Literature Essay Examples and Topics

Essays on literature and languages usually follow stricter structural requirements than their equivalents in other disciplines. You have to show that you are a capable writer that knows the English language well and can create engaging passages.

At the very least, your essay should consist of three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. Each of these blocks has to follow exact requirements with regards to contents.

For example, the conclusion cannot add new information to the essay. You should learn and understand the basic structural guidelines if you want to submit an excellent paper.

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The introduction is where you describe the topic to the reader to provide some context. As was mentioned above, you should establish the position you are going to promote.

This part ends in a thesis statement, which explicitly describes the specific idea you are going to discuss. All of your arguments should be contained in the next part, the body. In the conclusion, you will sum up your ideas and make a closing statement that finishes your thought.

Here are some tips for writing literary essays:

  • You should be brief in your writing without leaving information out.
  • Nobody likes to read text that does not add anything of value!
  • The introduction and conclusion should both be one paragraph long. The body’s length may vary according to your needs.
  • You should begin your writing process by formulating a thesis. Each point you make has to connect to it directly.
  • Do not be afraid to write a lot in a literary analysis! The investigations of characters, ideas, plot, themes, and other essential components of a work can be long.

You can find language and literature extended essay topics, English literature introduction examples, literature essay examples, and other valuable samples for your essay at IvyPanda.

8972 Best Essay Examples on Literature

Beach Description Essay

4.3
These include; the plantation along the beach and inside the sea, the animals, the waters and the people found in the beach.
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 826

The Story of an Hour Critical Analysis Essay

4.2
Instead, she knew that though the husband was important to her, marriage had made her a subject to him. Mallard was not able to handle the swings in her emotions and this cost her life.Mr.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1467

The Necklace Literary Analysis Essay

4.8
This is because she compares her poor life with that of her rich friend and she is filled with envy and jealousy because she can not afford to live like her friend and yet that [...]
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2185
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The Relationship Between Eliezer and His Father Essay

4.6
Their experience at the concentration camp changes the relationship between son and father, and the despicable treatment by the Nazis helps Eliezer and his father develop a strong connection.
  • Subjects: Dramatic Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 842

Dust of Snow: Analysis & Critical Appreciation

3.6
However, in the poem, the very bird we hate shakes up the poisonous tree causing snow to fall on the poet. The setting of the poem is in a snowy landscape with a tree and [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 909

Guy de Maupassant: “The Necklace” Essay

3.6
The writer takes the reader through the life of these characters and in particular, the poor family of Loisel and the rich family of Forestier.
  • Subjects: Dramatic Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 909
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Imperialism in Shooting an Elephant: Symbolism & Themes

2
The story captures the violent reality of colonialism as the narrator unfolds the events of the actual shooting and the description of the slow and painful death of the elephant that seemed peaceful in hands [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2481

Doctor Faustus as a Tragic Hero Essay

4.4
Therefore, the tragic hero character is manifested at the end of the play where Faustus pleads with God to forgive him and liberate him from the hand of the devil.
  • Subjects: Dramatic Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1468

Moral of “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant

The main character of the story, Mathilde Loisel, and her husband had no financial possessions; she lacked clothing and jewelry. Once, Mathilde and her husband have decided to go to a ball to enjoy the [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 397

Mark Twain’s “The Lowest Animal” Analysis

3.3
His work is full of irony in that man is the Supreme Being who has the ultimate authority to shape nature in the way he deems best. However, by a measure of his acts compared [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 813
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“Half a Day” by Naguib Mahfouz

The period of the story is unrealistic because the narrator enters school as a young boy and leaves as an old man but the brief period captures the changes that occur in a person's life.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 560

W.B. Yeats: Writing Style & Poetry

4
The specific characteristics of his type of poetry originality come from the spontaneous nature of the poem, and the use of alteration and substitution.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 551

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Literary Critical Analysis Essay

4
The short story "A Good Man is Hard to Find" stands as the American Southern Gothic writer Flannery O'Connor's most disturbing work of fiction."A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is the title work of [...]
  • Subjects: Concepts in American Novels
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1263
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Marxist Criticism on The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay

3.2
Moreover, the location of the lottery at the town square between two buildings- the post office and the bank represents the political and economic power of the government and those in power such as Mr. [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 657

“Am I Blue” by Alice Walker: Analysis & Summary

3.5
In particular, the tale introduces a vivid comparison between the emotions of animals and those of humans. In the story, Walker pays attention to the eyes of the animal, noting, "...
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 608

Dramatic Irony in Macbeth Essay

5
Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to amuse the audience and to show the level of deception developed by the main character. The porter gives a clear picture of what is about to happen.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2013

