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What do a Renaissance-era French aristocrat, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., and an English student have in common? They are all essayists! As the diverse members on this list suggest, "essayist" is a broad category that can include many different types of writers. Read on to find out the definition of an essayist, the different types of essayists, and how some of the major essayists have contributed to this fascinating form of writing.
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Jetzt kostenlos anmeldenWhat do a Renaissance-era French aristocrat, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., and an English student have in common? They are all essayists! As the diverse members on this list suggest, "essayist" is a broad category that can include many different types of writers. Read on to find out the definition of an essayist, the different types of essayists, and how some of the major essayists have contributed to this fascinating form of writing.
An essayist is a writer of short pieces of non-fiction that are either personal and autobiographical or formal and academic.
The word "essay" comes from the French assai, meaning to test or try. In a broad sense, an essayist is someone who 'tries' to explore a topic or argue a point using the written word.2 The topics are usually non-fictional and may be related to the essayist's personal experience. The essay's limited scope means that essays are typically short (although there are exceptions!).
Did you know: The word 'assay' in chemistry shares the same etymology as "essay" but still carries the original French meaning.
Essays and essayists are notoriously hard to define, but they can usually be placed within two broad categories: personal or familiar and formal or critical.
The essay originated as a way of writing about a variety of topics from a personal, autobiographical perspective. This type of essay has had an enormous influence on American and British literature for over 400 years. One or more of the following features can usually be attributed to essayists in the personal tradition:4
Formal or critical essays have had comparatively less influence in English and American literature. They are, however, a prominent form of academic writing and have had a major impact on political history. Formal essays in this tradition usually have one or more of the following features:4
Note that, while this difference between personal and formal essays generally holds true, it is not always so easy to distinguish one from the other. You may, for example, find a writer using objective standards of argumentation and evidence in a personal essay. Given the many different forms that the personal essay can take, this variation is to be expected.
Let's look at some key essayists who have been influential in developing the essay genre, from its origins and the rise of the British essay to the essayists of today.
The modern essay began in the late 16th century in France and England.2,4
Taking their lead primarily from Montaigne, British essayists reached their peak in the 18th century with the rise of periodical newspapers and an increasingly literate public audience.2,4
The first essays published in colonial America typically resembled those published in England. After an explosion of political writing around the time of the Revolutionary War, the essay took a more philosophical and personal turn with the writings of the Transcendentalists. The personal essay flourished in 19th and 20th century America and often took political undertones, dealing directly or indirectly with issues of race, gender, and class.2,4
The essay writing tradition is alive and well, especially in the United States. An incomplete list of important contemporary essayists, most of whom are still alive and actively publishing, includes:
1 N. Baym. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, vol. B 1820-1865, 2007.
2 J. A. Cuddon. Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 1999.
3 S. Greenblatt. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. 1, 2012.
4 P. Lopate. The Art of the Personal Essay, 1995.
An essayist is the author of a short work of non-fiction, usually either personal in nature or argumentative.
Famous essayists include Montaigne, Bacon, Addison and Steele, Charles Lamb, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, to name just a few.
There are two broad types of essayists: formal and informal. Informal essayists write autobiographically, with loose organization, and on familiar terms with the reader. Formal essayists write highly organized, objective pieces using high standards of argumentation and evidence.
Informal essayists write with open form in the first person, maintaining a conversational tone and making use of devices such as humor, irony, confession, contrariness, and self-exploration. Formal essayists, on the other hand, are characterized by their use of logical organization, seriousness, and objectivity.
Here is an incomplete list of modern essayists, most of whom are still actively writing: David Foster Wallace, Michael Pollan, David Sedaris, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Marilynne Robinson, John D'Agata, Rebecca Solnit, Ross Gay, Zadie Smith, and Rahawa Haile
What type of essay has had more influence in literature?
The personal/informal essay
What type of essay has been more influential in politics and academia?
The formal essay
Which of the following is a characteristic of the personal essay?
It is conversational
Which of the following is a characteristic of the formal essay?
It is organized around a central argument or thesis statement
Who is generally considered to be the father of the modern personal essay?
Montaigne
Which pair below were influential British essayists of the early 18th century?
Addison and Steele
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