descriptive prose
Detailed narrative language
Descriptive prose is writing that emphasizes vivid, sensory detail—painting scenes, settings, or objects with careful attention to how things look, sound, feel, smell, or taste.
The term distinguishes such passages from narrative (which moves action forward) or expository prose (which explains or argues).
The novel's descriptive prose brought Victorian London to life.
- short storyBrief prose fiction
- essayShort argumentative prose work
- visual imageryMind's eye pictures
- word paintingMusic that illustrates lyrics
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
show don't tell · novel · onomatopoeia · sensory detail · narrative fiction · literary fiction · personification · local color · sense of place · scene-setting · atmospheric writing · nature writing · satire · alliteration · turn of phrase · creative nonfiction · hyperbole · soundscapes
- descriptiondetail, vivid imagery, sensory detail, particulars, specifics
- literary stylelyricism, diction, eloquence, word choice, narrative voice
- literary stylespastoral, satirical, lyrical, epistolary, literary fiction
- Victorian literatureDickens, Charles Dickens, Victorian novel, Victorian literature, Victorian novels
descriptive prosepoetry
Metrical literary composition
verse · lyric poetry · blank verse · free verse · song lyrics
descriptive prosepersuasive writing
Prose aimed at convincing
polemic · analytical writing · technical writing · manifesto · editorial
descriptive prosedialogue
Spoken exchange between parties
narrative summary · dramatic action · direct discourse · stream of consciousness · interior monologue