The Essay Origin & Development

1. Text:
An essay may be defined as a short piece of writing that reveals the writer's
views or analysis of a particular subject! As a literary form, it is difficult to study
systematically since it varies greatly in style, treatment and method. It could
range in length from Francis Bacon's brief pieces of concentrated wisdom,
spanning a page or two, to the book-length pieces by John Locke, Lord Macaulay
and Herbert Spencer. The essay could vary in subject matter too. For example,
Bacon shared his views on various subjects ranging from love, death and atheism
to travel, marriage and gardens. The essays of the French Renaissance
philosopher Michel de Montaigne are an assortment of random thoughts,
quotations and anecdotes. Even with regard to treatment, each writer has his or
her own style in approaching the subject. Charles Lamb employed a
conversational style, taking the reader through a gamut of emotions, while
Jonathan Swift used biting satire to attack his opponents in his essays. So, a
definition of the essay form cannot be constructed based upon its length,
subject matter or treatment.
The word 'essay' has been applied to nearly every kind of writing except poems,
plays and stories. For the sake of convenience, we could define the essay as a
brief composition in prose on a particular subject or branch of a subject.
According to Samuel Johnson, an essay is 'a loose sally of the mind; an irregular,
undigested piece; not a regular and orderly composition'. A good essay, said E.
V. Lucas, ‘more than a novel, a poem, a play, or a treatise, is personality
translated into print.' Aldous Huxley defined the essay as 'a literary device for
saying almost everything about almost anything’.
Michel de Montaigne (1533-92) could be considered the father of the modern
essay. It was he who first used the term 'essais', meaning 'attempt', experiment'
or 'endeavour', for this type of writing (in 1580). His essays were informal in
nature and had a warmth and grace about them. In 1597, Francis Bacon
UNIT III
The Essay
(from the Elizabethan Age to the
Victorian Age)
Notes by Dr. G. N. Khamankar,
Vivekanand Collage, Bhadrawati.

2. (following Montaigne) applied the word essay to this genre for the first time in
English. Bacon is considered to be a pioneer of this form.
In Bacon's view, the letters of the Roman writers Cicero and Seneca could be
considered essays rather than mere letters as these contained their thoughts on
various matters. Plutarch, another classical writer, could also be seen as a
forerunner of this form. The personal essay, however, owes its existence to
Montaigne.
Francis Bacon, who wrote several essays in English, followed a style of his own,
favouring concentrated, business-like prose. This was very different from
Montaigne's leisurely style and amused tone. Abraham Cowley, who wrote in
the 1660s, followed the personal and informal style of Montaigne. Other writers
who wrote in this form were Sir William Temple and John Dryden. Temple and
Dryden were responsible for paving the way for the development of the essay
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They had a great impact on the
essayists Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. In the hands of Addison and Steele,
a sub-genre called the periodical essay became very popular.
The essay has been flourishing since then thanks to writers such as Charles
Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas de Quincey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord
Macaulay, Leigh Hunt, Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, Matthew Arnold, Walter
Pater, R. L. Stevenson, G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, E. V. Lucas, Robert Lynd
and several others.
Features of an Essay:
1.The modern essay tends to limit its length and range as far as the treatment
of the subject goes. When the essay grows too long and attempts an exhaustive
view of the subject, it ceases to be an essay and reads more like a dissertation'
or 'thesis'. The difference between the essay and the dissertation is that the
essay is addressed to a lay person while the latter is intended for a specialist.
2. An essay does not attempt to give the reader an exhaustive of comprehensive
understanding of its subject. According to the British author William Henry
Hudson, 'selection and the proper distribution of emphasis will ... be found
among the elementary principles of essay writing'. A good essay does not
attempt too much.

