Understanding and Appreciation of the Essay

In this instructional guide to the essay, theatre professor Wallace House and the University Players explore the essay’s place in the canon of literary forms. Using narrated excerpts from a broad range of famous essays, the art of the form is illustrated and its development through history is explained. The script, written by Morris Schreiber, quotes from literary giants including Thoreau, Montaigne, Plato, Turgenev, and Orwell. An imagined meeting of publishing company staff developing an anthology of great modern essayists allows the editors to debate the merits of more recent masters of the form, including H.L. Mencken, Walter Lippmann, and Virginia Woolf. Liner notes include a complete transcript.

Track Listing

101	Part 1: Art and Range of the Essay	Wallace House	11:13
102	Part 2: The Essay as a Literary Type	Wallace House	08:09
103	Part 3: How the Essay Evolved	Wallace House	10:19
201	Part 4: Style in the Essay	Wallace House	03:43
202	Part 5: Modern Masters of the Essay	Wallace House	12:18
203	Part 6: The Summing Up	Wallace House	02:42