Prose is the ordinary form of spoken or written language. Prose does not have a metrical structure or formal arrangement. Prose is not organized according to rhythm or meter and is the standard form of writing found in novels. Stream of consciousness is a genre of literary prose and is associated with modernist writers.
Stream of consciousness is used to describe the "continuity of impressions and thoughts in the human mind" or is a "literary method for representing this psychological principle in unpunctuated or fragmentary forms of interior monologue," according to the Oxford Companion to English Literature. In other words, it is a narrative style that portrays an individual's point of view through the author's thought process. It is a long, often inner monologue that, with its lack of punctuation and leaps in syntax, can make it hard to follow. Examples of stream of consciousness works include "Ulysses" by James Joyce and "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf.
Stream of consciousness writing is a good way for a writer to cultivate new ideas because it is free-form prose. Unstructured, without the need to consider punctuation, this form of unedited writing allows writers and poets alike to bring forward thoughts and ideas from which they can base new works.
Poetry is written work that follows a rhyme, pattern or structured form. Rhythm and meter are essential parts of a poem's form. Poems are used to evoke emotions through highly descriptive and emotive language. Iambic is a term used to describe the rhythm of a poem and is the most common rhythm employed in English language poetry.
The iamb is a metrical foot used in English poetry. It consists of a two-syllable sequence: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. For example, "The hero drew his sword," is an example of three consecutive iambs. The most common use of iambs in poetry is the iambic pentameter, which is a five-iamb, 10-syllable sequence. Unlike stream of consciousness writing, which does not require any consideration of form, writing in iambic style requires attention to word formation and the order in which words are applied to achieve the attain the correct form.