What does purple mean? (as in "purple prose")

[KikiteNeko]

I've heard the word "purple" used to describe literature from time to time, and I could never figure out what it means. I googled, I wikied, I dictionaried. Even my former writing professor had no idea.

[Robert Toy]

I've heard the word "purple" used to describe literature from time to time, and I could never figure out what it means. I googled, I wikied, I dictionaried. Even my former writing professor had no idea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_prose

[dpaterso]

Purple prose = melodramatic, needlessly overblown.

Emelia touched her pale fluttering hand to her forehead and cried, "Oh nay, nay, a thousand times nay!" But still, the kettle would not boil any faster.

...Damn you, Wikipedia! A thousand times damn you!

-Derek

[Mel]

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulwer-Lytton_Fiction_Contest)

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

[Devil Ledbetter]

When the writer starts describing the filigreed lacework that blossomed around the ruptured skin of roast potatoes that have nothing to do with the plot, you know he's hopelessly lost in purpleville.

[Maryn]

Or potatoes have become a sexual object to the writer.

[KikiteNeko]

Nice! That reminds me of a critique someone in my lit. class once gave on T.S Eliots "The Love Song of Alfred J. Profrock" about how the shriveled cranberries in his pocket were symbolic of impotence. It was a five minute speech.


When the writer starts describing the filigreed lacework that blossomed around the ruptured skin of roast potatoes that have nothing to do with the plot, you know he's hopelessly lost in purpleville.

[Bufty]

:Shrug: Oh, come on. BS. You've been through University. Your prof didn't know and your classmates didn't know and...what... you waited till now to find out?

I've heard the word "purple" used to describe literature from time to time, and I could never figure out what it means. I googled, I wikied, I dictionaried. Even my former writing professor had no idea.

[jst5150]

To add personal experience to this, a publisher recently told me I had some purple passages in my manuscript. So, I took my own measurement and called a few friends, and decided it's a little purple and I probably need to make a tweak here and there. However, I'd also chalk it up to the style.

I would think that definition -- except in egregious cases -- would vary from head to head. So, grain of salt and perspective before you go chewing up your WIP with a red pen.

[Devil Ledbetter]

To add personal experience to this, a publisher recently told me I had some purple passages in my manuscript. So, I took my own measurement and called a few friends, and decided it's a little purple and I probably need to make a tweak here and there. However, I'd also chalk it up to the style.

I would think that definition -- except in egregious cases -- would vary from head to head. So, grain of salt and perspective before you go chewing up your WIP with a red pen.Oh, absolutely. The filigreed lacework potatoes are in the much ballyhooed Atonement. There's a huge market for purple, apparently.

*Disclaimer* Atonement is shaping up to be a pretty good story despite the prose being dipped in a vat of Gentian Violet.

[KikiteNeko]

Not a university. A small liberal arts college. But no, my professor, when I emailed her, had no idea. I have no idea if my classmates knew. I didn't hear the term until after I'd graduated. The term commonly passed around was "flowery" which seems about the same thing based on these comments.


:Shrug: Oh, come on. BS. You've been through University. Your prof didn't know and your classmates didn't know and...what... you waited till now to find out?

[KikiteNeko]

Huh. You know, after hearing all these definitions, I'm a little surprised nobody's ever called some of my writing purple. I've been guilty of dipping into "potato" tirades myself.

To add personal experience to this, a publisher recently told me I had some purple passages in my manuscript. So, I took my own measurement and called a few friends, and decided it's a little purple and I probably need to make a tweak here and there. However, I'd also chalk it up to the style.

I would think that definition -- except in egregious cases -- would vary from head to head. So, grain of salt and perspective before you go chewing up your WIP with a red pen.

[hammerklavier]

You didn't get to my favorite part where, "suddenly, a shot rang out."

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulwer-Lytton_Fiction_Contest)

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

[KikiteNeko]

There's actually a novel by Madeleine L'Engle, which I quite enjoyed, that began with "It was a dark and stormy night."

