Prose refers to written or spoken language that is not in poetic form, whether in rhythm, rhyme, or structure. Drama is a performing art in which actors use dialogue and actions to tell a story or convey a message to a viewing audience. In most cases, dramatic works are written down so that the performers can memorize and rehearse the lines before performing them live. The written form of a drama takes the structure of a script. While prose is written in paragraph form, dramatic scripts are written as lines of dialogue, with the speaker's name clearly designated before each line. Instructions for the director about the set or for the performers about their actions are written in notes, usually set in italics, before or between the lines of dialogue. These notes are usually quite sparse, because the director will determine a significant amount of the choreography and will teach it to the actors during rehearsals. Thus, when one reads the script of a drama instead of seeing it performed, one misses out on a great deal of description that would explain the characters' movements and expressions. Prose allows the author, depending on the chosen point of view, to describe inner thoughts and feelings of characters. Drama requires that characters' thoughts either be spoken aloud or portrayed via body language and movement.

Another factor to consider when differentiating between drama and prose is that dramatic scripts can be written in either prose or verse or in a combination. William Shakespeare wrote much of his drama in iambic pentameter. However, he often alternated between prose and poetry in his plays, with the lines of lower-class characters written in prose and those of upper-class characters written in poetry. A scene that contained great import might use more obvious rhyme and meter, while a less significant scene would be written in more prosaic language.