How to write a portrait essay?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Sketch is one of the genres of epic literature. Relatively short in length, it combines features inherent in fiction and journalistic literature.

The main task of the essay as a genre is to describe already established customs.

A portrait essay occupies a special place. True, today the meaning of this term has changed somewhat. The classics of literature, drawing portraits of certain people, explored their inner world, painted it in such a way that readers understand what is the true background of the actions and behavior of the characters. The authors pointed out, explicitly or implicitly, the most dramatic features of the characters, determined what distinguishes them from other people. It was believed that no other genre is capable of responding to the most acute problems of our time in such a way. Only a portrait sketch can do this.

Today, this term is increasingly understood as biographical descriptions. One of the reasons for the loss of sharpness by essays is freedom of speech: thanks to this freedom, purely informational genres began to occupy a leading place in literature and journalism.

Portrait essay, like any other genre of literature, has its ownsalient features.

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  The purpose of the essayist is to tell about another person, to show him as he is seen by the author of the work. The author's interpretation of the hero's character is given, based on the features of his biography.

• The essayist should portray the hero, drawing his portrait with documentary accuracy, showing his behavior or actions in non-standard situations. The author must conduct an artistic analysis of the character of his hero. If this is a portrait sketch of a friend, then it does not hurt to tell how she relates to the author, and how to other people, what she likes and what not. Well, if you can determine the origins or causes of her actions. It is important to remember that you can write an essay only on the basis of well-studied material: unlike the narrator, the essayist cannot invent events. He works exclusively with documentary material.
• If the author creates a portrait sketch of the mother, one should (however, as in other cases) draw not only an external portrait, but also reveal the mother's inner world, conduct a psychological analysis of her features. It is necessary to explain why she is the best, highlight the most significant trait of her character, emotionally talk about her.
• When creating a portrait sketch of any person, you should correctly submit your



presentation, find a suitable "frame" for it, choose a fascinating beginning and end for the story. You need to be able to arouse interest in the hero, make you think about him even after the essay has been written.read and set aside.

In no case should you start a story with banal phrases (for example, "I want to tell …", "My mother's name is …", etc.). The beginning should be a kind of seed. Here are good examples: “And life is beautiful because there is a mother in it …”; “Her eyes stand before me in the most difficult moments of my life…”; "What do you remember about your childhood?"

When creating a portrait sketch, you need to remember that in order to fully reveal the image of the hero, it is imperative to use dialogues, landscape sketches, descriptions of significant details and carefully monitor the language of presentation.