One paragraph, by itself.

But I think she's a phenemonal writer of YA, so it worked for me.


You didn't get to my favorite part where, "suddenly, a shot rang out."

[HeronW]

using purple prose for one character then the next one goes 'yeah, right' can work quite nicely :}

[dpaterso]

There's actually a novel by Madeleine L'Engle, which I quite enjoyed, that began with "It was a dark and stormy night."

One paragraph, by itself.

But I think she's a phenemonal writer of YA, so it worked for me.
I dare say that's intentional use of the infamous Bulwer-Lytton opening line. Risky for newbies, maybe. Pro author with big following gets away with it.

"Somewhere, an owl hooted." I actually wrote that. The critiques it received bit deep, deep I say.

-Derek

[KikiteNeko]

I think L'Engle is pretty popular with the YA scene. The book was "A Wrinkle in Time" and it went on to have three sequels and a made-for-TV movie. I ate it up. ;)


I dare say that's intentional use of the infamous Bulwer-Lytton opening line. Risky for newbies, maybe. Pro author with big following gets away with it.

"Somewhere, an owl hooted." I actually wrote that. The critiques it received bit deep, deep I say.

-Derek

[Bufty]

Maybe it was dark and one of the fellows had capacious breeches!

Owls are clever creatures.



"Somewhere, an owl hooted." I actually wrote that. The critiques it received bit deep, deep I say.

-Derek

[JimmyB27]

Purple is a marriage, a union. The coming together of the fiery, bloody passion of the red, and the placid, oceanlike calm of the blue. A union of anger and serenity, producing a marvellous hue of untold depth.


And that's purple. :D

[KikiteNeko]

"It was a dark and stormy owl."

Maybe it was dark and one of the fellows had capacious breeches!

Owls are clever creatures.

[jst5150]

There's always the notion, too, that if the prose is purple, perhaps the writer hasn't been exposed to enough education or other writings to offer a different vantage point.

For example, if someone grows up with network TV and movies as a primary influence, rather thaqn delving into examining real relationship,s how conversations move, body english and all that, then the chance for purple prose goes up faster than a Dick Rutan rocket.

However, if the person gets an immersion of things, then the language will be a result of that. And then the writer can make a choice to be "purple."

Again, I think the question of "purple" is about headspace and markets. If you intended that writing to be the way it is, then find the write market and sell it.

Finally, an addendum that seems to fit here: I used to write a lot of things I wanted to write. I had no druthers one what market they would touch and didn't care. However, a friend of mine once said, "Look, why are you wasting your time. if you can't sell it, why write it. It's wasted energy when you could be focused on getting your stuff on the shelves."

And I agree with most of that. Sometimes, you've got to just write something. And if it's "purple," so what? You've said what you wanted to say. However, the move to markets immediately brings up the notion of writing as commerce and I think the rules have to be changed to fit into the morass of publishing opportunities that exist.

[KikiteNeko]

I just finished this novel entitled "The Life Before Her Eyes" by Laura Kasichke (sp?). The first 3/4 of the novel are just the main character driving her daughter to and from school, and spying on the neighbors. I think about three days of just this passed within the story.

Again, I think the question of "purple" is about headspace and markets. If you intended that writing to be the way ti is, then find the write market and sell it.

[BlueLucario]

Hehe *Guilty* Purple prosing is when you mindlessly overdescribe things irrelevant to the plot. You describe every nook and cranny of a single object, like a mug of coffee the MC is drinking from. You tell the readers about what's on the cup, how big it is. and how many chips there are. He goes on and on and on for about five pages. Imagine yourself reading a novel, would you really care what the MC's mug of coffee looks like or if it's a decaf? This is the parts where readers tend to skip, which is bad. If there's anything there that the reader needs to know in between useless detail and gets confused in the end, the writer is as good as screwed when he puts that book down.


May I post some excerpts from my old drafts? I have to find them.