“The Fate of a Cockroach” by Tawfiq Al-Hakim

Still, it is difficult to decide whether the author wants to satirize all the vices of the people and Egyptian people in particular or it is the bright example of the introduction of absurd in [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 853

Henry Wardsworth Longfellow and His Romantic Poems

Henry Longfellow composed poems, the themes of which echoed with the principles and cornerstones of that time. These ideas are depicted in the works of Longfellow of the 1830s throughout the interaction of man and [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 893
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The Importance of Literacy Essay (Critical Writing)

4.3
Literacy is a skill that is never late to acquire because it is essential for education, employment, belonging to the community, and ability to help one's children.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 908

“Hell Heaven” Summary & Analysis Essay

The narrator's family is not socially stable and her mother, Boudi, falls in love with Pranab, a stranger that the family has taken in as a friend. The major characters in the story are the [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 888
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Essay on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

3
This essay contains the analysis of the novel, including the summary, description of the main characters and themes, personal opinion about the narrative, and conclusion that summarizes the main points of the essay.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1204

Satire in Parts 3-4 of Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”

The present paper argues that in Part 3, the author displays satire through the characters of Laputa's desperate rulers and Lagado's gifted scientists, who waste their time for useless experiments, and senile, envious immortals, whereas [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1961

Robert Frost’s Writing Style Essay

3
The leading theme of the poem is the non-conformist ideas of the author, the problem of life choice, and the dilemma in making the right decision.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1216

The Cask of Amontillado

5
The use of irony Poe uses three types of irony in the story as a literary tool that facilitates the readers' understanding of the friendship that exists between Montresor and Fortunato.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1693

Betrayal in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”

The betrayer, Macbeth betrays the King, friend and other subjects in the kingdom. However when Macbeth is told he has just been chosen as the Thane of Cawdor, scenes of the possibilities of him as [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 887

King Lear Themes, Characters, & Analysis Essay

As explained by Al Zoubi and Al Khamaiseh, during the ceremony, Goneril and Regan, the oldest and the middle daughters, use flatter and insincere speech to prove their love to the father.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1124
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William Shakespeare and the Renaissance Period

3.6
These people noticed that the few people of the upper class were using the law and religion to their advantage, which led them to benefit more from the available resources as compared to the other [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1140

Symbolic Elements in Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado”

3
The name Fortunato is a symbol of the genesis of Montresor's plan for revenge. The attire is also symbolic of the sacrificial element that applies to Montresor's revenge.
  • Subjects: American Novels Writing Style
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1917
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Why Should Shakespeare Be Taught in School Essay

3.4
For instance, his works are very rich in the English language and are a good source of learning the language. The dramas are not in the same category as Shakespeare who is clearly in a [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1068

Tennyson’s Ulysses Poem Essay

4.5
Most of the lines end midway in what Shapiro calls "enjambment"."Once the structure of this epic is revealed, the meaning of the episodes become intelligible as part of the narrative structure".
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1144

The Couter by Salman Rushdie

Another unforeseen event in the story, a somehow sad one, is the quick transition of the story of Certainly-Mary in her young days and her relations with the Couter to the one of her in [...]
  • Subjects: Dramatic Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 815

A Doll’s House Stage Design: Set & Costumes Analysis

One of the foremost characteristics of Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House is that its plot appears linearly defined, which, in turn, explains the semantic realism of play's overall sounding.
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1880

Tom and Gatsby: Compare and Contrast Essay

3.5
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald pays attention to the relationships between both Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan. Scott Fitzgerald's book is mainly focused on the relationship of Daisy with Gatsby and Tom, [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 828

What Is American Literature Essay

5
The paper will discuss the background of American Literature and how it has came about, the writing style of American authors and what makes the American text different and unique from other national literatures and [...]
  • Subjects: Aspects of American Novels
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1248
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The Handmaid’s Tale Literary Analysis

4.5
The complex nature of the setting, therefore, influences the direction of the story in that it helps the author to sufficiently blend historical and futuristic ideal in a way seen as still relevant to the [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2158
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“Goodbye to All That” by Joan Didion

5
Didion was experiencing the emptiness and meaninglessness of her life in New York, the city that kept disappointing her, not because it was a bad place to live but because it was not the place [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 478

August Wilson’s “Fences” Play vs. Movie Comparison

The first difference is that the movie has more sets compared to the consistent house-front used in the play. Characters occasionally enter the house in the movie compared to the play, which is acted at [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 391

Critical Analysis of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

4.8
The main subject of the novel is the family relations and problem of a person's worthiness in the society. The author explores and analyses such social problems as a person's worthiness and the ills of [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1754
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The Yellow Wallpaper

