purple prose

noun

1. writing that calls attention to itself because of its obvious use of certain effects, as exaggerated sentiment or pathos, especially in an attempt to enlist or manipulate the reader's sympathies.

purple prose

1. Writing full of ornate or flowery language. Ornate, flowery speech can also be referred to as purple prose.

Example Sentences

Lee, being Lee, believes otherwise, spurred on by his discovery of pages of purple prose that Dale hid inside his Jim Thompson crime pulps.

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"I wasn't shocked by the quality of the writing, but I was blown away by the sheer weight of purple prose, and just the shimmering wondrousness of my dad's ability with the written word," says Saul.

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The term “purple prose” stretches back to circa 18 B.C. and the “Ars Poetica” of Horace, according to Charles Harrington Elster in his 2005 book, “What in the Word?”

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Generally speaking, purple prose came to mean writing that is laden with flowery descriptors and/or an oppressive structure with no real payoff to a reader.

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“Purple prose doesn’t seem to have become wholly pejorative until the 20th century when steep declines in the vocabulary and reading comprehension of college-educated Americans caused a panic in the education establishment and the newspaper industry,” Elster wrote.

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