British Literature Essay Examples and Topics

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786 samples

You should consider many different factors when writing your essay on British literature. Authors from the Middle Ages, such as Chaucer, had different beliefs and opinions than Renaissance writers like Shakespeare.

Capturing the specific circumstances and important contexts of a work is critical to a British literary analysis essay. As such, you should conduct extensive research into the creator’s biography, especially during the period when he or she wrote the piece.

With that said, the numbers of potential ideas and connections can be overwhelming and difficult to organize. For this reason, you should create an outline before starting work in earnest.

The outline serves as the structure that ensures that your paper remains coherent and logical. To create it, you should first write down every concept that comes to mind when you think about the topic.

Next, try to eliminate some of the results by including them into another, broader category or deciding that they are not viable. Organize the remainder in an order that represents a progression. For example, you should put influences that affected the author at the time of writing before their expressions in the work.

Here are some tips you should use to write an excellent outline:

  • Try making your titles and subtitles concise but informative. The matter that is discussed in a section should be evident from its name.
  • Select your topics so that they have a connection instead of trying to find one afterwards.
  • Try to support each outline point with at least one piece of evidence. In doing so, you guarantee that you will have valid material that you can discuss.

Be sure to visit IvyPanda for British literature research topics, British literature essay examples, and other useful samples!

786 Best Essay Examples on British Literature

Tennyson’s Ulysses Poem Essay

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".
  • 4.5
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1144

Imperialism in Shooting an Elephant: Symbolism & Themes

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 [...]
  • 2.6
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2481

“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 [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 888

Dramatic Irony in Macbeth Essay

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.
  • 5
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2013

To His Coy Mistress Analysis

After making sure that the mistress is convinced, the speaker now explores the goodness of sex and claims that through sex, they would release the frustrations that have taunted them for a long time.
  • 3
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1898

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” Symbolism

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 [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1873

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

The author expresses his affection to a person he does not name, yet it is suspected that the mysterious object of the poet's admiration who is mentioned in most of the other sonnets is a [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 844

Feminism in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Mary Wollstonecraft expressly makes her stand known in advocating for the rights of the women in her novel, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, but her daughter is a bit reluctant to curve a [...]
  • 3
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 2266

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.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1102

A Family Supper

The relationship between the author and the parents is strained because of the author's decision to move to California, as explained in the story where the author states, "My relationship with my parents had become [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 812

Why Is Hamlet a Complex Character: Critical Analysis

When Hamlet's father requests him to avenge his death against King Claudius, he is unable to carry out his revenge. In addition, Shakespeare mission to delay Hamlet's plan to avenge his father's death highlights the [...]
  • 3
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 630

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 [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1961

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 [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 835

Gawain as a Hero

Gawain is not aware of the plan but is wise enough to find his way out and by so doing he proves to be a hero again, as he is strong enough to avoid the [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1378

“The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien

The story is considered to be rather sophisticated in analysis and structure consisting of three volumes "the Fellowship of the Ring", "the Two Towers", and "The Return of the King".
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1427

Sons and Lovers: A Psychoanalytic Reading

This essay offers a psychoanalytic reading of the novel Sons and Lovers and addresses the psychological needs of Paul and Gertrude Morel both conscious and unconscious and examines how the dynamics of their relationship mirror [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1377

The nightingale and the rose: poem analysis

The following is, therefore, an analysis of the difference in characters between the Nightingale and the lady in the story. This is despite the fact that she knows the boy to a certain extent.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1143

Much Ado About Nothing

By focusing on relationships, the author of the play highlights the impact of deception to unity, love and happiness. Due to the constant practice of deceit among the characters, Claudio believes that Don Pedro is [...]
  • 4
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1150

Gardens in Pride and Prejudice

In the novel, the author compares this garden to Darcy's perception of himself. He boasts about how he knows the number and the location of each and every tree in the garden.
  • 5
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1242

“Educating Rita” by Willy Russell: Literature Analysis

The author presents a solution to this question by demonstrating through the main character, Rita, that education can upgrade the diminished position and status of women in society. Education is Rita's expedition of self-realization to [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 840

“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley

The monster then travels to Geneva and meets a little boy called William in the woods, where he hopes that the young boy who is not yet corrupted by the views of older people and [...]
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2158

Harry Potter Books and Movies

The lead character is the hero Harry Potter, a famous wizard whose adventures are the central focus of the book and the movie.
  • 3.3
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 636

“Family Supper” by Kazuo Ishiguro

Father felt that he was not able to raise the children properly, and he thinks that it is extremely shameful. The best way to interpret this story is that the father has made a decision [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1218

