LIFE AND LITERATURE

                                                                       THE RAVEN                                                                                              -EDGAR ALLAN POE       An unnamed speaker sits in his chamber on a dreary December night, reading old, esoteric books. He dearly misses his love, Lenore, who presumably died recently, and he hopes that reading will distract him from his loss. He has nearly fallen asleep when he suddenly hears someone—or something—knocking on the door.       He is instantly uneasy but reassures himself that it is probably just a visitor. He calls out, apologizing for his delayed response. However, when he opens the door, no one is there. He whispers, “Lenore,” to the darkness outside but hears only his words echo back at him. Ominously, the knocking continues, this time from the window. The speaker assumes it is the wind but still feels uneasy. He opens the window shutters, and a raven hops in, perching on a bust of the Greek godde

 INTRODUCTION  Joseph Addison was a famous English essayist, dramatist, journalist, and politician. Addison, one of the gentlest of men, early became a scholar of note along with Steele he developed the English essay form in the direction indicated by Cowley and devoted himself to the production of short essays suitable for publication in the periodicals which began to be popular in the early eighteenth century _ the Tattler and the Spectator. His style is polished, easy, and pleasant and his English was regarded as a model of perfection for two hundred years.  CHARACTER OF WILL WIMBLE  Addison’s essay, “The Character of Will Wimble” is about a person called Will Wimble. It traces his character. He ends the prose by universalizing the problem of difference between two brothers – the younger and the elder.His essays are noted for their clarity and elegant style, as well as their cheerful and respectful humour.  MR. WIMBLE'S LETTER TO SIR ROGER  Joseph Addison visits his friend Sir R

 INTRODUCTION  Francis Bacon was a prose writer of renaissance age, a great philosopher and pioneer of scientific thoughts. He had set some goals in his life. One is to serve his country, second is to serve the church and the other is to learn the truth. His interest in his science and reasoning lead him to write critically about the aspects of life. He wrote many essays which till today receives appreciation and is up to date. Being an essayist his aim was to share the wisdom of his life. Bacon’s style is most remarkable for his preciseness. He has a great command of condensation of the sentences. Each sentence of his essay contains multiple meanings and references. He combines wisdom with brevity and his short, pithy sayings become famous as mottoes and useful expressions.  OF STUDIES  The essay Of Studies by Sir Francis Bacon is the first essay in the series of ten essays published in 1597. Later, it was revised in 1612 with the addition of some more sentences a