Lamb as a personal essayest

 Charles Lamb was one of the greatest essayists of the 19th century. He has rightly been called the “Prince of English Essayist”. His essays reflect the subjective elements . Lamb stands at the head of personal essayists and the study of his essays reveals not only the delightful essayists but also his relatives and friends. Like Montaigne, the essays of Lamb are personal and autobiographical. They are egoistical. They are subjective in character.

Fact and fiction were cleverly blended in the essays of Lamb. As a personal essayist, Lamb is known for the “Essays of Elia”. The essay Elia was published in The London Magazine in 1820-1823. The last essays of Elia were published in 1833.

The subject of the Essays of Elia is Lamb himself. In all of them, he makes some reference to himself. And the personal "I" so abound in his essays that readers are sometimes fretted, although some critics consider that use as an extra charm of Lamb's essays. In almost all the essays, he talks about himself, his family, relatives, and friends. From these essays, we come to know about his personality, nature, and character which are revealed by himself. 

We also come to know about his relatives and friends. In the essay "The South Sea House”, he writes about his colleagues and gives the readers a very clear view of them. Similarly, In "Christ's Hospital", he tells about his relatives and friends. Some of his relatives and friends lived in London and who were, no doubt, very caring to him. They used to bring delicious food for him   

So, considering the subject matter of his essays, it can be said that a large portion of Lamb's biography can be written from his essays and thereby making him a great personal essayist.