Author Description
Montaigne Called It A Ramble; Chesterton The Joke Of Literature; And Hume An Ambassador Between The Worlds Of Learning And Of Conversation. But What Is An Essay, And How Did It Emerge As A Literary Form? What Are The Continuities And Contradictions Across Its History, From Montaigne's 1580 Essais Through The Familiar Intimacies Of The Romantic Essay, And Up To More Recent Essayists Such As Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, And Claudia Rankine? Sometimes Called The Fourth Genre, The Essay Has Been Over-shadowed In Literary History By Fiction, Poetry, And Drama, And Has Proved Notoriously Resistant To Definition. On Essays Reveals In The Essay A Pattern Of Paradox: At Once A Pedagogical Tool And A Refusal Of The Methodical Languages Of Universities And Professions; Politically Engaged But Retired And Independent; Erudite And Anti-pedantic; Occasional And Enduring; Intimate And Oratorical; Allusive And Idiosyncratic. Perhaps Because It Is A Form Of Writing Against Which Literary Scholarship Has Defined Itself, There Has Been Surprisingly Little Work On The Tradition Of The Essay. Neither A Comprehensive History Nor A Student Companion, On Essays Is A Series Of Seventeen Elegantly Written Essays On Authors And Aspects In The History Of The Genre — Essays Which, Taken Together, Form The Most Substantial Book Yet Published On The Essay In Britain And America.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
What defines the essay as a literary form, and how has it evolved through its inherent contradictions across history? Editors Kathryn Murphy and Thomas Karshan compile seventeen scholarly examinations to investigate the essay's development from Montaigne to contemporary writers like Claudia Rankine. By analyzing the form's resistance to rigid definition, the authors argue that the essay functions as a unique space for intellectual inquiry that balances intimacy with oratorical ambition. The collection serves as a critical exploration of how this genre has navigated the tension between academic pedagogy and independent, idiosyncratic expression.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Historical analysis of the essay from 1580 to the present day.
- Comparative studies of major essayists including Montaigne, Virginia Woolf, and James Baldwin.
- Examination of the essay as a 'fourth genre' distinct from fiction, poetry, and drama.
Scope Limits
- This work is not a comprehensive chronological history of the genre.
- It does not function as a standard student companion or introductory textbook.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and critics recognize this collection as a significant contribution to the study of the essay in British and American literature. Readers frequently note the sophisticated, academic tone of the prose, which provides a rigorous framework for understanding a genre often overlooked in traditional literary scholarship.
Page Count:
400
Publication Date:
2020-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191017531
ISBN-13:
9780191017537
Non-Fiction
Literary Criticism
Academic
Essays
Literary History