History of English Literature Post Graduate Sir Francis Bacon

Bacon’s Contribution To The Development Of English Prose

By Golam Mortuja

Published on: December 21, 2021

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Question : Essay-type

Evaluate Bacon’s contribution to the development of English Prose.

Sir Francis Bacon [1561-1626]

Introduction

Bacon is commonly regarded as the father of English essay, as the man who naturalized a new literary form in England. All acknowledge that he was the first to write the essay properly in the country. But it is not so well-known that he was also the father of modern English Prose. It was he who laid the foundation of the modern style in the writing of English Prose.

Bacon’s Admiration for His Unique Writing-style

Bacon’s writing has been admired for various reasons. Some admire his dazzling power of rhetoric, others his grace, yet others find him too stiff and rigid. But all admit that he is one of the greatest writers of English Prose of his age. His essays have become a classic of the English language.

In Bacon we find a style which is distinct and at the same time characteristic of his age. Bacon’s contribution to the modern English Prose is clearly brought out by a consideration of the prose of the country during the age. It was Bacon who for the first time set the model of a style consistently simple, clear and suited to everyday uses. His larger and more sustained work suffer from the faults of his contemporaries and predecessors. But his essays are, conspicuously free from such faults. His sentences are short and lucid. His style is remarkable for its simplicity and clarity. There is no obscurity in him. His prose is light and graceful. His prose is dealt with the metaphysical subjects as truth, death, religion, etc.

According to the learned critic, his style has clarity, it has eloquence, and it is interesting. His luxuriant imagination makes his style picturesque and vivid. Bacon’s language is free from prolixity, turgidity, circumlocution, conceit and such other vices which made the language obscure and incomprehensible. These were rare qualities at that time, and they fully entitle him to the rank of the father of modern English Prose.

Bacon’s prose is not only simple and lucid but also flexible. It can deal with such familiar topics as suitors and ceremonies, masques and trumps. It can also establish comparison between the movements of the human minds and the movements of the heavenly bodies. It should be remembered, however, that the objective and the impersonal form of the prose introduced by Bacon, was not followed by his successors.

Conclusion

To conclude, we may say that as a prose writer Bacon stands by himself. But he shows such a mastery of simple, lucid and flexible prose as has not been evinced before. He set up a model of English Prose which is followed at the present time. He is, therefore, rightly regarded as the father of English Prose.

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Related Question

Write a critical note on Bacon’s contribution to the development of English Prose.

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