“As there is no standard human type who writes essays, so is there no standard essay: no set style, length, or subject. But what does unite almost all successful essays, no matter how divergent the subject, is that a strong personal presence is felt behind them...Without that strong personal presence, the essay doesn’t quite exist; it becomes an article, a piece, or some other indefinable verbal construction.”
-Joseph Epstein in “No Standard Essay.”
I found this quote to be quite truthful. I believe that it is impossible to define a standard essay because of all the different subjects and writing styles that are used. There are essays written over subjects of all kinds, such as people, animals, thoughts, ideas, and the list goes on. For example, on essay on “The Existence of God” is going to be different from an essay on “My Summer Vacation.” An essay’s length can range from short to long and can be written from whatever perspective the author chooses to use. There is just no standard format that can be given when writing an essay.
One premise that Epstein put forth in his quote that I found to be extremely thought-provoking was his idea that “a strong personal presence” had to be felt in an essay in order for it to be successful. I had never thought of that being an important part of an essay, but Epstein’s reasoning is very logical. If one doesn’t add his personal presence, then the work does indeed become less invigorative; rather, the work becomes dull and lifeless. As Epstein noted, “It becomes an article, a piece, or some other indefinable verbal construction.”
An indefinable verbal construction obviously is not something that any writer should strive for in an essay, or any other literary work for that matter. An essay is meant to intrigue the reader, not to bore the reader to death. I see an essay best defined as a written work in which the writer explains his feelings on the subject. I see an essay as something that the writer uses in order to get his thoughts across to whoever cares to know. The author writes down his feelings and thoughts on a subject and allows anyone who would like, to read his work and draw their own conclusions about what he said. So although it is hard to actually define a “standard essay” that is the base definition that I have created.
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