Writing a literary analysis essay is not as exhausting as it sounds, especially when you have our guide at hand! Here we will explain how to create a literature essay outline and give useful writing prompts. Below you will also find examples of A+ essays. Stay here, and you will enjoy composing the paper with our tips and tricks.
A literature essay is an analysis of a novel, short story, or another written piece. You can examine one or compare two texts. Every student has to write hundreds of literature essays at school, and many have to compose them at college.
American Literature Essay
An American literature essay is a paper that focuses on a work of an American writer or poet. Though the US is quite a young country, it still features a rich history of literature. American writers tend to focus on issues like the American Dream, gender, social inequality, and the hardships of war. That is just a tiny part of many themes you might want to write about.
Here is a list of possible American literature essay topics:
Is an American Dream the same in The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men?
Little Women: a life of a woman after the Civil War.
Influence of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in the fight for equal rights.
The Sun Also Rises as the portrayal of the Lost Generation.
The school years and teenage innocence as horror in Carrie.
Gothic Literature Essay
A Gothic literature essay focuses on the genre distinct for its mystery and horror. You can choose plenty of themes if your task is to write such a paper. If you are bored with typical Poe’s grim short stories, take a look at southern Gothic authors, such as Capote or Faulkner. Grotesque and death in literature are represented there in a peculiar way.
Here is a list of possible Gothic literature essay topics:
How was the world frightened by The Castle of Otranto?
Motives of loneliness and isolation in The Fall of the House of Usher.
The way stream of consciousness is presented in As I Lay Dying.
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus: what frightens more – the Creature or its creator?
The heritage of Gothic literature in The Call of Cthulhu.
African American Literature Essay
African American Literature Essay focuses on the writings of those of African descent who live in the US. This body of literature often concentrates on the issues of racism and the role of African Americans in broader society. These authors have addressed the ideas of slavery, segregation, and their culture.
The title of your African American literature essay could be:
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral: The first voice of African Americans in literature.
The exposure of slave’s feelings in Up from Slavery.
Restoring justice in Black Reconstruction in America.
Reflections on “home and family” in Roots: The Saga of an American Family.
On being “a good person” in Beloved through the eyes of a Pulitzer prize winner.
Essay on Poetry
A poetry essay is an analysis of one or a series of poems. The goal is to interpret the author’s thoughts. How do they use literary techniques and devices? What is the meaning of the poem itself? What is the significance of the poem in the author’s life and art as a whole? These are the issues that poetry essays focus on.
Poetry explication essay
A poetry explication essay is your interpretation of a poem. This paper aims to analyze its style, characteristics, subtext, and techniques used by the author. Reading pieces of poetry may be challenging for some. It is better to choose a poem that you have some connection with.
Below are some ideas for your poetry essay:
The way W. Shakespear explains love in Sonnet 130.
Elements of romanticism in Percey Shelly’s Hymn to Intellectual Beauty.
W.B. Yeats’ rhythm and rhyme in Lines Written in Dejection.
Power and conflict through the metaphor in Fire and Ice by R. Frost.
Use of alliteration in Pied Beauty by G.M. Hopkins.
Poetry comparison essay
A poetry comparison essay has much in common with the poetry explication paper. The difference is that you are supposed to compare several poems.
You need to:
State briefly the structure and style of poems one at a time
Compare poems with each other, analyze their similarities and differences
Here is a list of possible poetry comparison essay topics:
How does Blake question God in The Lamb and The Tyger?
What techniques are used to describe nature in The Wind and Who Has Seen the Wind?
Approaches to picture a person in To Helen by E.A. Poe and Helen by Hilda Dooliton.
The value of verse style in Paradise Lost and The Hollow Man.
Reading in a dialect Crowin’ Hen Blues and Red Roses by Langston Hughes.
Response to Literature Essay: How to Write?
Response to literature essay is a standard type of essay. We will guide you on how to compose it from the beginning to the end. We will focus you on the most critical elements, such as the title and the outline. You may find samples of strong essays at the end of an article.
Choose a Topic
One of the crucial questions in composing an essay is how to title it. A paper on a subject of your interest will make writing much more exciting. Explore a book or poem that is touching you. Do not worry if you have no ideas; choose a topic from the lists above or use them to get inspired!
Make a Response to Literature Essay Outline
Another critical issue in response to literature essay writing is creating a coherent outline. Its purpose is to build a strong basis for a paper. A good essay consists of 3 main parts.
These are:
The introduction contains the plan of an essay and a thesis statement. This part is not lengthy; it only gives some hooks to the central piece.
The body is the main part of any paper. It takes more space than the intro and conclusion combined. Here you are to analyze the theses and provide arguments to prove them. There have to be at least three paragraphs, each containing a topic sentence and its evidence.
The conclusion gives an overview of an essay. It summarizes your arguments in a laconic way. The goal is to deduce a solid inference, not adding new arguments. The final part should be short, about the same size as the introduction.
Write Your Literature Essay
Now you know the kinds and structure of literary essays. Here is some general advice for composing a well-done paper:
Study and follow the requirements and format your tutor has given to you.
Place strong arguments at the beginning and the end of a body part.
Check the spelling, grammar, and style consistency before finishing your paper.