5
Throughout the story, the narrator, together with the rest of the women trapped in the wallpaper, is desperately trying to break loose from the function that the society has assigned for them.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1720

Victorian Poetry and Its Characteristics

One of the most prominent traits of Victorian poetry was that most poems portrayed the themes of isolation, alienation, and the distinction between love and life.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1102
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Main Themes in the “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

In Girl, Jamaica Kincaid seeks to highlight the themes of the traditional mother-daughter relationship, the dangers of being a woman, and the transformative power of domesticity using the symbols of food, cloth, and folksongs as [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1957

“How to Talk to Girls at Parties” by Neil Gaiman

The present paper shows that the theme of coming of age is developed in the short story through the parallelization of girls to aliens and through the growth of the main characters' understanding that the [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 740

Historical Parallels Between George Orwell’s 1984 and Today

5
Perhaps that is clearly illustrated by the quote that presupposes that whoever can control the past, has power to control the future; while whoever has the ability to control the present, wields the right to [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 12
  • Words: 3364

“Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver Review

In the case of the story, the sacrifice was the baby, the most precious individual in both parents' lives. In other words, the author uses the description of the external environment in order to set [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 573

The Boy Who Cried Wolf: Analysis of Story by Aesop

The locals tried several times to save the sheep and the boy from the wolf, but the boy only laughed. When the wolf appears at the end of the story, no one believes the boy [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 292

Symbolism in “The Tin Drum” by Gunter Grass

Overall, the analysis of The Tin Drum novel suggests a conclusion that the symbols of the red and white drum, Oscar's ability to control growing, and his strange life course reflect the events of German [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 827

This is what it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona

The title of the story itself hints at the fact that the journey undertaken by Victor and Thomas is not one that elaborates on the decline of the Native American culture but is rather indicative [...]
  • Subjects: Concepts in American Novels
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1129
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How The Necklace Story Relate to You?

Towards the end of the story, Mathilde Loise decides to tell the truth to Madame Forestier concerning the necklace and the misery that she had undergone.
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 818

“Woman” the Poem by Nikki Giovanni

A great variety of cognitive metaphors highlighted in the poem outline a great desire of a woman to be loved and gain respect on the part of a man.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1812

Examples of Hospitality in The Odyssey by Homer: Review

4.2
While the tale has various mythical and magical motifs in the form of Gods, Goddesses, nymphs, witches, and magic; one of the most interesting and a rather unusual aspect of the story was the astounding [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2463
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Naturalism in “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane's The Open Boat revolves around four shipwrecked men: the captain, the cook, the correspondent, and the oiler. Thus the danger of the wind and the waves natural forces are so awesome that without [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1177

“The Swamp Dwellers” by Wole Soyinka

1
The swamp dweller "talks about the urban and remote society, the confrontations between the older and younger people, the battles between the old and the new in the society, love for modernism, the existence of [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1123

Elements of Modern Fiction

Time and realism is a crucial element of modern literature."Time, in Modernist literature, may take the reader through a day in the life of a narrator, whereas in Realism, the reader is taken into a [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 551

Angel in House in Woolf’s Professions for Women

In Woolf's Professions for Women, the Angel in the House symbolizes the expectations of the society from what a woman should be; this Angel in the House got in the way of Woolf's writing and [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 835

Character of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness

The quote is indicative of the loneliness that Kurtz experiences and depicts the intensity of his emotions in being away from his homeland. The character of Kurtz conveys symbolism that is important in understanding his [...]
  • Subjects: Dramatical Novel
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 845
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The Clock as a Symbol in “The Great Gatsby”

By incorporating metaphorical elements that allude to the fleeting nature of time, "the Great Gatsby" emphasizes the idea of the futility of life and the inescapability of the past and its mistakes.
  • Subjects: Concepts in American Novels
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1187

Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”: The Analysis

After Celie's marriage, her younger sister, Nettie, gets the opportunity to leave her father's household and move to Mr. In the end, Celie reunites with her sister, who returns from Africa with her husband Samuel [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1139

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” Symbolism

5
In the context of the "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", the pentangle brings together the influence of "the five virtues, the five wounds of Christ, the five senses, the five joys of Mary the [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1873
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“The Lady and Her Five Suitors” Story

The woman decides to place a petition and hence dresses to her best and moves to the king's palace where she encounters four men who were the senior person in the state and were in [...]
  • Subjects: Romantic Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1003

“Fiesta” a Short Story by Junot Diaz

The author tries to show that deceit is abhorrent to a person and that only socialization makes him/her more tolerant to this kind of behavior.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1171

“Doctor Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe

The play Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe can be referred to the genre of the Morality Play because it uncovers the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins.
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 540
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