THE ESSAY AND KINDS OF ESSAY

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FATHER OF ENGLISH ESSAY


 THE ESSAY


WHAT IS AN ESSAY?

An essay is an analytic or interpretative literary composition usually dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view. 

The word essay means to attempt or assay - an attempt to dwell on some subject or part of a subject. 

Since an essay does not necessarily deal with every aspect of a subject, it is usually short. Thus an essay may be defined as a 'composition of moderate length on any particular subject or branch of a subject'.

Alexander Smith compares essay with the lyric because both are brief and molded by a single mood. 

There are several definitions available for an essay. Dr. Johnson defined it as 'a loose sally of the mind, an irregular, undigested piece, not a regular and orderly composition'.   

According to W.H. Hudson an essay is essentially personal. It belongs to the literature of self-expression. This is most true of modern essays. In the essays of E.V. Lucas, G.K. Chesterton, A.G. Gardiner etc. we find the personal element dominant. 

An essay is subjective and personal. The central fact of the essay is the play of the writer's mind and character upon the subject matter. In the study of essay, one has to consider the writer's personality and standpoint and outlook on life. We have to follow the evolution of thought, presentation, exposition and illustration. Finally, we have to assess the value of what the writer says and the beauty of how the writer says it.


KINDS OF ESSAY:

  1. The Aphoristic Essay
  2. The Character Essay
  3. The Critical Essay
  4. The Personal Essay
  5. The Periodical Essay
  6. The 20th Century Essay



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