Read your essay after a while to correct things you have not noticed earlier.
We hope our tips and tricks will help you to write your A+ essay. We have selected proper literature essay examples that are sure to be useful!
Introduction Flannery O’ Connor’s works were paradoxical in the sense that element of religion, humor and horror appear at the same time. She has become famous especially as a short story writer and had an impressive collection in her short life of just 39 years. She died in 1964 from...
What are the similarities and differences between physical and e-books? Find out in this essay sample on e-book vs print book advantages and disadvantages! Get some ideas and inspiration for your paper and learn more about e-book and paper book advantages and disadvantages. E-book vs Print Book: Advantages and Disadvantages...
Myths and legends are an important part of human culture that has historically shaped the way people perceive the world around them. Legends describe events that are believed to have occurred in the past, but the focus is placed on the narrative and characters rather than historical accuracy. While it...
The “August” is a poem included in Oliver’s third collection, American Primitive. In this collection, we see the author entering the perspective of an “Other”, following the Native American beliefs. In this collection, Oliver can be seen doing the narration by transforming into other life forms, usually an animal. This...
Introduction The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant depicts a woman who is unsatisfied by her social position and desires to be accepted among the upper class. Although the author dwells on several issues, including the role of gender in society or psychological conflict, the Marxist theory is best applied to...
According to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, every tragic character has to face an unexpected reveal. When encountering it, Hamlet demonstrates greater resilience than Oedipus. Hamlet does not break down under the new knowledge, he does not relent even as the situation worsens, and he does not allow his attachments to...
Hamlet’s Appearance vs Reality Theme: Introduction Shakespeare’s Hamlet is full of a seeming technique highlighting the tensions or gaps between appearance and reality. That is, how things seem in appearance and the reality behind the complex screen of appearances among characters and events. One can identify appearance and reality in...
The theme of fear is often presented in literature and philosophy through various concepts, including existential experiences, questions of death, and the finiteness of being. Many authors are very interested in the topic of fear, as it is also strongly related to aspects of the corporeality. People lose their minds...
“The Gift of the Magi” Analysis Essay: Introduction O. Henry’s parable-like short stories are a tribute to pure love, non-material values, and devotion. Rehman et al. define “The Gift of the Magi” as the story of love, compassion, and care that stand against extreme poverty (264). The background of the...
I extremely love this poem; it is magnificently and affectionately written and it always rouses my feelings and makes me feel contented. One thing I love about this poem is that Neruda’s work was an inspiration from his wife and so he did not write this poem for the sake...
In total, there are 7 soliloquies in Hamlet. Soliloquies help reveal his personality and state of mind. This analysis presents all of Hamlet’s seven soliloquies in order with explanations. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” is among William Shakespeare’s most famous works. The play is centered around the titular...
The tragedy of Hamlet has remained a mystery to many people. Over the years, many people have questioned if the Hamlet fits the description of a tragedy outlined by Aristotle in the poetics. In a classic tragedy, there is a noble and heroic protagonist whose destruction is caused by a...
William Shakespeare’s “My Mistress’ eyes” jumps into the theme of loving one another’s imperfections and flaws. The poem is a sonnet that is in iambic pentameter. “The rhyme scheme of the sonnet is highly regular” (Zsoldos line 24). That is, it follows a regular rhyming pattern. The rhyme of the...
Introduction Geoffrey Chaucer is considered among England’s influential poets. He was born in 1340 and lived for sixty years until 1400, when he died. He is a famous figure in English literature and is regarded as the founding father of English poetry. This is not to say that England was...
The Necklace Irony: Introduction Several types of irony were added in Maupassant’s story “The Necklace”. Each type performs its own function, but their complex application provides the greatest comedic effect. However, the irony in the story is used not only for comedic reasons. Maupassant applies this technique to show the...
Introduction “Preface to Shakespeare” is one of the classic and universally recognized documents in the field of literary criticism in English society, which came from the pen of Samuel Johnson. This work is a collection of reliable knowledge, assumptions, and ideas of the author about the great playwright’s life moments...
In his arguably the most illustrious artwork titled “Funeral Blues,” first printed in 1938, Wystan Hugh Auden presents a morose, sorrowful elegy that brilliantly outlines the feelings linked to grieving. The poet mainly talks about the immensity of pain through an unmentioned speaker experiencing great discomfort after his extensively cherished...
Introduction The Bell Jar is an autobiographical novel by Sylvia Plath, published in 1963. The prototype of the main character is Plath herself, who reflects on her experience of being married to Ted Hughes and her way as a female writer. The novel, which tells the story of nineteen-year-old Esther...
Since its release, Wuthering Heights has been a subject of criticism for many. The only novel by Emily Jane Bronte, written in 1847, has been put under the spotlight due to its doubtful theme, which is revenge and its causes in people’s lives. The author smartly narrates the story about...
This sample will help you write a The Story of an Hour analysis essay! Here you’ll find a The Story of an Hour summary. Essay also contains a plot and character analysis. The Story of an Hour is a short story written by Kate Chopin in 1894. This famous piece...
