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Prose Style

Francis Bacon is recognized as the first great English philosopher, though he had little respect for the English language. His prose style is remarkable for its terseness, with each sentence packed with meaning. Many of his sentences take the form of short, pithy sayings and aphorisms. In his essays, Bacon excels at condensing complex ideas into brief, quotable expressions. This aphoristic style gives his essays singular force and draws attention through its novel, arresting epigrams.

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875 views2 pages

Prose Style

Francis Bacon is recognized as the first great English philosopher, though he had little respect for the English language. His prose style is remarkable for its terseness, with each sentence packed with meaning. Many of his sentences take the form of short, pithy sayings and aphorisms. In his essays, Bacon excels at condensing complex ideas into brief, quotable expressions. This aphoristic style gives his essays singular force and draws attention through its novel, arresting epigrams.

Uploaded by

Muhammad Javed
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Bacons prose style.

Answer: Francis Bacon is generally recognized as the first great writer of


English philosophy although he had no great respect for the English language.
It is a known fact that Bacon is influenced by Montaigne. Bacons style is most
remarkable for its terseness. Bacon displays a great talent for condensation.
Every sentence in his essays is pregnant with meaning and is capable of
being expanded into several sentences. Many of his sentences appear to be
proverbial sayings. He can say that most in the fewest words. His essays
combine wisdom in thought with extreme brevity. The short, pithy sayings in
his essays have become popular mottoes and household expressions.

An aphoristic style means a compact, condensed and epigrammatic style of


writing. An aphorism is a short sentence expressing a truth in the fewest
possible words. An aphorism is like a proverb which has a quotable quality.
Bacon excels in this kind of writing. Indeed, his essays are replete with
aphorisms. Any number of examples could be given from his essays to
illustrate this style of writing.

Take the essay Of Truth. There are a number of aphoristic sentences in


this essay. Some of these may be quoted here.

A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure;


Here Bacon wishes to convey the idea that truth gives greater
pleasure if a lie has been mixed to it. Thus whenever we want to defend
a lie we could quote this sentence from Bacon.
But it is not the lie that passeth through the mind, but the lie that
sinketh in and settleth in it, that doth the hurt.

Here Bacon wishes to convey the idea that much harm done by the lies
which is sink in into the mind and settle down there because such a lie
Muhammad javed (M.A English Section D)
Email: [email protected]
Contact No. 03036287211
will keep working upon the mind and will have long term effects. A lie that is
heard and then forgotten will not cause any injury to a man.

His aphoristic style makes Bacon an essayist of high distinction. Aphorisms


give to his essays singular force and weight. Every aphorism that we come
across startles us by its novelty. Every epigram arrests us. Every pithy
sentence holds our attention and they are all charm, delight and thrill us
because they all clothe weighty and valuable ideas, suggestions, lessons,
and so on.

Muhammad javed (M.A English Section D)


Email: [email protected]
Contact No. 03036287211

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