Memoir Of Charles Brockden Brown, By William H. Prescott

In the “Memoir of Charles Brockden Brown , the American Novelist,” William H. Prescott reveals that Charles Brockden Brown was successful in his “experiment” of introducing new, unfamiliar, and dark aspects dealing with the elements of the human heart. He recognized the country's literary potential and was one of the first to debut romantic fiction in America. The context of this essay was written as a critic towards the discussion of how to view Charles Brockden Brown as an author. It was written for an academic, literary audience who have some interest or opinion of Brown’s work. One purpose of Prescott’s essay is to explain to his readers his perspective on Brown as a writer, and to congratulate the author for writing with a new level of emotion and expression of human nature.There is also the
The essay uses some elements of compare and contrast as its organizational form as Prescott distinguishes the similarities and differences of Brown and other famous authors, such as Godwin. There is also components of cause and effect throughout the essay explaining how Brown’s experimental and philosophical writing style contributed to the overall success of romantic fiction in America. Prescott’s tone is enlightening and affirmative towards the work of Brown. In his conclusion, his tone becomes ambivalent as Prescott notes how “ we are constantly stuck with the strange contrast of over-passion and over-reasoning”(4). The tools used in this essay include a direct quote from Brown, allusions to other works, and a specific use of dark word choice as he describes how Brown devises situations of “strong, moral excitement