Introduction “My Last Duchess” is a beautiful poem written by Robert Browning and it also reveals the poet’s style of using dramatic monologue in writing his poems. The sixteenth century Italian background of the story adds richness to the theme, as Italy was the centre of arts. The attention of...
Introduction “Shooting an Elephant” is an early essay by George Orwell. It is unclear whether this essay is autobiographical, or portrays a fictionalized version of a real experience. However, the strong imagery and symbolism of the story make its nature almost irrelevant to the message it tries to convey. The...
In the story “In the Grove,” written by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, there are several pieces of evidence of the murder of Kanazawa no Takehiro presented by different characters. Despite their seeming credibility, the testimony given by Tajomaru is more likely to be accurate than the stories of other people. This conclusion...
Metaphor The central theme of William Shakespeare’s sonnet No. 18 is love. The lyrical hero admires his beloved and compares her with a beautiful sunny day in May, as in his eyes, she turns out to be “sweeter and more beautiful.” The poem is built on the antithesis since he...
Shirley Jackson’s story, which shook society in the last century’s forties, became a kind of accusatory revelation. The plot in The Lottery is reduced to the fact that in a particular abstract town a lottery is held, where all residents gather. From their conversations, it becomes clear that this is...
What is the significance of the title and the moral lesson of The Dead by James Joyce? Keep reading to find out! This essay example is here to provide you with some ideas and inspiration for your paper. The Dead James Joyce: Themes The main theme of the short story...
The Monkey’s Paw: Analysis Introduction The Monkey’s Paw is a horror short story written by William Wymark Jacobs in the early twentieth century. Despite telling about mysterious events and matters, the story feels probable due to realistic settings and characters. The synthesis of the real and unreal world helps the...
The Philosophy of Money was written by Georg Simmel and first published in the year 1900. Being a Philosopher, he had students learning under him. Like others before him and after him he thought through the mysteries of life. His main subject was about man and money. In the book,...
Introduction Shakespeare’s Hamlet transcends time and generations as it illuminates universal themes, with love and revenge being among the prominent ones. The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia serves as an example of the theme of love in the play, with its complexities illustrating the ups and downs as well as...
Are you about to write The Lottery summary essay and looking for examples? Then check out this The Lottery analysis essay sample! Here, you’ll find information on the setting, themes, and other aspects of the story. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is one of the most recognized short pieces of...
Introduction People normally experience crises, problems, losses, adversity, trauma, and other challenges at some point in life. However, there is always the possibility of recovering and return back to the previous position. Resilience is the capacity to recover from difficult or challenging life events and is considered an important characteristic...
Introduction The main theme of All for Love is love, which is shown through the relationship and hardships of lovers Antony and Cleopatra. Their tragic love storyline accentuates the tension between a person’s private aspirations and their duty to the nation, society, and the public good. This conflict between love...
Epiphany is a literary metaphor in which characters are struck with life-changing insights that change the course of history. Simple everyday encounters and experiences often cause revelation. Joyce introduced epiphany as a sudden revelation in the novel The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It is the moment...
Introduction In the short story “A Rose for Emily,” written by William Faulkner, the Old South is portrayed through the lens of symbolism. Hence, the emotional response of the people, who witnessed the tragic events stemming from the main character’s unrequited love, which is unacceptable for her position, can be...
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is an example of a well-structured short story, in which the five parts of the plot, in accordance with Freytag’s Pyramid, may be found. These five steps include exposition, rising action, climax, or the highest point of tension, followed by falling action,...
Introduction Education is not just about learning things at school; it is about creating one’s own identity and values, even if they contradict those of other people. I believe that this is the purpose of Tara Westover’s writing her book, Educated: A Memoir. In the novel, the author recounts her...
Introduction Marriage and its strong relationship with wealth and social position are one of the key topics in “Pride and Prejudice.” According to Austen, a middle-class lady did not frequently have the means to marry entirely based on love; she needed to be aware of the man’s potential to provide...
Interested in Elizabethan era gender roles in Shakespeare plays? Check out this essay! It analyzes gender roles in Elizabethan society and the importance of marriage and gender conformity during the Elizabethan era. Here, we explain why some scholars believe that Shakespeare promoted feminism and how gender roles in Elizabethan England...
Alice Walker is a multifaceted author, excelling in both prose and poetry, and her works are deeply influenced by her experience as an African-American woman. She is very concerned with women’s plight and rights and explores the topic in most of her bibliography. While one may be more familiar with...
Introduction Barn Burning is a masterpiece short story by William Faulkner set in the late 19th century in the white plantations in the south. The narrative revolves around highlighting social classes characterized by a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Class conflicts in the south were relevant discussion...
The peculiar story of the monkey and the girl Mizuki is full of symbols and metaphors. Mizuki leads an ordinary and, at first glance, satisfying life. Still, at the same time, in her childhood, she has gone through horrible traumas that made her suppress her feelings and emotions because it...
Introduction Sonnet 75 is part of Edmund Spenser’s 89 sonnets about his wife, Elizabeth Boyle. The 89 short poems are collectively called Amoretti and were first published in 1595. Sonnet 75 carries the themes of love and time that seem to clash. The friction between the two themes is prominent...
