Free Essay Examples on Literature

Edward Taylor’s poem ‘Upon wedlock and death of children’ shows the poet’s grief after losing his children. Apparently, the piece was written for personal use only, considering the emotional attachment he develops in the poem. In the beginning, the poem appears to be happy and uplifting. For instance, the poet says, “A manly flower breaks out”, and “…another Flower…” which…

St. Louis Shakespeare’s production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest was staged in 2010 and performed at the Grandel Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. The play was directed by Jerry Vogel, the stage set by Cristie Johnston. The cast of this critically acclaimed performance includes Robert A. Mitchell as Prospero, Betsy Bowman as Miranda, Aaron Dodd as Ferdinand and Michael Juncal as…

The poem “Motives and Thoughts” by Lauren Hill, discloses a distinctive way of life in many societies at present. It is evident that corruption is a significant meaning of the poem. The poet explains that corruption is a vice with deep roots in every human life, “While vice and corruption take over the world”. Above all, since human beings fell…

What does Bradstreet’s poem tell us about the nature of Puritan marriages? Do you find this to be a surprising poem? In general, it is known that Puritans believe that marriages should be based on true love. The poem by A. Bradstreet “To My Dear and Loving Husband” could serve as a confirmation of this statement (although, of course, this…

The main reason why the novel Imperium in Imperio (by Sutton Griggs) is now being commonly referred to as one of the most notable works of the 19th century’s Black-American literature, is that it does represent a great literary value. Among other things, this can be explained by the novel’s intellectually refined and yet easy-to-read writing style. In this paper,…

“Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv’d 35 The Mother of Mankinde, what time his Pride Had cast him out from Heav’n” (Milton Lines: 34-37) The monster created by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein (henceforth mentioned as Frankenstein) and the character of Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost are obsessed with the idea of…

Disgrace is a novel written by J. M. Coetzee at the very end of the 20th century. It was awarded several times and received positive feedback from numerous critics. With his work, the author urged society to pay attention to the morality of their actions. He depicts the life of David Lurie, a male professor over 50-years-old who has an…

Introduction The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is the work written by an African-American writer James Weldon Johnson in the early 20th century when racism was considered the norm in the New World. Despite the title, the author admitted that this novel was not autobiographical and mostly fictional. Nevertheless, the book has some nuances that Johnson derived from his personal…

Introduction Classical children’s literature is full of examples of outstanding works that have become a cultural treasure and are still being discussed with interest today. One of these well-known works that are known to almost everyone in the book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” written by the famous American writer Mark Twain (1884). This book is full of exciting and…

Introduction Authors often resort to the theme of animals in their prose and poetic works. The use of allegory allows them to attach a completely different meaning to a seemingly innocent character. Using animal characters allows us to compare and contrast them with human characters. Furthermore, the author can criticize the people via empowering their animal characters with some of…

Introduction The book Herland written by an American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells about young men who randomly got into an unusual place where only women lived. The way of life of local inhabitants was completely different from a standard order. These women have special laws for raising children; they had other ideas of religion and perception of the world…

Introduction ‘‘Stop-time’’ is a memoir which was written by an American author by the name; Frank Conroy. The book tells Conroy’s childhood experiences while growing up between Florida and New York was published in 1967. Conroy’s story can be related to contemporary times where thousands of American children go through a lot of emotional turmoil. (Conroy120) This essay would consider…

The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is a story of a renowned public speaker, abolitionist, feminist, and itinerant preacher who spoke against slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth century and against the feminist movement that excluded African American women. In the book, Sojourner told a story of her life not only as a slave but also as a woman who had…

Introduction The main reason why the book Le Morte Darthur by Thomas Malory is being often referred to as such that represents a high literary value, is that there are strongly defined philosophical overtones to the book’s themes and motifs. One of these overtones is being concerned with the fact that Le Morte Darthur does provide readers with the in-depth…

Pulitzer prize winning collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies by the Indian-American writer, Jhumpa Lahiri is analysed in this essay from feminist and postcolonial perspective. Grouped among migrant writers, Lahiri like Salman Rushdie, deliberately create characters that have a plural and/or partial identity. The crisis created among the female characters in the stories of Maladies is representative of a…

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 is visited by a ghost which claims to be that of his late father…

Pastiche of Jane Austen’s Novels The Use of Pastiche in Jane Austen’s Novels Jane Austen is regarded as one of the best English novelists of all time. In fact, some critics have compared her to Shakespeare, and her six novels have inspired and formed the basis of various contemporary works of art. For instance, some authors use quotations from her…