3. 3. In spite of being only about a part of a subject, a good essay nevertheless gives
the reader a sense of completeness in its treatment.
4. The subject matter of the essay is unlimited and the form could cover a vast
range of topics.
Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was a master of this genre and started as a writer in
1795 by experimenting in both prose and verse. Some of his works include
Rosamund Gray (1798), Tales from Shakespeare (1807), which was written in
collaboration with his sister Mary, Poetry for Children (1809) and The
Adventures of Ulysses (1808). Lamb was an admirer of Wordsworth but did not
share the same feelings towards nature. Essays of Elia (1820-23) and Last Essays
of Elia (1833) reveal his interest in the life of Londoners. His narrative was
conversational in tone and often conveyed to the reader an impression of
chatting with a familiar friend. As Arthur Compton-Rickett puts it, he has made
of chatter a fine art'. In his essays his interests in antiquity, mortality and his own
childhood memories are all vividly brought to life. His critical works such as
Specimens of English Dramatic Poets Who Lived about the Time of Shakespeare
(1808) revealed his enthusiastic interest in Elizabethan and Jacobean literature.
He admired Shakespeare but regarded his great plays as stories to be read rather
than acted. His principle of criticism was more of admiration and enthusiasm
rather than discrimination.
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) was a philosopher, painter, essayist, journalist and
a literary critic. He remained a political radical throughout his life and his belief
in the idealism of the French Revolution never dimmed though his political views
came under attack from many critics of his time. He was influenced by the
philosophy of the older Romantic poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge but did
not include himself in any movement. His prose style was lucid, the language
colloquial. He covered a wider range of subjects than Lamb, writing about
paintings, journeys @ politicians, prize-fights, natural landscapes as well as
Milton's sonnets and the arts. On hearing Coleridge recite his ballad he was
ecstatic and praised him as a genius in his essay 'My First Acquaintance with
Poets'. He expressed his thoughts in an outspoken manner and with gusto. As a
literary critic, he wrote many essays on the philosophy of criticism such as On
Criticism' and 'On Poetry in General'. In 1815 Hazlitt began contributing to many
journals like The Edinburgh Review and The Examiner. In 1817 a collection of his
essays appeared as a book titled The Round Table. In the same year he wrote

4. Characters of Shakespeare's Plays, which discussed the bard's various characters
from a psychological point of view. A collection of his lectures on the English
Poets (1818), On the English Comic Writers (1819) and on the Dramatic
Literature of the Age of Elizabeth (1820) are
written with characteristic energy and enthusiasm. His essays Table Tall (1821-
22), The Spirit of the Age (1825) and The Plain Speaker (1836) sum up much of
his work and embody the spirit of a man who brought the English essay an
essence and style very different from those of bir contemporaries.
Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859) was an intellectual and his essays published in
numerous periodicals display his idealism, descriptive abilities and intuitive
understanding of his subjects. His most famous work is Confessions of an English
Opium-Eater (1821), which tells the story of his early life and recounts the
fantastic dreams that were the result of his addiction to opium. His
autobiographical works titled Autobiography (1834-53) and Suspiria De
Profundis (1845) reveal his interest in psychology and his theories on the subject
are surprisingly modern. His essays were highly imaginative and he could
reconstruct historical scenes and incidents with great verve, as seen in 'Flight of
a Tartar Tribe'. His literary and philosophical writings constantly sought to
understand 'state of mind and levels of consciousness', a topic he wrote about
in poetic, powerful and eloquent prose.
Thomas Love Peacock (1785-1866) was first and foremost a satirist. He wrote a
number of novels, essays, poems and plays. His work was highly intellectual and
he never hesitated to criticise anyone he disapproved of. His novels have little
plot or delineation of character but his descriptions of abstract qualities are
beautiful and imaginative. In his comedy, he takes after the style of Aristophanes
in making use of puns-the names of his characters are often puns taken from
Greek to indicate their personality. Novels such as Nightmare Abbey (1818), The
Misfortunes of Elphin (1829) and Maid Marian (1821) represent his handling of
dialogue for the purpose of satire. His essays include "The Four Ages of Poets'
(1820), 'Recollection of Childhood: The Abbey House (1837), 'Memoirs of
Shelley' (1858-62) and 'The Last Day of Windsor Forest' (1887).
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) was a Scottish satirist, essayist, teacher and
historian. He came from a strict Calvinist family and aspired to becom a
preacher, but he lost faith in Christianity while at the University Edinburgh.
However, he retained his Calvinist values till the end. This combination of
religious temperament with loss of faith in tradition Christianity appealed to

