LITERARY TEXT IN PROSE

A text is a coherent set of statements that forms a unit of meaning and that has
communicative intent (it intends to transmit a message). The literary, for its part, is
linked to literature , which is the set of knowledge to read and write well.
The literary text is one that uses literary language, a type of language that pursues
a certain aesthetic goal to capture the interest of the reader. The author of
literature looks for the right words to express his ideas in a refined manner and
according to a certain style criterion.

Many and varied are the characteristics that identify a literary text. However,
among all of them we could highlight the following:

Aesthetic communicative intention. By this what we mean is that its function is to

create a work of art, hence its purpose is artistic and not practical.

Own world. Whether the references used by the writer of literary texts are real or
not, what is clear is that he advocates creating and developing a world in which the
reader will fully immerse himself when he begins to read them.

Originality. Completely unpublished is that text that is born from the mind of an
author willing to tell his audience a story.

In addition to all of the above, we cannot ignore the existence of a great variety of
types of literary texts. In this way, among them the following stand out:

Tale. Brief, fictitious and with few characters is that one.

Novel. The origin of this type of text is found in Antiquity, which is one of the most
important in Literature and is divided into a multitude of genres.

Legends, literary texts based on real events and adorned with fantasy.

Poetry. In verse and rhyme. This is how one that appeals to feelings is presented.

Fable. Creating a moral and making the reader learn a lesson is what this type of
literary text basically aims to achieve, which is brief, fictitious and can be written in
prose or verse.

The aesthetics of the literary text will depend on the author himself and can be
achieved through various linguistic resources and literary techniques. Among these
resources we must mention grammatical resources (through the addition,
suppression or repetition of structures), semantic resources (through the alteration
of the meaning of words, such as metaphor or metonymy) and phonic resources
(plays with the meanings of words). words ).
For example: “If you drink, don't drive. Take care of your family” is an informative
text that transmits a message but without any aesthetic intention. On the other
hand, a text like “If a cup of seductive nectar crosses your path, graciously thank
and reject the treat, since said substance may have been prepared by the devil
himself to put the existence of your loved ones at risk” It is literary: the message is
comparable to the previous one in terms of content, but the language used is very
different.

This example highlights how the type of text depends on the communicative
intention. It makes no sense to adorn a text with language games or fancy words if
you want to clearly reach as many readers as possible.

Literary text and informational text

An informative text is known as one whose predominant function is informative,

that is, communicating, transmitting or explaining information. As such, the
language function that is active in an informative text is referential or
representative, that is, one where the sender elaborates messages that are related
to their environment or to objects external to the communicative act. It is the usual
type of text in news media, such as newspapers or magazines. In this sense, it
differs from the literary text, which is not driven by the need to inform, but rather
focuses on the message itself, and that it is constructed with beauty to transmit
sensations, feelings and emotions.

Literary text and non-literary text

We can differentiate the nature of a text by establishing an opposition between

literary texts and non-literary texts. In this sense, literary texts are those that adapt
to the textual nature of genres such as narrative, poetry, theater or essay, where
the aesthetic function of language predominates. For their part, non-literary texts
include an immense variety of writings that are governed by other functions, such
as informative, referential, or conative, and that are motivated by other intentions,
such as transmitting information, disseminating knowledge, establishing
regulations, advertise, etc.

PROSE

Prose is a mode of natural expression of language that, unlike poetry , is not

subject to specific versification and rhyme. That said, it is important to clarify that
there are different types of prose, and some border more on poetic language than
others. For example, literary prose is more similar to verse than colloquial prose or
scientific prose, which, although the latter is cultured, has an informative rather
than an artistic purpose.

Types of Prose

Objects, people, places, feelings are presented, using concrete details. The
description reveals the perception that the author has through his five senses.
The description
It is prose that presents a story, exposes an event or a series of facts.
The narration
It is “prose that presents and explains ideas, subjects and arguments, clarifies
purposes and shows organization.”
The exhibition
Examples of prose narrative:
The novel
It is a fictional narrative or one with real aspects whose purpose is to cause
aesthetic pleasure to readers. It can be classified according to its theme as:
picaresque, historical, police, psychological, youth, black, pirates...
The story
It is also a fictional narrative, simple in nature and short in length. The topics it
addresses are very varied: popular, traditional, children's... Generally, the narrative
outline of the story is rectilinear, with few characters and a predictable ending.
The legend
Brief narrative of fantastic events that have the imaginative and mysterious mixed
with the historical or true.
It is prose that presents facts, problems, and reasoning in accordance with an
opinion, which is usually that of the author. In general it is possible to determine the
following four elements:
a) Analysis or, at least, presentation of a problem.
b) Presentation of facts and discussions that constitute the basis of the argument.
c) Proposition of a solution or thesis and its development through the presentation
of facts and logical arguments.
d) criticism of other solutions or alternative theses.
The Argument
Types of Text with Basic Prose :
Colloquial.-
It is an unelaborated speech, expressed mainly orally.
Elaborated non-literary.-
This definition covers all forms of prose that, regardless of their degree of
complexity, have not been created with literary intentions (as occurs with scientific,
journalistic, essayistic, oratory, popularization and legal prose).
Elaborated literary.-
All artistic prose, whether poetic, theatrical or narrative, is included in this
classification, since it is created with literary intent.

Text 1

On the lonely path the two men from the town met at sunset. They were coming in
opposite directions. One was returning from taking a look at his vines, which were
beginning to sprout; The other had attended, rather curiously, the torture of a
certain Yesúa of Nazareth, and was coming down from the mountain to enter the
city before the gates and chains were closed.

Text 2

The next night the young engineer returned to the Casino and saw again the one
who was playing thousands of pesetas, smiling, and the other who was peeling the
acorns. Only this one, always with religious attention, peeled the acorns while
watching the game, standing next to the bench table. The bald man with the fat
veins had them more swollen than other times.

Luis went to the Plazuela. One desire made him hurry: to find the singer's
recreation. And he breathed, as soon as he turned the corner of the convent. The
balcony was ajar, like last night, and the piano was playing.

The delight made him forget to smoke. Some times he walked, other times he
stopped - always near the fence. The lady, the girl, the blonde, the single...
whatever! He sang with vigor and subtleties torn by passion that flew trembling
through the night and through the soul like crystal swords... like lit daggers...

If this woman was in the habit of distracting herself in such a way at this hour, he,
the boring stranger, was completely saved. I would come to hear it, at eleven
o'clock, until twelve o'clock.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF NARRATIVE TEXT

There are several characteristics that stand out in narrative writing that are not
present in other writing styles, such as technical prose or dialogue. Each aspect of
narrative texts offers its own advantages and disadvantages in the context of
narration or the simple expression of information. By knowing these narrative
characteristics and perfecting your narrative writing skills, you will be able to write a
narrative text successfully. Additionally, knowing the pros and cons of helps you
decide the correct style of narrative for your current writing project.