The Essay: Evolution and Forms of a Literary Genre

The Essay: A Popular Literary Genre

The essay is one of the most popular literary genres and has been cultivated since the early nineteenth century. It accommodates the direct manifestation of the evils of societies and their solutions, as well as social and existential reflections from intellectuals on cultural themes such as science, art, and literature. For this reason, it becomes a genre of prose—agile, sincere, and informative—showing the writer's personal perspective about any of these issues. In this sense, we can find historical, social, political, literary, scientific, philosophical, and aesthetic essays.

Thematic Features and Stylistic Variety

The heterogeneity of the essay produces a variety of thematic features and styles. Freedom and subjectivity are the essence of this genre. Each author proposes the issue for trial, manifesting stylistic peculiarities that are identified: the planned expansion of the text, which can range from articles and brochures to the size of a book. The tone is projected based on how the writer addresses the issue: solemn, didactic, or even ironic.

The style depends on the author, the tone, and the formality of the essay. In more formal essays, they will attend to informative characters and expository limits of form, respecting the structure and technical or conceptual vocabulary. However, in less scholarly essays, the prose is agile, entertaining, and didactic; the style is easier, the lexicon is lighter, and there are no strict formal limits.

Different Essayistic Genres

• Booklets and brochures: With an extension less than a book, the two terms are synonymous, although the former is usually awarded to those lacking the ideological identity of the second.
• Pamphlets: A booklet, sheet, or political propaganda of ideas and any other type. On some occasions, it usually grows into publications of more entity.
• Manifestos: A document in which any person, group, or entity makes public its intentions.
• Addresses: A type of exhibition to show ideas or knowledge in an informative or argumentative way.
• Articles: Known for their importance in journalism, these occupy a space in newspapers or magazines in which a relevant character expresses perspectives on a matter.
• Studies and treatises: Within essayistic prose, these are texts of some length (the former being shorter). They systematize a specific language on a more technical matter, close to scientific texts.

Exposition and Argumentation in Essayistic Texts

Regarding the expressive intention that predominates in these texts, exposition and argumentation are the principal forms. Both textual typologies and intentions relate and are complementary. Argumentation always has the point of exposition of the subject matter to be treated; therefore, exposition means the mere presentation of the writer's concerns and the detailed introduction of the issue.

The role of argumentation is more complex. It involves evaluating the theme to persuade the reader or audience through judgments that manifest ideas.