Introduction

Prose is a literary device that refers to a form of written language structured in a grammatical way, with words and
phrases that build sentences and paragraphs. It is the most common and popular form of writing in fiction and non-
fiction works.

*Types of Prose:*
There are several types of prose in literature, each serving a unique purpose and offering a different reading
experience, including:- Fiction: - Nonfiction: - Drama: - Heroic: - Poetic.. Prose is written in a natural, conversational
style, prose uses sentences and paragraphs to convey meaning .

Prose is an essential literary device in literature and the foundation for storytelling. Examples of prose in literature
include “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck and “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger.

- *Daniel Defoe*: Known as the first English journalist, he published “The Review” and wrote “Journal of the Plague
Year” and “Robinson Crusoe”.

- *Richard Steel and Joseph Addison*: Published “The Tatler” and “The Spectator” and wrote many essays on
various subjects.

- *Jonathan Swift*: Known as the greatest English satirist, he wrote “The Battle of the Books”, “Tale of Tub” and
“Gulliver’s Travels”.

- *Alexander Pope*: Contributed to “The Spectator” and wrote “An Essay on Criticism”, “The Rape of the Lock” and
“Essay on Man”.

Prose appears as a block of text, unlike the strict line breaks that are a result of the rhythmic patterns of verse.

The 18th century had a significant impact on the development of prose writing ¹. Some of the key factors that
influenced the relationship between prose and the 18th century include :

- *Social Conditions*:
- *Political Conditions*:
- *Economic Conditions
- *Religious Conditions*:
- *Literary Developments*:

Shakespeare also used prose to create a range of effects, including:

- Making dialogue more realistic

- Creating comic effect

- Suggesting a character’s mental instability

Shakespeare’s use of prose is important because it was a departure from the conventional use of verse in writing.
Shakespeare wrote hundreds of sonnets and poems . More and more books were printed

*Renaissance Prose*

- Renaissance prose is characterized by the adoption of a Humanist philosophy and the recovery of the classical
literature of Antiquity.

- Renaissance prose benefited from the spread of printing in the latter part of the 15th century.
- Renaissance prose was written in the vernacular language, which is the native language or native dialect of a
specific population, especially as distinguished from a literary, national, or standard variety of the language.

- The scholarly writings of Erasmus and the plays of Shakespeare can be considered Renaissance in character.

Francis bacon the father of English essays was born on Jan 22, 1561 in London . His father Sir Nicholas bacon was
the lord keeper of the Great Seal. Bacon was influenced from his mother Annie Cook.

Queen Elizabeth called him the little lord keeper.He was inspired from Michal de Montaigne and follow him while
writing essay.

When he was 12years old he was sent to Trinity college Cambridge for higher education. He was more interested in
mathematics.Aristotelian philosophy misguided /disgusted him there . Without qualifying his degree ,he returned
to London in 1578 for the study of law.

He joined bar in 1582.He returned parliament in 1584.He was knighted in 1603.He took keen interest in politics.He
became solicitan general in 1607. In 1613 , he became Attarney General.In 1618-1621, He was lord Chancellor . He
was also known as Lord verulam. He was also known as Father of Empiricism.

He earned much money but his habit of extravagance always kept him in a debt. He misused his high position
fragrantly by accepting bribes and presents. He was imprisoned for this in the tower and was fined 40,000 pounds.
He died on 1626.

The age of bacon’s is the age of Renaissance as better called the age of Shakespeare.

Bacon’s work can be divided into three classes .

Philosophical: The advancement of learning.(1605) Novam Organum.(1620)

Literary: The new Atlantis (1626) History of Henry the seventh (1622)

Professional: Maxims of the law.

Francis bacon is called the First essayst of English. He died in London. He was admires as philosopher, Scientist and
Essayst . Francis bacon literary career started some time in the nineties of sixteen century and extended to 1626,
the year of his death. Of studies was published in 1612.

His essays published in three edition. He used aphoristic style in writing.

Bacon uses short and concise sentences to explain his philosophy in lesser words. Bacon removes the need for
parenthesis by making every word self-explanatory.Bacon’s essays have a rhythm and coherence that keeps the
reader interested. Bacon’s style is epigrammatic, straightforward, truthful, impartial and impersonal. Bacon’s essays
are related to worldly wisdom, ethical qualities, government, state and science.

According to literary critics and scholars, two things that make Francis Bacon’s language difficult are:

1. *Latinized vocabulary*:.

2. *Complex sentence structure*:

These two features of Bacon’s language can make his writing challenging to read and understand, especially for
readers who are not accustomed to his style. However, his writing is also considered to be highly elegant, precise,
and expressive, and is still widely studied and admired today.