Introduction Mercy is a virtue that allows one to forgive sinners or those guilty of crimes, while justice is the principle of punishing criminals commensurate with the severity of their crimes. Thus, it seems that these two concepts conflict with each other. The main actors of the play are Venetian...
In “The Dinner Party,” Mona Gardner narrates about a table gathering of a colonial official, his wife, and their guests in India. During the evening, a colonel and a young girl become involved in the discussion about women’s reactions to surprising events. The host claims that “…while a man may...
Introduction “The World Is Too Much with Us” is a sonnet composed by the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth. Written in 1802 during the Industrial Revolution, it was first published in 1807 in Wordsworth’s collection “Poems, in Two Volumes.” The poem reflects Wordsworth’s perspective on the growing estrangement of humanity...
Introduction The Great Gatsby is a chef-d’oeuvre tragic love story and a pessimistic critique of the idea of the American Dream as written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. The American Dream is the meritocratic belief that anyone, irrespective of his or her class, race, gender, or nationality can become...
The essay by Nancy Sommers explores the concept of writing which can vary strongly based on the context, ideas, and purpose. Writing is both a skill and an art, never set in stone or adhering to some rigid structures, which is what makes the process uniquely charming and personal. The...
“Pride” and “Prejudice” are both depicted as qualities that each character needs in proper balance. “Pride” and “Prejudice,” are potentially dangerous qualities that Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet must overcome or avoid if they are to build a successful life together. Although Mr Darcy is often referred to in the...
William Shakespeare captures the true meaning of love and beauty. Shakespeare has written many great poems in his time. This sonnet is one of the most beautiful verses in the English language. Shakespeare is comparing his adored love to a summer’s day. When one hears about love and beauty in...
John Donne is often considered as one of the most remarkable literary figures of the Elizabethan age. ‘Death Be Not Proud’ is regarded as his most widely accepted religious poem. A closer examination and analysis of his religious poems reveals that Donne broke away from the conventional Elizabethan traditions and...
Introduction The verses “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost and Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare are among the most beautiful. They show poets’ ability to capture the essence of life. They depict the inevitability of choice and eternity; meditate about the most philosophical sides of life. Eternal Life of...
This The Last Leaf essay sample explores O. Henry’s short story. Learn more about the themes, setting, dialogues, and other details of the story with our The Last Leaf critique essay sample! The Last Leaf Essay Introduction I have read several short stories, but none inspired me, as The Last...
Introduction It is possible to suggest that the most universal and inclusive definition of the purpose of literature as an art is to tell a good story. While it is apparent that various genres of literature fulfill this purpose differently, it could be suggested that the genre of memoirs is...
This “The Explosion” poem analysis presents the poem’s summary and its theme. In “The Explosion”, Larkin presented profound ideas. Keep reading to learn more. “The Explosion” by Philip Larkin Analysis Introduction In his poem “The Explosion,” Philip Larkin discusses the dramatic event of the mine disaster observed in 1969. This...
Sight is a word that describes more than physical vision, or eyesight. Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, offers an ironic comparison between Oedipus, who is blessed with vision yet can not comprehend what goes on around him, and Tiresias who is blind but aware of the truth. The author shows how...
The Importance of Being Earnest is a play written by Oscar Wilde and published in 1895 for the first time. This is the story of two friends, each of whom uses a fake personality to be able to pursue a life that they cannot live under their real names. The...
Detailing the main characters is a significant task for any writer aiming to create a fascinating story. While most well-recognized literary characters are protagonists, the antagonists may also become the audience’s favorite heroes due to their interesting personalities or relatable motives. In this regard, unlikable characters can also make for...
The short story “After the Denim” begins with an elderly couple Edith and James Packer getting ready to go to bingo. When they get there, they notice that a young couple is sitting in the seats they used to occupy. The Packers have been unlucky that day and James is...
Introduction The Greek concept of “Therapon”, as one of the central in the Ancient Greek culture, plays an important historical and cultural role in the “Iliad” by Homer. On the whole, the Ancient Greece contributed greatly to the development of the world culture of today, and the above mentioned concept...
Wuthering Heights is an eminent work by Emily Bronte which was written in the Victorian epoch of British literature. The concept of the novel is widely discussed until now. A huge range of writers who were contemporary to E. Bronte and lived after her admit that the novel is full...
In this compare and contrast essay, Oedipus Rex and Hamlet’s characters are analyzed and discussed. Being the creations of two different authors, they still resemble each other in some exciting ways. Introduction: Similarities between Oedipus and Hamlet Oedipus is a character of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. He searches for the...
Introduction Emily Dickinson was a renowned 19th-century American poet that wrote unique and complex poems. Her style, symbolism, and hidden meanings of poems continue to be studied in the modern-day as she delved into socially controversial topics of her time. One subject matter commonly explored in her poems is the...
Margaret Walker was an African American poet and writer who wrote on a level comparable to such well-known names as yesterday’s Langston Hughes or today’s Gwendolyn Brooks, but her name is often not recognized outside of academic circles. Coming out of the oppressed South into the North for her university...
Introduction Wilfred Owen is often considered as one of the eminent war poets in English literature who exhibits real pathos in his poems. His war poetry shows an astonishing advance in expressions as well as contents. Owen had previous experimented with a variety of new technical devices, such as half–rhymes,...