5. many Victorians who were grappling with a similar dilemma themselves. After
several unsuccessful attempts at writing a novel he turned to writing essays. In
1837, his three-volume work The French Revolution: A History was published.
Carlyle's passionate account of the events in France and his powerful style of
writing was a landmark in historical writing. His belief in the importance of
heroes and heroic leadership is spelt out in his book On Heroes, Hero-Worship
and the Heroic in History (1841), in which he compares heroes of all kinds
including Odin, Oliver Cromwell, Napoleon, Dante, Shakespeare, Samuel
Johnson, Rousseau, Robert Burns, John Knox, Martin Luther King Jr. and Prophet
Muhammad. He published a collection of essays titled Latter-Day Pamphlets
(1850) attacking the idea of democracy and condemning hereditary aristocratic
leadership. He courted controversy with his essay ‘Occasional Discourse on the
Negro Question' (1849) which suggested that slavery should never have been
abolished. Other prominent works by him include Letters and Speeches of Oliver
Cromwell (1845), Past and Present (1845) and History of Friedrich II of Prussia
(1858).
Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-59) was a historian and Whig politician. He
wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer and his books on British history
are regarded as masterpieces. He was instrumental in bringing about many
reforms in the field of education and law in India during his service in the
Supreme Council of India. He wrote many poems in his youth but it was the
publication of The History of England from the Accession of James the Second
(1848), written in five volumes, which established his reputation as a historian.
His political writings laid emphasis on a progressive Britain in which he hoped
that the country would reject superstition, autocracy and confusion to help
create a strong, balanced constitution and a progressive culture combined with
freedom of belief and expression.
Matthew Arnold (1822-88) was one of the great social critics of the Victorian
era. He strongly believed that every man was capable of changing and reforming
society. In his famous Culture and Anarchy (1867-69), he linked literary criticism
with a criticism of society. He criticised the middle class for its lack of aesthetic
awareness and humane values and feared that the materialistic mindset of the
English was leading to a narrowing of minds. He envisioned a country where
emphasis would be laid on the study of literature, art and music in order to
cultivate minds for a more literate future. His ideas had a huge effect on the
present-day literary canon. His other works include Essays in Criticism (1865,
1888) published in two series and Literature and Dogmas (1873).

6. Que. 1. Discuss the origin, definitions and features of an Essay?
Or What is an essay? What is its origin?
OR Describe the features of Essay?
Ans: An essay may be defined as a short piece of writing that reveals the writer's
views or analysis of a particular subject. As a literary form, it is difficult to study
essay as it varies greatly in style, treatment and method. So, a definition of the
essay form cannot be constructed based upon its length, subject matter or
treatment.
Montaigne could be considered the father of the modern essay. It was he who
first used the term 'essais', meaning 'attempt', experiment' or 'endeavour'.
According to Dr. Johnson, an essay is 'a loose sally of the mind; an irregular,
undigested piece; not a regular and orderly composition'. A good essay, said E.
V. Lucas, ‘more than a novel, a poem, a play, or a treatise, is personality
translated into print.'
Bacon has the credit of bringing essay into England. He applied the word essay
in 1597. He wrote an objective or impersonal essay. But the origin of the essay
has been attributed to Roman writers Cicero and Seneca. Plutarch, another
classical writer, could also be seen as a forerunner of this form. The personal
essay, however, owes its existence to Montaigne.
Other writers who wrote in this form were Sir William Temple and John Dryden.
They had a great impact on the essayists like Joseph Addison and Richard Steele.
In the hands of Addison and Steele, a sub-genre called the periodical essay
became very popular.
The essay has been flourishing since then thanks to writers such as Charles
Lamb, William Hazlitt, Thomas de Quincey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord
Macaulay, Leigh Hunt, Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, Matthew Arnold, Walter
Pater, R. L. Stevenson, G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, E. V. Lucas, Robert Lynd
and several others.
Features of an Essay:
1.The modern essay tends to limit its length and range as far as the treatment
of the subject goes. When the essay grows too long and attempts an exhaustive
view of the subject, it ceases to be an essay and reads more like a dissertation'
or 'thesis'.