Comparison of the Different Versions of LRRH Little Red Cap is a folk text initially written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Today, it is also widely known as Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH). This fairy tale reveals a story about a young girl who goes through the woods to visit her sick grandmother. LRRH, which is the name of the…

Eliezer’s faith in God was something beyond question. He spent time in devotion to God. He frequently prayed to Him and at times he even cried. This was to show how deep his reverence to his creator was. It was made even more evident when Moshe questioned his faith and devotion in God. It was so obvious to him that…

The Cay is a children’s war novel written by Theodore Taylor. It is a classic story about hard survival in an island engulfed by war. The protagonist in the story is an American boy called Phillip who experiences a harsh reality of war on the coast of Venezuela. A blast then occurs which injures and renders him blind. Things get…

Introduction Modern authors often choose to explore different parts of their ancestors’ history that were unavailable to them before (Maus 37). Many of the writers do not only retell the stories of the past but also use some fictional elements to create a narrative that will show the struggles of the past generations. One of these authors is Colson Whitehead,…

Elie Wiesel’s book, Night, recalls about his experiences as a young Jewish boy; throughout the events and occurrences, Eliezer develops new relationships with his father as they surpass challenges they faced on their journey towards freedom. This paper addresses how Eliezer’s relations with his father change throughout the novel. Wiesel’s book, Night, portrays Eliezer as an innocent child, who was…

Robert Frost is one of the most renowned poets in the twentieth century. Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken”, has remained an influential literary piece over the last few decades. Robert Frost uses a distinct mastery of the colloquial language as well as vivid depictions of rural life in most of his poems. “The Road Not Taken” uses similar colloquial…

Captain Nemo is a sea researcher, inventor, and owner of the “Nautilus” submarine. This character is the embodiment of a true hero, courageous, decisive, and fair. Aronnax, a French naturalist, is a participant of the marine expedition organized for the capture or destruction of an unknown creature of gigantic proportions that was seen in different latitudes of the World Ocean.…

Won’t You Celebrate With Me: Poem Analysis The poem “Won’t You Celebrate With Me” by Lucille Clifton is a unique masterpiece of rare quality. The fourteen lines carry a deep meaning that transcends all differences which people seem to have and hits a reader right into the very core of his or her being. There is no doubt the poem…

Abstract The paper provides a comparative study of A Poem to Be Read in Circuit by Raquel Salas Rivera, the connection of the hummingbird effect with Eric Garner’s case, and their relation to the death of Sandra Bland. There are two major issues that make those cases similar. First of all, it is discrimination. The poem by Raquel Salas Rivera…

Despite the impressive improvement in recent decades, adherence to humanistic values remains uneven in different parts of the world. Even after the official adoption, they continue to be undermined by conservative social views, leading to numerous personal tragedies. In Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee creates a complex character, Lucy Lurie, who faces the shameful and disgraceful acts of her father, the suggestions…

Introduction Thomas Stearns Eliot and Wystan Hugh Auden belong to the brightest representatives of the American literature of the twentieth century. The unmatched virtuosity of each poet deserves particular attention and admiration from the audience. In their work, Eliot and Auden rise such crucial topics as love, war, faith, death, exile, and many others. The current essay is dedicated to…

A short story The Secret Miracle by Jorge Luis Borges is written in the genre of magic realism and contains such characteristics of this genre as a mix of unreal events and reality and emphasis of mystery that can be found in usual life. Being in jail, Jaromir faces the miracle forces that help him to continue writing his drama.…

In “Darkness too visible,” Gurdon discusses the problem of young adult fiction, which often appears to be too brutal and gory to be introduced to young readers (Gurdon, 2011). As Gurdon (2011) notices, many of the books explicitly use foul language and descriptions of violence and assaults, which can negatively influence adolescents’ view of the world. Although the author does…

Oedipus Rex is a Greek tragedy play written and directed by Sophocles who lived many centuries ago. The play is a classic master piece of Greek talent in theatre and drama and has generously contributed to modern forms of theatrical arts. The play revolves around the tragic fate of Oedipus as a result of a prophetic oracle that was made…

Introduction In his essay On Dumpster Diving, Lars Eighner explores the life of a person whose sole means of survival is dumpster diving. The author focuses on such themes as poverty, despair of homeless people, and their attitudes toward material wealth as well as the hopes that they cherish. The narrator of this story is an individual who has already…

Introduction The play Hamlet is one of the appealing literary works of the world’s renowned play writer, William Shakespeare. The play is about one character that is, Hamlet who is the prince and son of the late king who was allegedly murdered by the current king Claudia. After his father’s death, Hamlet developed an erratic behavior trying to comprehend what…

