Essay

An essay is a text usually presented in the form of a nonfiction literary exercise. It is elaborated in an authorial voice that presents as authentic a subjective mode of expression, or narrated personal experience, and may range from the stylistically disordered to the very structured. The term “essay” comes from the French word essayer, which means to practice or to try out something. This word, in turn, derives from the Latin exagere, which means to weigh something. These terms refer to the essay’s typical invitation to ponder and reflect. Many scholars consider Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) to be the founder of the essay as a genre. The essay became one of the preeminent writing modes of the Renaissance and is still considered an important mode of written expression in modern times.

Brief History

Before the sixteenth century, published texts were written in formal and prescribed styles. The intimate, conversational style was arguably first executed by Montaigne in his Essais (1580–88; The Essays, 1603), in which he first used the term and approach that would shape the genre. Montaigne’s work soon influenced other scholars, including Francis Bacon (1561–1626), who in the late 1500s published his own collection of essays. Since then, the essay has become one of the most widely used literary forms.

Many scholars argue that the cultural revolution of the Renaissance provided rich fodder for the new essay style to flourish. The Renaissance was a crucial moment in cultural history. It was an era in which the arts and letters were fueled by the desire to focus less on spiritual matters, a hallmark of the medieval era, and more on the human form and a more subjective self. While Montaigne was a wealthy landowner and Bacon a scientist and politician, by the eighteenth century some scholars and thinkers could earn a living by writing in the essay form, such as Samuel Johnson (1709–84), a British essayist, critic, lexicographer, poet, and editor whose prodigious body of work was produced in the latter half of the 1700s.

In its most general sense, an essay may be practically any short piece of nonfiction: a critical analysis, a feature story, an editorial, or a philosophical reflection, among many others. However, a literary definition is usually narrower, establishing clear boundaries between an essay, in which the pleasure of reading is more important than the information acquired, and an article, which is usually read mostly to obtain information. Moreover, essays are not solely about literature or culture. As a conversational form of writing, essays cover a wide range of human interests, from pedestrian issues of daily life to matters of politics, science, ethics, economics, religion, the arts, and many other topics. The best essays are crafted with a great deal of thought and editing in order to communicate their ideas to a wide variety of readers in the clearest way possible.

Overview

A wide array of essay styles exists, some more structured than others. Contemporary essays are differentiated by certain elements, such as structure, style, and voice. Conventional definitions often describe the essay according to its apparently loose structure. Samuel Johnson called the essay “an irregular piece,” finding it disorderly. Michel de Montaigne and Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) wrote in an exploratory and casual style. However, the most successful writers, including the previously mentioned essayists, follow some organizational structure of their own. Some literary scholars find that these writers’ structures may be better likened to patterns that follow the progression of an idea as it takes shape.

Although essays may be differentiated according to type—impersonal versus personal, subjective versus objective, formal versus informal—some essays defy easy categorization. Some experts assert that while Montaigne’s essays were personal and intimate, even quirky and humorous, another essay type developed in the form of a more systematic, organized, and formal essay. These cover different aims and needs. A more personal essay may seek to invite the reader to make a connection with the writer’s thinking process and point of view, whereas a more formal approach tends to be expository, that is, provide information or explain a process or idea.

The voice of an essay is what shapes these distinct forms. It shapes the character or persona that the essayist aims to project. An essayist might write in a more conversational style, in which the language will be less formal and even somewhat rambling; or else present himself or herself as an expert, in which case the language may be more structured and impersonal. The voice plays the multiple roles of positioning both the writer and the reader as well as shaping the text. American essayist E. B. White (1899–1985) posited in his essays that the writer “may be any sort of person,” depending on the subject matter and the mood of the piece. Samuel Johnson was known for being one of the first essayists to create a persona. Rather than write from his own personal point of view, Johnson wrote from the point of view of characters he created, such as the Rambler and the Idler. Finally, the essay is personal because allows for the expression of opinion in a way that investigative journalism, for instance, would not.

Despite the rhetorical maneuvering at play, however, the essay is a nonfiction piece of work. It may engage in some manipulation of the self through voice and language, but it ultimately engages in the thoughtful process of sharing the outcome of the progression of an idea with its readers.

Bibliography

Aaron, Jane E., and Ellen Kuhl Repetto, editors. 40 Model Essays: A Portable Anthology. 2nd ed., Bedford, 2013.

Di Carlo, Andrea. "The Birth of the Essay: Reading Montaigne and Descartes." Epoch Magazine, Sept. 2020, www.epoch-magazine.com/dicarlobirthoftheessay. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

"Essay". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Jan. 2025, www.britannica.com/art/essay.

Hacker, Diana, and Nancy Sommers. Rules for Writers. 7th ed., Bedford, 2012.

Johnson, Samuel. Samuel Johnson: The Major Works. Edited by Donald Greene, rev. ed., Oxford UP, 2000.

Lopate, Phillip, editor. The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present. Anchor, 1995.

Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing about Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. 5th ed., Longman, 2012.

Montaigne, Michel de. Essays. Translated by M. A. Screech, rev. ed., Penguin, 2013.

Moore, Dinty W. Crafting the Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing and Publishing Creative Nonfiction. Writer’s Digest, 2010.

Nordquist, Richard. "The Essay: History and Definition." ThoughtCo., 14 June 2018, www.thoughtco.com/what-is-an-essay-p3-1691774. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Strayed, Cheryl, editor. The Best American Essays 2013. Series edited by Robert Atwan, Houghton, 2013.

White, E. B. Essays of E. B. White. Harper, 2006.