Wystan Hugh Auden’s poem ” The Unknown Citizen” is a portrayal of a conflict between individualism and government control and the central theme of the poem is the attitude of the government towards its citizen. W H. Auden’s poem “The Unknown Citizen” is a government’s outlook of the ideal contemporary...
Examples of Racism in The Great Gatsby: Essay Introduction The novel “The Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitzgerald is a very symbolistic piece of writing in which each reader can find aspects interesting for him or her only. The writer’s ability to intertwine symbolism with the realistic flow of the story...
Introduction The post-colonial literature which is also referred to as the new English literature is an art of writing that specifically targets issues to do with the process of decolonization or the freedom of people that had been previously subjected to colonial rule. These modes of writing also try to...
Coyote and Multnomah Fall, a legend of the Wasco people, tells the traditional story of love, longing, and sorrow. The story’s protagonist is the Coyote character, widespread among the North American Wasko Indians. Coyote in the works usually acts as a minor character. It can be used to contrast with...
R.J. Palacio’s debut book Wonder was first published in 2012. The author was working as a visual designer and writing the novel at the same time. The book focuses on August, who suffers from a facial deformation that stopped him from attending a public school (Palacio, 2012). However, this situation...
Introduction The story of Half a Day revolves around the meaning of life and how fast it passes in front of people without them noticing it. The author, Naguib Mahfouz, manages to squiz the story of the whole life, coming of age, just in a single day that drastically leaves...
Rudyard Kipling’s poem under the short title “If” is a meaningful and poetically rich literary piece that remains relevant even after decades since its creation. The poem was initially published in 1910 as a part of the collection of the poet’s poems and short stories entitled Reward and Fairies (Memon...
Symbolism is a rather significant literary device that is widely used by a variety of authors and takes their works on a higher level. A short story “Araby,” written by a great Irish novelist James Joyce and in 1914 published in his Dubliners collection, is filled with different symbols. Some...
Introduction Written in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is an epistolary romantic novel by Jane Austen unraveling a love story between the protagonists, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. One of the main characteristics of this chef-d’oeuvre novel is the use of letters as a literary device. In the 19th century when...
Introduction William Butler Yeats was a master poet in that he was able to convey tremendous depth of meaning within his poetry while keeping the subject relatively tightly confined. Yeats truly understood the modern concept of permitting a poem to stand on its own as a piece of art open...
When people think about Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus, animal imagery is the first thing that comes to mind. Different animals are used to represent various races, which is an example of anthropomorphism. But what does Art Spiegelman’s choice in portraying the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats...
Hamlet’s Internal Conflict: Introduction Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. The plot revolves around the main character Hamlet who cannot make up his mind on whether or not to take revenge over the murder of his father, King Hamlet, the ruler of Denmark. This indecision arises after Hamlet...
This paper will analyze the Polish novel Drive your Plow Over the Body of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, focusing on several key themes of feminism, protection of nature and its innocence conflicting with human immorality and ignorance. In the novel, one of the major themes is nature vs. humanity,...
Introduction Kafka’s novella represents a tale of a traveling salesman who finds himself transformed into an insect after he wakes up one morning. He brought out in this story many things about his life, including his father, his family and his future. He used metaphors to show his love for...
“The Love of My Life” is a fictional story by T. C. Boyle, an American short story writer, and novelist. The narrative presents the dramatic events in the lives of the two young characters, China and Jeremy, whose irresponsible behavior forced them to make a cruel life-changing decision and question...
Introduction Anton Chekhov’s “Sleepy”, was published in 1888. The author in his story describes in-depth how one feels when one is deprived of a need- a necessity. In this case, the need is nothing but the most basic necessity- sleep. Right from “half-open eyes”, and “her half slumbering brain”, to...
The irony is an expression of meaning using a language that is opposite and in a humorous way. Kate Chopin’s novel The Story of an Hour employs irony to make the person reading it understand the unpredictable events in life that could arise. She utilizes situational sarcasm that shows the...
Introduction Reader Response Theory is a theory that focuses on the reader and their experience in literary works. The difference from other theories is that the main focus is not on the author and their works. Through this theory, the reader complements the work with their interpretation and gives a...
Poe’s short stories are widely known for the mystery and horror they hide. Being famous as an inventor of the detective genre, the writer filled his narrations with seemingly minute details that turned out to have had substantial importance in the end. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is one of the most...
“I had walled the monster up within the tomb” — this chilling quote comes from Poe’s famous story. Read this The Black Cat literary analysis to learn more about The Black Cat literary devices and themes. Introduction Alan Poe is one of the writers who advanced dark romanticism in the...
Human relationships may be of a different kind, and for some people, some of the relationships may seem strange; others may believe them to be ideal. Therefore, it is possible to say that people choose the way they are going to communicate with others on the basis of their character...
The History and Importance of Women’s Literature Literature was one of many spheres in which women were a minority in representation in the 17th century. The tradition of women’s literature was ignored by society for centuries. Women writers were not considered profound creators. Their novels were perceived with significant opposition....
