Understanding the Essay as a Literary Genre
The Essay as a Literary Genre
The essay is one of the most popular literary genres cultivated today. It is a statement that exposes a personal and subjective interpretation of any subject, without an informative purpose. There are historical, philosophical, scientific, literary, and aesthetic essays, but in no case is it necessary to find the final solution or an exhaustive study of the issues raised.
Characteristics of the Essay
The essay, though a very mixed genre, has the following basic characteristics:
- Variety and breadth of topics: literary, philosophical, religious, humanistic, sociological, artistic, and so on.
- Freedom of tone and style: lyrical, rhetorical, emotional, meditative, etc.
- Relatively short, although there are essayistic works that have the extension of a book.
- Not subject to strict formal limits; its structure is open. This implies a subjective approach to the topic.
- Conceptual or discursive exposition language.
- Elegant and engaging style.
Types of Essays
- Booklet/Brochure: Shorter than a book; the two terms are synonymous, but the first is usually awarded an ideological dignity lacking in the second.
- Speech: An exhibition of one’s thinking to an audience with a persuasive purpose.
- Pamphlet: A short piece of political propaganda or ideas of any kind.
- Article: A short text on a given subject area, which is inserted in newspapers.
- Manifesto: A document in which a person, group, or public entity states their intentions. Famous examples include romantic and avant-garde manifestos.
- Study and Treatise: Texts of some length that systematize knowledge of a particular area and are closer to the scientific language than the essay.
Discursive Modes
1. Exposition
Exposition is the presentation of any subject in order to make it known and understood by others. The tone of a statement is objective, not emotional. The vocabulary used is accurate and appropriate.
The most common arrangement of expository writing distinguishes three parts:
- Introduction (or thesis; presents the idea that the writer intends to communicate).
- Development (the thesis is illustrated by examples, data, arguments, etc. That is, there is an explanation of the general idea contained in the introduction).
- Conclusion (summarizing the ideas that emerge from the discussion in the initiation and development of the exhibition).
Content can be sorted in five main ways:
- Chronologically (what happens before and what happens next, or vice versa).
- In order of importance (first the basics and then the secondary, or vice versa).
- By comparison and contrast (comparing or contrasting two facts, two actions, two ideas, etc.).
- Through cause and effect, or vice versa.
- Using examples and data to confirm the initial thesis.
2. Argumentation
Argumentation is a variety of discourse with which one purports to defend an opinion and persuade a receiver using evidence and reasoning. These are related to different disciplines: logic (laws of human reasoning), dialectic (procedures that are put into play to prove or disprove something), and rhetoric (the use of linguistic resources in order to persuade and mobilize affects, emotions, suggestions, etc.).
In an argumentative text, two key elements appear: the thesis and the argumentative body. The thesis is the fundamental idea being thought about and argued. The argumentative body is the input of all kinds of “reasons” that allow the author to convince the recipient. These are called arguments.
The basic forms these arguments are structured in are:
- Inductive Structure: It starts from specific facts to establish a general idea. The final thesis serves as a conclusion of the whole argumentative process.
- Repetitive Structure: The same argument is repeated throughout the text.
- Deductive Structure: We start with a general idea (initial thesis) to reach a concrete conclusion.
- Parallel Structure: Various theses are presented and argued simultaneously.
- Framed Structure: It starts with a general idea, with arguments that generate, in conclusion, a final thesis.