are those with overly elaborate metaphors, but I've seen some very mild examples here and there.
2. The page's tone mixes purple prose with Antiquated Linguistics, to quite a large extent. Will this be confusing? Is it necessary to write the entire description in purple prose?
3. I suggest we make the "elaborate prose done inappropriately" aspect clearer.

Additionally, I have seen bits of complaining here and there the last time I read the page—the usual "I don't understand it, therefore it's bad and the author is insincere in its writing" kind, bordering on Anti-Intellectualism. Maybe it's not there anymore, but it's not that much anyway and is a problem for the trope outside the wiki as well.

The words above are to be read as if they are narrated by Morgan Freeman.

I started a thread in trope talk awhile back asking a similar question.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_prose

• Purple prose is a term of literary criticism used to describe passages, or sometimes entire literary works, written in prose so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw attention to itself. Purple prose is sensually evocative beyond the requirements of its context. It also refers to writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment or pathos in an attempt to manipulate a reader's response.
• Modern critics use "purple prose" to refer to any writing that is undermined by its over-stylized and formulaic nature. Many pulp genres have become infamous for excesses of purple prose, including romance, mystery, and adventure; likewise, in journalism, the term is often used to refer to writing that places tone and emotional heft over factual reporting.

So, basically this is a literay criticism trope. I'm not to familiar with how we deal with them.

We defintatly need this page, and under its current title given that it is a pre-existing term widely used in media. And certainly there are times where authors deliberatly employ the trope.

However, more often then not, this seems to be a case of making a judgement about the quality of writing. Therefore, it is rather iffy as to whether or not this is always be treated as an objective trope.

Literary criticism or not, it does seem to be subjective, or, semi-objective in the way that there are some vague consensus on the threshold—in which case we shouldn't trust some random troper making quick judgement sans-references anyway.

The words above are to be read as if they are narrated by Morgan Freeman.

We have an index for Criticism Tropes, if that helps.

Rhymes with "Protracted."

Clocking due to lack of activity.

Waiting on a TRS slot? Finishing off one of these cleaning efforts will usually open one up.

Ah. All right.

I vote to make it a YMMV page, since different people have different purple tolerance.

The words above are to be read as if they are narrated by Morgan Freeman.

I agree to YMMV: while everyone may agree on, say, 20% of examples, there's another 80% that may be "purple" to one person and appropriately verbose to another. On a wiki, where we're trying to avoid natter, flames, etc., it's probably best to just quarantine it.

I'M A HOUSEWIFE!

Purple Prose is about the writing, not the audience's reaction to it.

Are you sure? Normally, that alone doesn't make something YMMV.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

Yeah but there is no formula to calculate whether prose is Purple or not. All we have is some person's opinion on it, so that's where YMMV comes into the picture.

Please try and tell me, with a straight face, that this post I've just made right here is Purple Prose.

See, you can't do it.

It's really not that subjective.

edited 9th May '12 9:08:43 PM by troacctid

Rhymes with "Protracted."

Uh-uh, that's just Word Cruft.

To properly attain the bellicosity of Purple Prose, one must endeavor not merely to make use of words which are, strictly speaking, unnecessary, but rather more importantly to employ terminology both unusually verbose and needlessly complex. Furthermore, the most exemplary instances of the aforementioned will as a rule ensure that any and all adjectives appearing in the body of text in question be a deal more descriptive than might otherwise be warranted by dint of what is by any appearances being espoused or otherwise disseminated.

But on topic, I agree that Purple Prose is rather subjective. Or at least noticing it is*

. There are things which are definitely purple, and things which are definitely not, but there's a gray area in the middle.

edited 9th May '12 9:52:29 PM by Nocturna

Of course it's not entirely subjective, but there's enough grey area to make it YMMV or something to that effect.

And for me, that is not purple prose, but rather Antiquated Linguistics-cum-Expospeak Gag. Or something. Purple prose is more like, "Enraged Filia, noticing a looming of asphyxiating confusion over the crowd of brethrens, had his (her?) heart stirred with lament. He sees with his weary pearls of vision a hurly-burly, bullied by the violent tickings of the clock—the honourable ccoa had visited the proceedings, her face cherry red with stern authority, and dictated that the congregation's time for the eternal message-board sleep is nigh. He adjusted his cloak and raised a voice so serene yet rich in wisdom and understanding, attempting to aid with a purple-writer impersonation. His brethrens listened as words escaped his lips like a royal fowl escaping a fowl-cage-thing."

edited 9th May '12 11:45:04 PM by Catalogue

The words above are to be read as if they are narrated by Morgan Freeman.

x4

It's a sliding scale alright? One end is Beige Prose and one end is Purple Prose. Telling each end apart is obvious, but where the cut-off between "somewhat laconic" and Beige Prose or "somewhat flowery" and Purple Prose happens is YMMV.

edited 10th May '12 5:38:51 AM by peccantis

That's my understanding of it as well.

The words above are to be read as if they are narrated by Morgan Freeman.

There's a Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes too, but that doesn't mean Anti-Hero needs a YMMV banner. *shrug*

Rhymes with "Protracted."

That's a bad comparison since both ends of that scale are Anti Heroes, just different flavours.

Sliding Scale of Endings then. Whatever.

Rhymes with "Protracted."

Those sliding scales are well-defined, unlike purple/beige prose. There's nothing in between apart from interpretation.

The words above are to be read as if they are narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Also, there are a lot of Ending Tropes on that page, while there aren't a whole lot of names for prose that falls between the purple and the beige. It seems like a sliding scale page would do pretty much the same thing the two pages are doing now, plus describing the relationship between them.

Are we going to do anything here, or can this be locked?

Waiting on a TRS slot? Finishing off one of these cleaning efforts will usually open one up.

I guess we should do a crowner to make this YMMV?

edited 12th Jun '12 3:37:02 PM by abk0100

Crownered up.

Waiting on a TRS slot? Finishing off one of these cleaning efforts will usually open one up.

guess not

Perhaps make a Sliding Scale Of Prose Colour? :P