Chinua Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” demonstrates the conflicts between European values and the traditional Ndume culture. Michael Obi, who came to the village as a headmaster of the school, aimed to cultivate modern values for local youngsters. However, when he refused to open the holy footpath, the villagers ruined the...
Introduction During the recent years, the opposition between paper books and e-books has become quite topical. Numerous people nowadays argue about whether it is more comfortable to use a printed book or a digital device for reading. Although an increasing number of people choose e-books over paper ones, printed editions...
Introduction Indian mythology is rich in legends and stories about the lives of various tribes. One such example is The Story of Asdiwal, which was told by Tsimshian Indians, natives of the Northwest Pacific coast of Canada. The story provides the reader with a detailed overview of the lives of...
Gender Roles in The Tempest: Essay Introduction The works of William Shakespeare have received a lot of attention throughout history. His works have been analyzed by themes, line by line, or the characters he invented. His works can be interpreted one way or another, and as such, Shakespeare seems to...
John Milton’s corresponding poems “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” explore the value and the pleasures that people take in two competing but complementary lifestyles and the attractions of two competing sources of artistic inspiration. “L’Allegro” is a celebration of the beauty of rural nature and urban vitality and glorifies mirth and...
Introduction The status given by people to different animals was not a result of one-day research. There were different studies, disciplines and cases, in which the main objective was assessing the position of different animals, and evaluating human actions that were conducted against them. In that regard, a polarity of...
“The Road Not Taken” is a mostly reflective poem written by Robert Frost. This poem is primarily about the choices one makes in life. Once someone makes a choice, it is usually for better or for worse, according to this poem. The poem utilizes symbolism as a reflective tool. For...
Worker rights are a contemporary issue whose depth and importance were similarly relevant in previous centuries. Pablo Neruda utilizes his poem, ‘The United Fruit Company; to satirize the actions of Latin American leaders in the twentieth century, specifically as they associate with foreign international corporations. Their suppressive actions favoring imperialistic...
Introduction The Renaissance period was one in which many creative writers, artists, and songwriters worked together to create and produce magnificent works of art. In this period, many themes influenced the writers of the period. Vengeance, free play of words, and patronage were prevalent in literary works during the Renaissance...
The story “The Man Who Planted Trees” was written by the French writer Jean Giono in 1953. It tells the story of an old man who spent thirty years of his life planting trees in a valley in France, transforming the once barren land into a blooming garden. The story...
‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ is an entertaining little fable about two mice in running shoes and two little people looking for cheese. Cheese is a metaphor for any good thing that someone might want: a lucrative career, a comfortable life, or a loving family. The important thing is that everybody...
Introduction The word “hero” is associated with different views and definitions. The application of this word in various situations or settings is a practice that many people pursue without thinking deeply or analytically. Fictional stories and fairly tales are known to portray courageous individuals or characters who manage to overcome...
Your Last Name “The Myth of the Latin Woman” is a memoir essay written by Judith Ortiz Cofer, and it reveals the challenges Hispanic women have to go through due to their identity. The author recalls her own childhood while describing how different life was for her compared to the...
“The Huntress” is a fictional short story by Sofia Samatar, which touches on topics of fear, family, and identity. The award-winning author from Virginia, US, creates intriguing, heart-pumping, and blood-boiling literary pieces and “The Huntress: is not an exception. The story discovers the need for adventure and magic within a...
Shakespearean works are well known for their depth, symbolism and philosophical view upon different aspects of life. Mirroring is one of Shakespeare’s favorite tools. Mirroring is used to emphasize the contrast and show differences between the sides of the society and the ways of living of the characters. The Merchant...
Introduction Gloria Anzaldua’s poem, “To Live in the Borderlands Means You,” explores identities, culture, and self-worth in the modern age and is intricate and profound. The borderland refers to the distinctive phenomenology and sense of identity of the individual who cannot traverse the borders yet resides within its chasm (Ortega...
The first theoretical explanation of the nature of tragedy is associated with Aristotle’s work Poetics. According to the Greek philosopher, tragedy has an advantage over other genres. It can emotionally affect a person, stimulate cathartic empathy, encourage the reader or viewer to participate in the moral and psychological assessment of...
The title of Ray Bradbury’s short tale, “There Will Come Soft Rains,” is also the title of Sara Teasdale’s poem, which is interwoven in the short story. The poetry was composed in 1920, after the First World War, and the short tale in 1950, just after the Second World War....
Introduction The given analysis will primarily focus on the story of “The Love Suicides at Amijima” by Chikamatsu and translated and revised by Asataro Miyamori and Robert Nichols. The plot is mainly based on real-life events, which took place during the time of writing. It is important to note that...
Introduction Robert Frost was born in 1874 in San Francisco, California, which is a surprising fact to many people. Although he lived in small apartments throughout the city during his first 11 years, Frost is more commonly associated with the natural scenes of the New England countryside that is used...
Charles Dickens is believed to be one of the most prominent writers of the so-called Victorian Era. He is renowned for his style, creation of unique and unforgettable characters, but the overwhelming majority of literary critics focus attention on his social sensitivity because undoubtedly, the authors works often concentrate on...
