Subgenre as a Form of Confessional

A detailed Summary of Subgenre as a Form of Confessional

The confessional as a sub-genre can be an effective form of writing. The most obvious feature being that it is essentially an autobiography. By using this genre to create a work of prose the author is able to confess his or her life's loves, sins, dreams, faults, triumphs, as well as degradations. On the other hand the reader must therefore immediately question the honesty of the speaker and the intended audience and original purpose of the confessional.

The first documented autobiography was written by St, Augustine in the forth century and was aptly titled "Confessions" (Abrams 22.) St Augustine wrote his confession to God, stating most of his experiences as sins and asking for forgiveness. Later in the eighteenth century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau used the same title for his own autobiography. In contrast to St. Augustine's spiritual autobiography, Rousseau's confession was secular (Abrams 22) and above all actually glorified his life as what St, Augustine would call a sinner. Being autobiographies, both texts showed the self-revelation of the speakers, one through Christian conversion and the latter through human achievement. Still, the fact that they were autobiographies poses a number of important questions as to the

By answering all of these questions the reader is able to make an informed decision as to whether the events and experiences cited are true and therefore if the speaker is a true representation of the author or if it is a persona that is being used. Once this is done, the confessional can be a very effective form of writing. Because the author has chosen to write and most likely make known his or her life story in this fashion it not only give the reader a glimpse in to the authors life but also a valid description of society in the era in which it was written.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. "Confessions." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces:

Expanded Edition in One Volume. Ed Maynard Mack. New York: Norton, 1997 723-736

Expanded Edition in One Volume. Ed Maynard Mack. New York: Norton, 1997

NY: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. 22-23

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The first question the reader must ask is how honest is the author being through the speaker? Is he or she using a persona? When an author uses the technique of a mask or persona, he or she can seemingly distance him or herself from the actual action or story even if it is an autobiography. By doing this, the author is given more liberty to admit certain information or, for that matter, excl

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Approximate Word count = 895
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English