Examples of purple prosing: (Ehehehehe)


Solana went to the refrigerator at the other side of the kitchen. She opened the door on the right. She poured the orange juice from the pitcher into the glass cup, and handed it to me. I looked into the cup of orange juice and saw something lumpy, there seems to be some foreign material inside.I turned to where the voice is coming from. It was Solana and another girl who had long scarlet hair just like Solana’s in a kitchen. I walked inside the kitchen where the girl sat at a circular wooden table that was near a corner of the kitchen. The table had a large plate with a layer of pancakes on a plate and a bottle of maple syrup sitting there. I gagged at the odor of burnt food. The sink next to me was piled with dirty dishes. There were shards of broken glass on the white tile floors. I almost stepped on them, while I was still barefoot. Solana was near an oven holding a silver metal spatula, jumping and shrieking hysterically trying to put out the flames that bloomed from the stove just a second ago. I sat at the table where the girl sat. I gazed at her for a moment. The girl looked back at me and grinned.

Aiyana looked at her mother and nodded. She got up off her chair and left the kitchen. Now my attention is drawn to Solana, who smiled at me, placed some pancakes on the plate in front of me and said,

“Please eat some pancakes, they’re really tasty. I don’t want you to go hungry. I’ll give you a fork and a glass of orange juice.”

Solana handed me a silver metal fork, with four prongs and the flower design carved on the brown wooden handle. She also grasped the bottle of maple syrup and poured its sticky brown contents on the plate of pancakes. I looked down and stared at it.

“Hmm,” said Solana. “It seems that you have never tasted pancakes before. Just cut a piece off and eat it.

I looked up at Solana once more, remembering what Aiyana told me earlier, that she isn’t always the best cook. I assumed that these pancakes of hers would not taste very pleasant. I found Solana as a very kind person and the last thing I want to do is offend her. With my assumption set aside, I grabbed the fork that was previously placed on the table, Cut off a piece of the pancake and placed it into my open mouth. My bottom jaw made contact with my upper one, while moving in a clockwise position. The food was soft and tasted sugary. While eating it I had this pleasant feeling, I assumed that the pancakes would taste horrible, but it was the opposite. I looked up at Solana again and smiled. Solana smiled back at me.





I confess. I had one of these. This is one of my old drafts. I found this funny.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AscVbpfCDrgW621xxygtZ9Hty6IX;_ylv=3?qid =20071106111110AAOy033

. I found Solana as a very kind person and the last thing I want to do is offend her. With my assumption set aside, I grabbed the fork that was previously placed on the table, Cut off a piece of the pancake and placed it into my open mouth. My bottom jaw made contact with my upper one, while moving in a clockwise position. The food was soft and tasted sugary



Purple prosing tends to annoy and bore readers, and it limits their imagination. It also shows the reader that the writer is trying too hard to make a good story, and he's a freaking control freak. He's trying to make the reader imagine what he wants to imagine, which is again a bit annoying.




There was this purple prosing that made me lose my lunch. I was critiquing a story and this guy starts his story purple prosing a woman taking a shower.

Don't purple prose naked people it's totally gross.

[Bufty]

Blue, I think what you are touching upon is plain over-description.

Purple prose is the 'manner' of over-description - the use of overly colourful words.

[BlueLucario]

Hehe, I could be wrong ^_^.

[dpaterso]

Solana went to the refrigerator at the other side of the kitchen. She opened the door on the right. She poured the orange juice from the pitcher into the glass cup, and handed it to me. I looked into the cup of orange juice and saw something lumpy, there seems to be some foreign material inside.I turned to where the voice is coming from. It was Solana and another girl who had long scarlet hair just like Solana’s in a kitchen. I walked inside the kitchen where the girl sat at a circular wooden table that was near a corner of the kitchen. The table had a large plate with a layer of pancakes on a plate and a bottle of maple syrup sitting there. I gagged at the odor of burnt food. The sink next to me was piled with dirty dishes. There were shards of broken glass on the white tile floors. I almost stepped on them, while I was still barefoot. Solana was near an oven holding a silver metal spatula, jumping and shrieking hysterically trying to put out the flames that bloomed from the stove just a second ago. I sat at the table where the girl sat. I gazed at her for a moment. The girl looked back at me and grinned.
This feels like overwriting. How much info does the reader really need to know? What can be removed or shrunk without affecting the scene? Also, the cut between reality and what your character sees in a vision (?) isn't clear at all. I'm just saying. Back to purple prose.