Introduction Bradbury wrote many short stories and books as a fiction author. Most of the author’s stories are science fiction, explaining scientific phenomena, nature, and technology. “A Sound of Thunder” is an intriguing short story involving time traveling to the past. Many people today would like to know how the...
Introduction Death is notably one of the universal fears that translates to almost every culture, time, and age. All people eventually face death in their lifetime: either their own or their loved ones. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that dying is a widely researched topic in many literary works....
Introduction Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter, a short story by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, tells the readers about Mrs. Dutta, an elderly Indian woman who moved to California to live together with her son and his family after her husband died. The story shows how hard it is for the old...
Introduction T. S. Eliot is one of the most significant modernist poets, particularly due to his use of vivid imagery in the exploration of social issues about the British community of the time. The Waste Land, written in 1922, is a long poem that has captured the attention of many...
Introduction The poem Still I Rise encourages self-acceptance and self-love in people. The well-known American poet Maya Angelou penned this poem in 1978. Angelou was motivated to create this poem by the inequity and oppression that define her existence (Hasan and Wayes 22). Despite the long-standing abolition of slavery in...
Guy de Maupassant used an active literary element called irony to illustrate the people’s pretension and vanity in late 19th century France in his short story “The Jewelry.” Famous French novelist Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant is regarded as a master of the fast tale genre (Kapau et al.)....
The play “The Importance of Being Earnest” is considered one of the main works of Oscar Wilde. The writer criticizes the hypocrisy of high society in Victorian England and its traditions. The social customs of that epoch were focused on the pursuit of love and marriage. Wilde mocks the institution...
“I Could See the Smallest Things,” written by Raymond Carver, is concise, but it has a powerful effect on readers. The author masterfully attracts attention, forcing them to search for clues about what is happening in the characters’ lives. The story’s plot is constructed around Nancy’s night walk, who hears...
The world continuously changes, and the reality existing today differs from the past significantly. However, this past was the main factor that impacted the evolution of society and its acquisition of specific features and shapes that can be seen nowadays. All events, choices, and policies of previous epochs imprint on...
Who is Hamlet’s mother? How does Hamlet feel about his mother? How did Hamlet’s mother act toward his father, the king, when he was alive? Read this essay to find answers to all of your questions about Hamlet’s relationship with his mother. The famous British playwright, William Shakespeare, explored the...
The poem The Soldier was written by Rupert Brooke in 1914 to communicate his thoughts and emotions at the beginning of the First World War. In this idealistic poem, the poet paints a picture of patriotism for England as the country that nurtured him. It is a sonnet that contemplates...
The poem is about a man who went on a murder spree alongside his girlfriend. As he went into the badlands of Wyoming, he killed everything that appeared on his way, including humans. The person is not sorry for the murder he has committed. Instead, he insists that he had...
Romantic and Victorian poetry refers to verses produced during the Romantic and Victorian periods. The poems that have been chosen for my analysis, “Porphyria’s Lover” and “She Walks in Beauty”, demonstrate the most striking features of each of the literary eras. Both the Romantic and Victorian periods were two significant...
Both Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet can be viewed as illustrations of the resilience of human beings. Resilience means one’s capability to adapt and recover quickly from stressful events. Both Oedipus and Hamlet have difficulties accepting horrible truths about themselves and their families; however, Hamlet seems to...
Gulliver’s Travels Satire Examples: Introduction Gulliver’s Travels tells the story of Lemuel Gulliver. He tours different parts of the world after the failure of his business. He first goes to Lilliput, where he meets tiny people before he goes back to his home through Blefuscu. He stays with his family...
Euripides Euripides lived and worked in the 5th century BC; he was a tragedian whose plays won prizes at that time and appeal to the readers of nowadays. The tragedian challenged the gender ideology accepted in his society, which attracts many scholars even in the 21st century AD. The author...
Gender inequality, sexism, and failure to appreciate individual differences are undeniable, intrinsic aspects of human culture. While people in the present-day society hold different stances on each of these topics, there is a wide consensus that humans overly focus on negative events or outcomes. Negative bias is used to characterize...
“Waiting for Godot,” a play written by Samuel Beckett, postulates the idea that a human being’s life is wholly dependant on chance, meaningfulness and the futile reliance on ‘Godot.’ The two characters in this story, Estrogon and Vladimir, have evoked pity in me as they wait for hope to arrive....
Merritt Malloy is an American poet whose works have been recognized by many people and even become considered legendary. She is the author of an epitaph poem called When I Die. The epitaph means that the work was written in honor of the memory of someone who once died. In...
In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer presents a complex social structure in his imaginative world. It was during feudal and Medieval England when Chaucer was writing The Canterbury Tales. The author successfully satirizes the English society by carefully ranking his characters using “degree” to classify people (Chaucer 55). The book revolves...
The novel Great Expectations written by Charles Dickens is considered to be one of the most significant and sophisticated works of world literature. The style of the novel is predominantly semi-autobiographical while the author managed to reflect his personal experience and expectations concerning time and people he met. The analysis...
The novel Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is written in a very peculiar way: Conrad uses a framing structure which makes up a story in a story. The story is recounted by two narrators, which makes it sound more verisimilar and impressive. The novel opens up with the description...
