About Charles Lamb
Charles Lamb (1775–1834) was an English essayist and critic who worked for most of his life as a clerk at the East India Company. His essays for the London Magazine, written under the name Elia, were collected as Essays of Elia (1823) and The Last Essays of Elia (1833). With his sister Mary he wrote Tales from Shakespeare (1807).
Charles Lamb’s writing style
Lamb writes in a confiding first person, often through the persona of Elia, and mixes humor with melancholy. He borrowed archaic words and rhythms from seventeenth-century prose writers he admired, such as Sir Thomas Browne and Robert Burton. His long, digressive sentences pile up clauses and asides before they arrive at their point.
Practice Charles Lamb’s essays
1 essay
How to write like Charles Lamb
Pick one of Charles Lamb’s essays and retype it word for word. Copying slows you down enough to notice how each sentence is built: where it starts, how long it runs and which words carry the weight. Keep the style notes above in mind as you type, then write a paragraph of your own in the same voice. New to this? Read what copywork is and how to do it.