Compare n contrast Francis Bacon and Charles lamb as an essayist and persons giving their views

Ques. 

on different aspect of life to their readers

For most of the people the English essay is unavoidably connected with the name of Charles
Lamb (1775-1834). Many consider Lamb to be the typical essayist. But while Lamb has been
called the ‘Prince of Essayist’, Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was the ‘Father of English Essay’, for
introducing the genre into England. Bacon is famous for his informative essays while Lamb is
popular for his personal type of essays.

Most of the time, the style of a writer is dictated by the type of subjects he is writing on. Both
Bacon and Lamb wrote on a wide range of topics, but the purpose of each case differed. Bacon
wrote with the declared aim of guiding his readers in matters of civil and moral importance. He
called his essays- “Counsels, civil and moral”. Governed by the need of offering practical advice
for worldly success, Bacons style is rhetorical, persuasive, and designed to convince his
readers. On the other hand, Lamb was not governed by any such aim in his writing. His essays
are purely of a personal nature, reminiscent, nostalgic and rambling. His style reflects the
idiosyncrasies, whims and personal likes of his.

Bacon is never personal in his essays and his essays obviously are not influenced by his
personal life. His style is clear, impressive and not in the least bit resembling a “Confidential
chat” while it is the quality that is most obvious in a Lambian essay. Lamb’s essays are very
much influenced by his personal life. Both writers make profuse use of allusions and quotations,
but the difference lies in the method of use. Bacon uses his allusions solemnly, to illustrate his
point, or to lend weight to his analysis. For example in Of Nature in Men, he warns that a man
should not feel complacent about a victory over nature, and goes on to substantiate the point
with the help of the allusion to one of Aesop’s Fable. His allusions and images are brought in
with the specific purpose of impressing an idea all the more forcibly on readers mind. Lamb
uses allusions almost casually, as if they simply came to him naturally not to convince a reader
but to share an experience.

There is one aspect which both Lamb and Bacon share. Bacon in his all essays and Lamb at
least some of his, show mastery over aphoristic sentences. Sentences such as-

“Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.”

                (Of Studies, Bacon)

“Marriage by its best title is a monopoly and of the least invidious sort” (A Bachelor’s Complaint of the Behavior of Married People, Lamb)

shows us that.

Lamb was a writer of many styles. His writing has complex echoes of earlier styles. Another
quality that is a characteristic of many Lambian essay and hardly ever to be found in Bacons
essays is the touch of poetry. A passage such as-

                “Fantastic forms, whither are ye fled? Or if the like of you exists… why              comes
in reason to tear                 away the preternatural mist, bright or gloomy, that enshrouded
you?...”
can be found only in Lamb, never Bacon. Bacon has used  figurative language most effectively,
as he has done in Of Truth, Of Friendship, Of Unity in Religion etc. But we can not tell it
poetic.

Bacon and Lamb differ in another major aspect. Bacon never distress from the topic he is
dealing with where Lamb always does.

Bacon often suggests many things to his readers for attaining success in worldly life where
Lamb shares his personal experiences implicitly gives suggestions and knowledge.

Bacon’s essays spring from an impersonal and ‘stately’ motive. Lamb’s essays are the out
pouring of simple and spontaneous but deep personal feeling.

From their essays and biography it is seen that Lamb was very much moved by the rises and
clashes of life as we can refer the matter of his pausing writing. From 1811 to 1820 he wrote
nothing and was giving his time to his friends, especially to the young ones. On the other hand
Bacon kept his personal life far away from his writing.

Bacon is the greatest of the English essayist of the informative, impersonal and didactic kind,
while Lamb is the master of personal essays. Bacon is too magnificent to be humorous and
Lamb is too companionable to be stately. Bacon states his ideas confidently in the tersest of
language; Lamb’s style is full of interactions, ramblings and intimate revelations.