-Derek

[AZ_Dawn]

You didn't get to my favorite part where, "suddenly, a shot rang out."
I got that reference! Snoopy smiley ahoy!:snoopy:

[bluntforcetrauma]

:Shrug: Oh, come on. BS. You've been through University. Your prof didn't know and your classmates didn't know and...what... you waited till now to find out?

I've been to college and never knew until now.

[bluntforcetrauma]

"Somewhere, an owl hooted." I actually wrote that.

:roll::roll::roll::roll::roll:

[BlueLucario]

This feels like overwriting. How much info does the reader really need to know? What can be removed or shrunk without affecting the scene? Also, the cut between reality and what your character sees in a vision (?) isn't clear at all. I'm just saying. Back to purple prose.

-Derek


I told you this an extremely old draft. This as nothing to do with visions an all that. I'm just showing how I over described.

[hammerklavier]

I told you this an extremely old draft. This as nothing to do with visions an all that. I'm just showing how I over described.

The funny thing about it was how your character noticed the most distressing things last: almost stepping on the glass and the fire.

[julie thorpe]

The high school teacher who taught me about purple prose also warned against 'fine writing' (striving too hard for clever effect, designed to impress how clever and erudite the writer is) but I have never seen it referred to since. Has anyone else?

[KikiteNeko]

I had a professor, and have a friend, who refer to "fine" writing as a compliment. Like, carefully and deftly written.

The high school teacher who taught me about purple prose also warned against 'fine writing' (striving too hard for clever effect, designed to impress how clever and erudite the writer is) but I have never seen it referred to since. Has anyone else?

[Danger Jane]

I think those two definitions of "fine" are just different. One is...well, the writer trying to impress readers with how clever and erudite he is, and the other is simply...fine writing. Superior.

[donroc]

Turgid.

[KikiteNeko]

Grandiloquent.

Turgid.

[Xeen]

I haven't read what everybody else has said, but in the lovely world of magic and metaphysical type stuffs, purple is a highly spiritual color. I could go into detail, but you may be bored by it :-p

*ETA* Oh wait... you weren't asking what the color means... whoops :-p

[maestrowork]

Oh, absolutely. The filigreed lacework potatoes are in the much ballyhooed Atonement. There's a huge market for purple, apparently.

*Disclaimer* Atonement is shaping up to be a pretty good story despite the prose being dipped in a vat of Gentian Violet.

Michael Chabon is notoriously "purple" according to some people's view, and he's one of the best writers we have (IMHO) of this generation.

Personally I think "purpleness" doesn't just mean overuse of adjectives or ornate passages, but the badly done, overstuffed descriptions with overly flowery adjectives that have nothing to do with anything except to make your eyes bleed.

[KikiteNeko]

Just goes to show writers should take critiques with a grain of salt. There are how many published books in the world? And how many people? Not every book can please every reader, even within a genre.

Michael Chabon is notoriously "purple" according to some people's view, and he's one of the best writers we have (IMHO) of this generation.

Personally I think "purpleness" doesn't just mean overuse of adjectives or ornate passages, but the badly done, overstuffed descriptions with overly flowery adjectives that have nothing to do with anything except to make your eyes bleed.

[Bufty]

Critiques should always be considered, salt-free, even though they may be rejected.

Just goes to show writers should take critiques with a grain of salt. There are how many published books in the world? And how many people? Not every book can please every reader, even within a genre.

[KikiteNeko]

I meant critiques for published books.

Critiques should always be considered, salt-free, even though they may be rejected.