Francis Bacon as an essayist.

Francis Bacon as an essayist:

Francis Bacon is of great importance in the history of English literature. His essays become the classic in English language. They owe this position not only due to their subject matter but for their unique style and fine literary taste. As well as the features of his essays make him an essayist.

Bacon's proses are fully follow the qualities of a successful essay.

Features of his essays are discussed below:

Length, Style:

Essays should be prose composition, brief, short or moderate length. The brevity or shortness doesn't mean that the author has less knowledge on that subject. Rather, he has full command over his subject, and can express himself in a pithy and condensed language. Bacon's essays are full of these qualities. His essays are of moderate length and express his ideas in pithy languages.

Incompleteness:

Another feature of Bacon's essays like others is that they are incomplete. As an essayist Bacon doesn't give details about a subject. He writes only thoes aspects which he thinks significant and leaves out the rest. In “Of Plantation” his aim is to convey his view of colonization ; not to give exhaustive information about it.

Personality:

Like an essayist Bacon's essays are also personal. When the writer is in a mood to compose the essay grows around that mood as the cocoon grows around the silk work. The essay thus expresses the personal likes and dislikes, prejudices and predictions, of the essayist. In “Of Truth” his personal view about lies is found i.e. Lies can be mixed with truth for worldly gain.

Logic:

There is no logical development of thought in an essay. The various points or arguments are not systematically arranged, but follow each other in a haphazard manner. In this case Bacon also likes to enjoy the freedom of conversation. So he is informal, and often chatty like an essayist.

Attractive:

An essays “must have a grain of salt within it”. In other words, it should be attractive and charming, so that it may be easily retained into the mind. It should have a touch of humour. Bacon's “Of Marriage and Single Life” is a good example of it. Here the advances and Disadvantages of marriage and single life are portrayed in such a way that they reflect in readers’ personal affair.

Thus, Bacon is considered a successful essayist for the features what he uses in his essays. Besides, these play a very important role to the development of English prose and Language.