Charles Lamb

Charles Lamb (1775-1834) is a famous essayist who wrote under his pseudonym of Elia. He pseudonym Elia was borrowed from the surname of a fellow clerk in the South Sea House where Lamb worked for quit a longtime.

Lamb tried to write poetry and dramas also but he is chiefly known for his essays. Lamb’s Essays of Elia appeared in 1823, his most remarkable work, which made him “The Prince of the Essayists”.

Most of Lamb’s essays are deeply personal and autobiographical. These essays are a good vehicle for self-revelation. The first person singular pronoun in the essays stands for the writer and is not a persona.

Lamb’s essays are full of wit and homour. He makes fun of himself as well as of others. His wit and humour are usually not full of hatred or personal revenge. His essays are full of brief character-sketches. Lamb’s remarkable characterization makes his characters memorable. Some of them are master pieces of humour. Lamb has keen observation and masterly power of representing contemporary manners and moods.

Essays of Charles Lamb

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