esszé

Esszé is a short prose form in which the author presents reflections on a subject, often in a personal, exploratory voice. The term derives from the French essai, meaning “trial” or “attempt.” The genre is widely considered to originate with Michel de Montaigne’s Essais in the late 16th century, a collection that blended personal observation, argument, and anecdote to investigate human experience. Over time the form broadened to include critical essays, philosophical meditations, travel sketches, and literary criticism.

Essays are typically characterized by subjectivity, openness, and an emphasis on thinking rather than delivering definitive proof. They often mix reasoning with personal voice, anecdotes, and allusions, and they prize clarity, concision, and sometimes lyric or rhetorical flare. The structure is flexible: a single central idea may be explored from multiple angles, with a loose progression rather than a fixed thesis-and-support format. Ending may be decisive, speculative, or deliberately inconclusive.

In practice, esszé appears across periods and cultures. In European and North American literature it has been used for social critique, cultural commentary, and introspective prose. In Hungarian letters the term esszé covers similar forms: reflective, critical, and essayistic prose published in journals, books, and magazines. Topics range from politics and art to everyday life and personal memory. The esszé remains a versatile vehicle for examining ideas through a personal, often intimate, lens, inviting readers to think alongside the writer rather than simply to be persuaded.