What is the difference between verse and prose, and why is it important?

Prose is could be called "normal language" - it is what we use in every day speech. It consists of sentences and paragraphs, and is what most novels and contemporary are written in. Verse can also be called poetry - it tends to have a regular rhythm, and is divided into "stanzas" rather than paragraphs. Verse can sometimes rhyme. 

Many of Shakespeare's plays are written in a mixture of verse and prose, often for very different effects. For example, his lower-status characters often speak in prose, as well as comedic characters. Shakespeare often reserves verse for lofty subjects such as love, and for his higher-born characters. Once you have learned the difference between verse and prose, and how to distinguish these two forms, I will teach you more about the varieties of verse, particularly iambic pentameter, also known as blank verse.