--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good sentence in prose should be like a…" description: "\"A good sentence in prose should be like a good line in poetry, unchangeable, as rhythmic, as sonorous.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/gustave-flaubert-354_lines_a-good-sentence-in-prose-should-be-like_2512817.jpg" --- # A good sentence in prose should be like a good line in… ![“A good sentence in prose should be like a good line in poetry, unchangeable, as rhythmic, as sonorous.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/gustave-flaubert-354_lines_a-good-sentence-in-prose-should-be-like_2512817.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/gustave-flaubert-354_lines_a-good-sentence-in-prose-should-be-like_2512817.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/gustave-flaubert-354_lines_a-good-sentence-in-prose-should-be-like_2512817.jpg) > “A good sentence in prose should be like a good line in poetry, unchangeable, as rhythmic, as sonorous.” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prose should possess the permanence, rhythm, and musicality of poetry, making each sentence enduring and resonant. **In simple terms:** Good prose reads like timeless poetry. Key Takeaway Write sentences that feel unchangeable and musical. Themes literature style craft Mood reflective inspired Type literary educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - editing - creative writing - teaching literature - literary criticism Key Concepts Poetics rhythm sonority Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance poetic rhythm with clear narrative? - What makes a sentence feel unchangeable? A Different Perspective Poetry’s brevity may clash with prose’s narrative needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Prose is like hair; it shines with combing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/prose-is-like-hair-it-shines-with-combing/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Give your main clause a little space. Prose is not like boxing; the skilled writer deliberately telegraphs his punch, knowing that the reader wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/give-your-main-clause-a-little-space-prose-is-not-like-boxing-the/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Prose is like this big block - you write big paragraphs. I feel that when I'm reading and writing, that a prose book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/prose-is-like-this-big-block-you-write-big-paragraphs-i-feel-that/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I don't run away from the idea of philosophy as seductive. I want the sentences to be prose but intense prose, to show that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-cavell/i-don-t-run-away-from-the-idea-of-philosophy-as-seductive-i-want-the/) [Stanley Cavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-cavell/) > [“His prose, like the thinking it reveals, is full of cloudy suggestions of something beyond the range of mere cognition. He has been given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mitchell/his-prose-like-the-thinking-it-reveals-is-full-of-cloudy-suggestions/) [Richard Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mitchell/) > [And write what you love - don't feel pressured to write serious prose if what you like is to be funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/and-write-what-you-love-don-t-feel-pressured-to-write-serious-prose/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [It is also true that one can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one's own personality. Good prose is like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-is-also-true-that-one-can-write-nothing-readable-unless-one/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [What's it take to bceome a sublime expounder of prose like yourself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlie/what-s-it-take-to-bceome-a-sublime-expounder-of-prose-like-yourself/) Carlie > [“Good prose is like a windowpane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/good-prose-is-like-a-windowpane/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Prose is like a window; fiction is like a door. But it is not uncommon that he who should come in through the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mu-xin/prose-is-like-a-window-fiction-is-like-a-door-but-it-is-not-uncommon/) [Mu Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mu-xin/) > [I wish to God,” said Gideon with mild exasperation, “that you’d talk—just once—in prose like other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-dunnett/i-wish-to-god-said-gideon-with-mild-exasperation-that-you-d-talk-just/) [Dorothy Dunnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-dunnett/) > [I know what a good sentence looks like. I read a lot, so I know what reads well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-g/i-know-what-a-good-sentence-looks-like-i-read-a-lot-so-i-know-what/) [Alex G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-g/) > [I love writing. I don't claim to be great at it. Occasionally I get a good sentence off. But I love the activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-love-writing-i-don-t-claim-to-be-great-at-it-occasionally-i-get-a/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [“to know your true value in a state brings forth good intentions and value into that which is Now for you. And this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marie-bergman/to-know-your-true-value-in-a-state-brings-forth-good-intentions-and/) [Catherine Marie Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marie-bergman/) > [“All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery. Writing a book is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/all-writers-are-vain-selfish-and-lazy-and-at-the-very-bottom-of-their-4/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. 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Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Lines quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. 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It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/) > [If life were like a competitive race, some people would be given a flying start and others would line up with weights tied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/if-life-were-like-a-competitive-race-some-people-would-be-given-a/) [Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/) > [When you're the director and the writer, you never have to remember your lines, and there's no one to call you on it. 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