George Orwell’s “Why I Write”

The third part of the essay reflects Orwell's personal motives in writing and the development of his style which is rather "public-spirited" because Orwell wanted to reflect the social issues in writing.
  • 4
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Homosexuality in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

However, at the same time, these breaks from the traditions incited a response reaction in favor of more traditional social roles in other areas, such as the refutation of male sexual relationships to the extent [...]
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2502

Frankenstein & the Context of Enlightenment

The public was becoming more and more involved in the debates being waged, particularly as newspapers and other periodicals became more prevalent with the introduction of the printing press, introducing and maintaining widespread discourse in [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1568

Sailing to Byzantium by William Butler Yeats

It needs to be studied and that is why the poet travels across the seas and decides to arrive at the "holy city of Byzantium": the holy city is a sort of paradise that the [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1561

Frankenstein: The Theme of Birth

Frankenstein is a ruthless man who can stop at nothing in his pursuit of knowledge, and when he discovered the secrets of life, he uses it to create a monster.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1474

Gothic Masculinity in the Wuthering Heights

Masculinity may explain the character of the forceful male or the threatening female who bears the forces of a man. Cottom explains that the Gothic uses "manipulation of the thoughts, and images to the figure [...]
  • 3.7
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2582

“The Tyger” by William Blake

The poem is rightfully regarded as one of the best literary works in the world literature due to the stunning imagery with its special grave mood created by the author and the use of bright [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 750

Literary Analysis on The Canterbury Tales

Through the description of the contrasting characters of the Summoner and the Parson, the narrator is able to draw the picture of the Catholic Church during the nineteenth century.
  • 5
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 544

Who Is More Human Than the Monster of Frankenstein?

By opposing the monster created by a scientist and the creator, Victor Frankenstein, the author alludes to the true meaning of being a human beyond the mere form of existence but rather living by virtues.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by Rowling

Hogwarts is a high street located in London it has accessibility to the wizardry world and is of economic importance to the country, it is clear from this statement that the people of London rely [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1920

Marie de France’s Lanval

The love of a soldier is seen in the way he fights for king and country. He is the son of a king but his father is not the one he currently serves.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1159

“Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens

Although he survives after the death of the mother, he is forced to lead a life full of hardship following an unexplained disappearance of the father.
  • 4
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1756

Shakespeare Tragedies: Macbeth and King Lear

At the beginning of the play, he decides to abdicate his throne and divide his kingdom among his three daughters. This choice eventually undermines the ethical integrity of this character, and he murders murder to [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 833

Pride and Prejudice: Mrs. Bennet

Bennet cares for her daughters and husband, despite the ways she chooses to show her thoughtfulness that is often improper or inconsiderate, which makes her a good wife and mother.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1142

“An Essay on Man” by Alexander Pope

This essay discusses the philosophy that Pope brings forth in his Essay that Man, in his pride and disbelief, is blinded and fails to realize the beauty and sublimity in the perfect world that God [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2314

Finding Identity: “Kim” by Rudyard Kipling

Through writing his book, the author reveals his attitude towards the British government and at the same time gives a detailed description of the human nature including the characteristics of a spy.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1640

Marriage in George Eliot’s Novel ‘Middlemarch’

Her "Mill on the Floss" vehemently reveals an indescribable conflict in Maggie's innocent mind; one the one side there was the matter of the Tulliver family's ego and prestige, and on the other side it [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1066

The Theme of Sense and Sensibility

This paper explores the theme of sense and sensibility, and the lack of it, in details and shows how each of the characters stands out in relation to the theme.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1169

Wordsworth’s Vision on Childhood and the Basic Themes

As a result, the poet refers to the representation of the Fall, the metaphor that allows Wordsworth to render the transition between youth and adulthood, reason and emotion, gain and loss, experience and innocence.
  • 5
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2157

“Gulliver’s Travels” a Book by Jonathan Swift

They perceive Gulliver in the same way that the Lilliputians because Gulliver is only a fraction of their size. He is showing them that despite the pleasant appearances that human posses, there are certain deficiencies [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1152

The Feminine Power in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Considering the Elizabethan times much was expected from women in terms of respect and submissiveness to the men in that society, such that a daughter going to an extent of going against a fathers choice [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1725

Chapter 21 of “A Clockwork Orange” by A. Burgess

The analysis of the overall philosophy of Burgess and the meaning of the novel reveals that the twenty-first chapter plays a crucial role in delivering the main message of the possibility of moral evolution and [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 962
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