The concept of a social norm has been very rigid for quite a while, numerous compelling authors to express their indignation in the form of social satire, hyperbolized representations of social interactions, etc. The Yellow Wallpaper is, perhaps, the epitome of the phenomenon since it subverts the social standards, in general, and gender normativity, in particular. By creating the surreal…

The story of Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo is about the final day in the life of Eric Packer, a billionaire financial trader. The story is set in 2000 on “A Day in April” as delineated before the beginning of part 1 of the story (DeLillo 3). The novel opens with Packer waking up in his posh, Manhattan penthouse and deciding…

Is Chretien merely mocking Arthur or the concept of Arthurian literature? Chretien as Bonnie Wheeler explains is not only mocking Arthurian literature but also the character that is King Arthur by confining him to contexts that portray him as weak and not only ridiculous but laughably so. The story of Arthur missing the highest feast of the year because he…

Your Last Name Through the history of world art and literature, portrayals of courage abound. Whether a cave painting of a lone spear against the horde of beasts, a classical battle scene, or a modern memorial to the fallen, such a piece is more likely to appeal to pathos and ethos than to logos. Kairos could be seen in the…

Monstress is a popular series of graphic novels by Liu (the author) and Takeda (the artist), published by Image Comics. Dealing with feminism and racism, the story is based on childhood experiences and family history. Thus a fantastic world, cruel to the main heroine Maika, is created. According to McMillan, the author aimed to write about “girls and giant monsters,…

Nowadays, many people tend to assume that there are no reasons to believe that the socio-political realities in today’s America are being affected by any officially endorsed policies of racial discrimination against African-Americans, as it used to be the case up until the late 1960s. Nevertheless, it does not represent any secret that the severity of racial tensions within American…

One of the major themes of the famous play Antigone by Sophocles is the sense of justice. It is possible to note that the play focuses on such moral issue as true justice. Antigone is the agent of morality in the play as she tries to make the things right and bury her brother who deserves being buried (just like…

Comparison of the Different Versions of LRRH Two versions of Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH), including the original written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and the retelling by Charles Perrault, focus on similar themes and have a lot in common. However, regardless of the fact that they describe the same story, the authors’ approaches differ. In both versions, the Wolf…

Time is a concept that does not exist in nature by itself. It is created by humans to ease our understanding of universal development. For us, everything has a beginning and an end. It is quite difficult for a human mind to grasp an image that space existed all the time, that there was no starting point, and there will…

Writing about poems is always interesting and challenging. The analysis of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem is not an exception. On the one hand, it is a real challenge to understand the meaning of each word in the poem and the intentions of the writer. On the other hand, it is a real pleasure to read every new line of the…

American Civil War ignited the imagination and penmanship of many poets in the country. This resulted in an explosion of poetry written in the Union in the post-Civil War era. Poets created beautiful verses in response to the battles and conflicts with immense patriotic fervor of freedom and pathos for the lost ones. Poetry was infused with political sentiments, call…

Driving lessons are similar to lessons in life because the learner should understand how to control oneself and influence surroundings. This idea is reflected in Paula Vogel’s play “How I Learned to Drive” (1997). However, this idea comes to mind only after the play’s ending because it is necessary to cope with many emotions and feelings caused by the viewed…

Although “The Great Gatsby”, a novel of the American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, was written almost a century ago, in 1925, it still remains an unparallel classic of both the American and global literature, and is often considered to be one of the greatest literary documents capturing the fickle spirit of the “Roaring Twenties”, or “the Jazz age” as it…

Introduction In almost every environment, there exist mentally ill or physically impaired individuals. Cases of maltreatment to such people have continually been evident within societies but no one is watchful to such situations. On the other hand, people have always had wrong perceptions that riches are capable of making such people happy. This paper seeks to explore two stories from…

Prompt How does the theme (love) provide a deep sense of interweaving between individuals otherwise unknown to one another? Introduction An eminent philosopher once said that human is a social animal. Indeed, people are rooted in society from the moment of their birth. They develop inside its ties, its relations, and form their relations; their character and all their life…

The book Mhudi, which was written by Sol Plaatje in 1920 and first published in 1930, is a novel that tells a story of indigenous African tribes, the complex relations between them, and the facts that impact these relations greatly. The sophisticated atmosphere is perfectly shown by the author, who uses his own experience to cover the topic and provide…

James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway are two well known authors of the early twentieth century modernist short stories that offer various points of view including philosophical, sociological and linguistic approaches. Such literary works had a big impact on the perception of culture, and an alteration of the correlation between writing and the universe. The short stories provide clear definitions of…