Overview
Nonfiction in English literature includes essays, memoirs, journalism, and literary criticism. These works explore real-world topics, philosophical ideas, and cultural analysis with clarity and rhetorical style. Critical theory also plays a major role in shaping how texts are read and interpreted.
Common Nonfiction Forms
- Essay: A focused argument or meditation on a topic, literary or cultural (e.g., Orwell’s Politics and the English Language).
- Memoir: A personal narrative rooted in truth and reflection (e.g., Woolf’s A Sketch of the Past).
- Biography: A factual account of someone’s life with literary insight (e.g., Boswell’s Life of Johnson).
- Literary Criticism: Evaluation or interpretation of literature through various lenses.
- Theoretical Writing: Explores frameworks for analyzing texts (e.g., feminism, postcolonialism, deconstruction).
Influential Authors and Critics
- Virginia Woolf – A Room of One’s Own
- George Orwell – Shooting an Elephant, Politics and the English Language
- Samuel Johnson – Preface to Shakespeare
- T.S. Eliot – Tradition and the Individual Talent
- Terry Eagleton – Literary Theory: An Introduction
- Edward Said – Orientalism
Quick Tip
When reading nonfiction or criticism, identify the argument’s purpose and evaluate how the author uses tone, evidence, and rhetorical technique to persuade or inform.