The following are the major form of prose:
Examples of The Great prose works and their Authors-
ROGER ASCHAM – THE SCHOOL MASTER
SIR THOMAS BROWNE- VULGAR ERRORS
DAVID HUME- HISTORY OF ENGLAND
JOHN ARBUTHNOT- HISTORY OF JOHN BULL
- The Essay = Essay is a short composition in prose . Saints bury calls it “”a work of prose art.”” Dr. Johnson defines it “”as a loose sally of the mind, an irregular, indigested piece, not a regular and orderly performance.”” The Essays are of three types namely- Personal Essays Aphoristic Essay and Periodical Essays.
Examples of Essays and their Authors-
JOHN MILTON – TRACTS
LEIGH HUNT- MEN,WOMEN AND BOOKS
LESLIE STEPHEN- HOURS IN A LIBRARY
C.P. SNOW- TWO CULTURES
- The Biography = A Biography is the life-history of a person from his birth to death, judiciously highlighting his failings and achievements, artistically written in prose by one of his admirers, It is now a distinct literary genre.
Examples of Important Biographies and their authors-
JOHN AUBREY – BRIEF LIVES
E.M.FORSTER- LIFE OF DICKENS
WINSTON CHURCHILL- LIFE OF MARLBOROUGH
WILLIAM MASON- LIFE OF GRAY
- The Autobiography = An autobiography is the life –history of an individual written by himself. A good autobiography should be a judicious and dispassionate self-assessment, which is indeed a difficult task.
Examples of Autobiographies-
SAMUELS PEPYS-DIARY
OSBERT SITWELL- LEFT HAND, RIGHT HAND
ROUSSEAU- CONFESSIONS
WILLIAMWORDS WORTH- PRELUDE (APOETICAL AUTO BIOGRAPHY)
- The Memoirs = In the Memoir the writer does not write out his own life, but he recollects his personal contacts with various people he meets in his personal or professional life.