--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The flesh of prose gets its shape and…" description: "\"The flesh of prose gets its shape and strength from the bones of grammar.\" — Constance Hale" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/constance-hale-32277_bones_the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-st_1968179.png" --- # The flesh of prose gets its shape and strength from the… ![“The flesh of prose gets its shape and strength from the bones of grammar.” quote by Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/constance-hale-32277_bones_the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-st_1968179.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/constance-hale-32277_bones_the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-st_1968179.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/constance-hale-32277_bones_the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-st_1968179.png) > “The flesh of prose gets its shape and strength from the bones of grammar.” [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grammar provides the structural bones that give prose its shape and strength, much like a skeleton supports a body. **In simple terms:** Grammar is the skeleton of prose. Key Takeaway Strengthen prose with solid grammar. Themes grammar structure writing strength Mood analytical educational Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - editing essays - teaching writing - building narratives Key Concepts syntactic foundation literary anatomy Questions to Reflect On - How does grammar shape meaning? - When should rules be broken? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on rules can stifle creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grammar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When prose gets too stylized and out of control - and Stein is sometimes a good example - when you don't know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/when-prose-gets-too-stylized-and-out-of-control-and-stein-is/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Prose gets divided up into fiction and nonfiction and short fiction and long fiction and autobiographical nonfiction and so on. 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White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [Spell check bails me out on the constant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-yvars/spell-check-bails-me-out-on-the-constant/) Daniel Yvars > [A pronoun, too, will aptly reflect the number of its antecedent: "they" does not refer to one person, no matter how many personalities she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elizabeth-gordon/a-pronoun-too-will-aptly-reflect-the-number-of-its-antecedent-they/) [Karen Elizabeth Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elizabeth-gordon/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [We have even done a weekend on Japanese grammar! 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What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/a-sentence-can-offer-a-moment-of-quiet-it-can-crackle-with-energy-or/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [Writers today must navigate the shifting verbal currents of the post-Gutenberg era. When does jargon end and a new vernacular begin? Where's the line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/writers-today-must-navigate-the-shifting-verbal-currents-of-the-post/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [I’m a sucker for this stuff. The @ is called chiocciola (snail) in Italian! The & was once taught as a letter of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/i-m-a-sucker-for-this-stuff-the-is-called-chiocciola-snail-in-italian/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [Some of the worst writing around suffers from inert verbs and the unintended use of the passive voice. Yet the passive voice remains an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/some-of-the-worst-writing-around-suffers-from-inert-verbs-and-the/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [Over the course of several articles, I will give you the tools to become a sentence connoisseur as well as a sentence artisan. Each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/over-the-course-of-several-articles-i-will-give-you-the-tools-to/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [Be bold. Be fast. Get to the point right away. The best email communication is simple and clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/be-bold-be-fast-get-to-the-point-right-away-the-best-email/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [Voice is the je ne sais quoi of spirited writing. 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By using some subtle devices, a narrator can reach out to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/in-writing-the-connection-between-storyteller-and-audience-is-just-as/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) > [Verbose is not a synonym for literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/verbose-is-not-a-synonym-for-literary/) [Constance Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) [Explore all 15 Constance Hale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/) ## More Bones quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! 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I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [Flesh forgets. Bone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-bass/flesh-forgets-bone-remembers/) [Jefferson Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-bass/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [Death and burial were a public spectacle. 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To set your wisdom (holding not a doubt of it./ Although in truth there's neither bone nor skin to it)/ At work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/review-v-t-to-set-your-wisdom-holding-not-a-doubt-of-it-although-in/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [When I look at the human brain I'm still in awe of it. 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Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) Browse all 2,113 Bones quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The flesh of prose gets its shape and strength from the bones of grammar.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Constance Hale" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-strength-from-the-bones-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bones" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-strength-from-the-bones-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/constance-hale-32277_bones_the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-st_1968179.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/constance-hale-32277_bones_the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-st_1968179.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/constance-hale-32277_bones_the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-st_1968179.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The flesh of prose gets its shape and strength from the bones of grammar.” — Constance Hale", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Constance Hale", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-hale/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The flesh of prose gets its...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-strength-from-the-bones-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-hale/the-flesh-of-prose-gets-its-shape-and-strength-from-the-bones-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```