Dream Children: A Reverie
Charles Lamb, English essayist and critic, was born in London
in 1775. He is best known for his Essays of Elia. He studied at
Christ’s Hospital where he formed a lifelong friendship with
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In 1792 Lamb joined as a clerk at
East India House (the headquarters of the East India
Company) and worked there until retirement in 1825. In
1796 Lamb’s sister Mary killed their mother in a fit of
madness. Lamb reacted with courage and loyalty and took up
the responsibility of looking after Mary.We can say that Lamb’s
greatest achievements were his commendable letters and the
essays that he wrote under the pseudonym Elia for London
Magazine, which was founded in 1820. His style is notable as
it is informal and personal. The main function of this essay
was to “create” and delineate the persona of Elia. The essays
bring out, with humour and sometimes with pathos, old
acquaintances of Lamb. They also recall scenes from
childhood and from later life, and they indulge the author’s
sense of playfulness and fancy. Lamb’s first Elia essays were
published separately in 1823; a second series
appeared,as The Last Essays of Elia, in 1833.