Desdemona, Emelia, Cassio, and Iago arrive at Cyprus after crossing the sea. Iago designs methods to use Cassio’s ladies’ pleasing qualities against him during the demonstration of his courtesy. Iago frequently mentions webs and how they ensnare Cassio and Othello. Cassio arrives, breaking the news of Othello’s marriage and lavishing...
Introduction Persepolis is a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, published for the first time in 2000-2003 in France. The work is autobiographical and depicts the author’s adolescence in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Ostby notes that the narrative is a “cross-cultural self-representation and misinterpretation that has proved both entertaining and...
Paradise Lost is an epic poem written by John Milton which discloses the well-known biblical story of Adam and Eve. This book was originally written in 1667 in 10 books. There were a lot of authors who created their works based on this masterpiece and they reflected their vision of...
Roger Mais’ short story, Red Dirt Don’t Wash, has its setting in Jamaican society but follows the American style of narratives. The story is about a farmworker, Adrian, who is in love with a woman, Miranda. Adrian always stares at her as he admires her prowess in kitchen work and...
The story about the three little pigs is a very popular story that served as a basis for numerous fairy tales created all around the world in different languages, and the most varied interpretations. Its value is hard to be underestimated as it teaches a lot of important lessons concerning...
Perseverance is one of the key traits associated with the American identity. The short story “The soft-hearted Sioux” by Zitkala-Sa is a perfect example of this trait. The main character of this story is a Native American who wishes to follow a path different from his ancestors. Despite the pressure...
“Sonnet 18” of Shakespeare belongs to the group of poems addressed by the author to Pure Youth, the embodiment of the beauty of features, the clarity of the soul of a young man. The addressee of this poem is the very embodiment of youth and beauty, the combination of which...
Language and Metaphor in Anna Akhmatova’s “Requiem” Of all verbal arts, poetry might be the most saturated with metaphors and other means of communicating emotional subtext. Anna Akhmatova’s “Requiem”, a long poem mourning the victims of the Soviet repressions is not an exception. To express the feelings of loss, the...
The Houyhnhnms say that the Yahoos, a name given to us by them, are savages, animals who lead useless lives. They teach that the Houyhnhnms are the masters, and they train us, send us away, or keep us near to work for them, picking crops and eating wild animals and...
Songs are often viewed as the next stage of poetry transformation, which is reasonable given the additional opportunity for emotional expression that songs offer. Likewise, when viewed through the lens of thematic development, songs may become the tools for expanding the themes and ideas conveyed in poems. The themes of...
The story under the title “Jason Who Will Be Famous” was created by Dorothy Allison, a feminist writer whose primary topics of interest are poverty and abuse. The theme of this narrative, as the title implies, is a dream of fame. However, Jason, the main character, does not anticipate his...
Introduction Carla and Bethany are the main characters in the play ‘Beauty’ by Jane Martin. Both characters can be regarded as the protagonists in the play. Carla and Bethany share some common traits, most of which are apparent among young American women. For instance, Bethany is a very fun-, loving...
Introduction Henry David Thoreau was an outstanding transcendentalist who valued nature interaction. Thoreau was an accomplished naturalist and perhaps extremely outspoken and foresighted advocate for the protection of natural environments. Thoreau, in every meaning, can be described as egotistical, self-absorbed: concerned with self-control and certain that he needed nothing else...
Introduction “Identity Card” is among Mahmoud Darwish’s most notable and well-known poems, which was first published in the Leaves of Olives collection back in 1964 and translated from Arabic. When the poet first read the poem to the public, there was a tumultuous reaction among Palestinians who were “without identity”...
Introduction Honor is the highest respect or reputation that a person has among others. In Shakespeare’s times, honor had a great significance since it determined how a person was treated by society, and it was vividly depicted in the poet’s play, Much Ado About Nothing. In this comedy, Shakespeare managed...
Introduction The role of pornography in modern society should be considered as the topic for debate because of the controversial nature of this subject. Women’s ideas regarding the concept of pornography are important to examine and discuss in detail because of the prevalence of males’ views in this field. In...
“Mericans” by Sandra Cisneros and “In Response to Executive Order 9066” by Dwight Okita are the two works that have a common theme of the way people of different cultures lived in the United States in the twentieth century. The first story describes Mexicans, and the second poem is about...
Introduction In the short story “The Mortal Immortal” Mary Shelley talks about the burden of immortality on the example of a young man Winzy, who accidentally drank the elixir that gives eternal life. The protagonist, driven by the desire to marry his beloved, works for the scientist Cornelius Agrippa, who...
Napoleon Bonaparte also recognized as Napoleon l, lived from 1769 to 1821, was a French emperor and leader who succeeded in conquering most parts of Europe during the 19th century. In the period between 1789-1799, Napoleon rose through various ranks within the military (Van der Burg, 2021). In a 1799...
The Damned Human Race is an essay written by an American writer, Mark Twain. In this satirical paper, the author reveals a very original and peculiar theory, according to which humankind is not the highest point of evolution, but the lowest. Mark Twain provides very convincing arguments to defend his...
Introduction Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is considered as one of the greatest novel not only in Africa but also in the world. This is because it was intended to extinguish the myth that the African culture was primitive, this is by telling the story of African colonization from...