Definition: A critical, analytic, or expository piece of prose that is usually much shorter than a formal dissertation or thesis and is based in the author's point of view, rather than extensive research. Early essayists include Cicero, who wrote on the pleasantness of old age, and Seneca, on anger. More recently celebrated essayists include Joan Didion who lately writes of her native California, and Calvin Trillin, a food-essayist.
More Literary Terms Defined
More Literary Terms Defined
