Memoir vs Essay - What's the difference?
memoir | essay |
An autobiography; a book describing the personal experiences of an author.
Any form of narrative describing the personal experiences of a writer.
A written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-01
, author=Katie L. Burke
, title=Ecological Dependency
, volume=101, issue=1, page=64
, magazine=
(obsolete) A test, experiment; an assay.
An attempt.
* 1988 , James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Oxford 2003, p. 455:
(dated) To try.
* 1900 , , The House Behind the Cedars , Chapter II,
To move forth, as into battle.
As nouns the difference between memoir and essay
is that memoir is an autobiography; a book describing the personal experiences of an author while essay is essay, usually on scientific, cultural or sociological subjects for publication in a newspaper or magazine.memoir
English
(wikipedia memoir)Noun
(en noun)- When I retire, I'm going to write my memoirs .
Usage notes
* A memoir differs from a simple autobiography by not focusing on the author as the primary subject matter, but on people and events in the author's life. Emphasis is placed on personal observations about external events. * The plural memoirs is very often used to refer to a single work.External links
*essay
English
(wikipedia essay)Noun
(en noun)citation, passage=In his first book since the 2008 essay collection Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature , David Quammen looks at the natural world from yet another angle: the search for the next human pandemic, what epidemiologists call “the next big one.”}}
- This was Lee's first essay in the kind of offensive-defensive strategy that was to become his hallmark.
Derived terms
* photo essayVerb
(en verb)- He retraced his steps to the front gate, which he essayed to open.