Difference between Poetry, Prose and Verse?

Magdalen

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Norman D Gutter

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Another distinction that has historically been made between poetry and verse is one of quality. It is said that the best stuff is poetry, the not so good stuff is verse. As Macaulay said in his essay on Milton: "By poetry we mean, not, of course, all writing in verse, nor even all good writing in verse. Our definition excludes many metrical compositions which, on other grounds, deserve the highest praise. By poetry we mean, the art of employing words in such a manner as to produce an illusion on the imagination, the art of doing by means of words what the painter does by means of colors."

I don't really make a distinction between poetry and verse, though I'm probably outside the norm in that.

NDG