polyphonic prose

American  

noun

1. prose characterized by the use of poetic devices, as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, etc., and especially by an emphasis on rhythm not strictly metered.

---

polyphonic prose British  

noun

1. a rhythmically free prose employing poetic devices, such as assonance and alliteration

---

Etymology

Origin of polyphonic prose

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

The sophomore novel marked the arrival of an intuitive stylist gifted at polyphonic prose.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

To be sure, the first one, The Hotel, is in a kind of polyphonic prose, but it is not at all a fair sample of the contents.

From The Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth Century by Phelps, William Lyon

There is everything in fact except polyphonic prose, and although I am afraid she loves her experiments in that form, they are the portion of her complete works that I could most willingly let die.

From The Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth Century by Phelps, William Lyon

Apart from the interesting experiments in free verse or polyphonic prose, the short story in America is at a low ebb.

From The Best Short Stories of 1917 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story by O'Brien, Edward J. (Edward Joseph Harrington)

Compared with him Bach seems a maker of solid polyphonic prose, Beethoven a scooper of stars, a master of growling storms, Mozart a weaver of gay tapestries, Schumann a divine stammerer.

From Chopin : the Man and His Music by Huneker, James