7. 2. According to the British author W. H. Hudson, 'selection and the proper
distribution of emphasis will ... be found among the elementary principles of
essay writing'. A good essay does not attempt too much.
3. In spite of being only about a part of a subject, a good essay nevertheless gives
the reader a sense of completeness in its treatment.
4. The subject matter of the essay is unlimited and the form could cover a vast
range of topics.
Que. 2. Write a note on Charles Lamb
Ans: Charles Lamb was a master of essay. Some of his works include Rosamund
Gray, Tales from Shakespeare, (which was written in collaboration with his sister
Mary), Poetry for Children and The Adventures of Ulysses. Lamb was an admirer
of Wordsworth but did not share the same feelings towards nature. Essays of
Elia and Last Essays of Elia reveals his interest in the life of Londoners. In his
essays his interests in antiquity, mortality and his own childhood memories are
all vividly brought to life. His critical works such as Specimens of English Dramatic
Poets Who Lived about the Time of Shakespeare revealed his enthusiastic
interest in Elizabethan and Jacobean literature.
Que. 3. Write a note on William Hazlitt
Ans: William Hazlitt was a philosopher, painter, essayist, journalist and a literary
critic. His prose style was lucid, and language was colloquial. He covered a wider
range of subjects about paintings, journeys, politicians, prize-fights, natural and
landscapes. As a literary critic, he wrote many essays on the philosophy of
criticism such as ‘On Criticism' and 'On Poetry in General'. In 1815 Hazlitt began
contributing to many journals like The Edinburgh Review and The Examiner. In
1817 a collection of his essays appeared as a book titled The Round Table. His
essays Table Tall, The Spirit of the Age and The Plain Speaker are popular.

8. Que. 4. Write a note on Thomas Carlyle, Thomas Love Peacock and Thomas
de Quincy.
ANS: Thomas de Quincey was an intellectual and his essays published in
numerous periodicals. His most famous work is Confessions of an English Opium-
Eater which tells the story of his early life. His autobiographical works titled
Autobiography and Suspiria De Profundis reveal his interest in psychology. His
essays were highly imaginative. In 'Flight of a Tartar Tribe' he reconstructs
historical scenes and incidents with great verve.
Thomas Love Peacock was first and foremost a satirist. He wrote a number of
novels, essays, poems and plays. His work was highly intellectual and he never
hesitated to criticise anyone he disapproved of. In his comedy, he uses the style
of Aristophanes in making use of puns. His novels such as Nightmare Abbey, The
Misfortunes of Elphin, and Maid Marian represents his handling of dialogue for
the purpose of satire. His essays include "The Four Ages of Poets', 'Recollection
of Childhood: The Abbey House, 'Memoirs of Shelley' and 'The Last Day of
Windsor Forest'.
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirist, essayist, teacher and historian. He came
from a strict Calvinist family and retained his Calvinist values till the end. After
several unsuccessful attempts at writing a novel he turned to writing essays. In
1837, his three-volume work The French Revolution: A History was published.
Carlyle's belief in the importance of heroes and heroic leadership is spelt out in
his book On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, in which he
compares heroes of all kinds including Odin, Oliver Cromwell, Napoleon, Dante,
Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Rousseau, Robert Burns, John Knox, Martin
Luther King Jr. and Prophet Muhammad. He published a collection of essays
titled Latter-Day Pamphlets attacking the idea of democracy and condemning
hereditary aristocratic leadership. Other prominent works by him include Letters
and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, Past and Present and History of Friedrich II of
Prussia.

9. 6. Write a short note on Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay was a historian and Whig politician. He wrote
extensively as an essayist and reviewer and his books on British history are
regarded as masterpieces. He was instrumental in bringing about many reforms
in the field of education and law in India during his service in the Supreme
Council of India. The History of England from the Accession of James the Second
written in five volumes established his reputation as a historian. His political
writings laid emphasis on a progressive Britain in which he hoped that the
country would reject superstition, autocracy and confusion.
Que. 6. Write a short note on Matthew Arnold.
Matthew Arnold was one of the great social critics of the Victorian era. He
strongly believed that every man was capable of changing and reforming
society. In his famous Culture and Anarchy, he linked literary criticism with a
criticism of society. He criticised the middle class for its lack of aesthetic
awareness and human values. He envisioned a country where emphasis would
be laid on the study of literature, art and music in order to cultivate minds for a
more literate future. His ideas had a huge effect on the present-day literary
canon. His other works include Essays in Criticism published in two series and
Literature and Dogmas.