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.

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polyphonic prose British  

noun

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

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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

Her most ambitious attempt in polyphonic prose is Guns as Keys: and the Great Gate Swings, whereof the title is like a trumpet fanfare.

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

A good many of the poems in this book are written in "polyphonic prose".

From Men, Women and Ghosts by Lowell, Amy

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