Free Comparative Literature Essay Examples & Topics
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Comparative literature explores the relationship between works of fiction of different cultures and times. Its purpose is to establish the connection between specific genres, styles, and literary devices and the historical period. At the same time, it provides an insight into the meaning hidden between the lines of a given text.
What is a literary comparison essay? This academic paper requires a specific methodology but follows the typical rules. A student is expected to perform comparative textual analysis of a short story, novel, or any other piece of narrative writing. However, it is vital to remember that only the pieces with something in common are comparable.
This is where all the challenges start. Without an in-depth literature review, it is not always clear which works can and should be compared. Which aspects should be considered, and which could be left out? The structure of a comparative essay is another stumbling rock.
For this reason, our team has prepared a brief guide. Here, you will learn how to write a successful comparative literature essay and, more importantly, what to write in it. And that is not all! Underneath the article, we have prepared some comparative literary analysis essay examples written by students like you.
How to Write a Comparative Essay
Comparative literary analysis requires you to know how to correlate two different things in general. So let us start from the basics. This section explains how to write a comparative paper.
A good comparison essay structure relies on two techniques:
Alternating or point-by-point method.
Using this technique, you dedicate two paragraphs for each new comparison aspect, one for each subject. It is the best way to establish similar and different features in the two novels. Such comparative analysis works best for research, providing a detailed and well-structured text.
1st Body Paragraph: Social problems in Steinback’s works.
2nd Body Paragraph: Social problems in Hemingway’s works.
3rd Body Paragraph: Psychological problems in Steinback’s works.
4th Body Paragraph: Psychological problems in Hemingway’s works.
5th Body Paragraph: Interpersonal problems in Steinback’s works.
Block or subject-by-subject method.
This approach means that you divide your essay in two. The first part discusses one text or author, and the second part analyzes the other. The challenge here is to avoid writing two disconnected papers under one title.
For this purpose, constantly refer the second part to the first one to show the differences and similarities. You should use the technique if you have more than two comparison subjects (add another paragraph for each next one). It also works well when there is little in common between the subjects.
1-3 Body Paragraphs: Description of rural labor in Steinback’s works.
4-6 Body Paragraphs: Description of rural labor in Hemingway’s works.
You will formulate a thesis and distribute the arguments and supporting evidence depending on the chosen structure. You can consult the possible options in our comparative literature essay examples.
How to Conduct Literary Comparison: Essay Tips
Let us move to the main point of this article: the comparison of literature. In this section, we will discuss how to write an ideal essay in this format.
We suggest you stick to the following action plan:
Choose literary works to compare. They should have some features in common. For example, the protagonist faces the same type of conflict, or the setting is the same. You should know the works well enough to find the necessary passages. Check the comparative literature examples below if you struggle with the step.
Select the topic, thinking of similarities. The broader the matter, the more challenging the writing. A comparative study of the protagonists in two books is harder than analyzing the same theme that appears in them. Characters may have little in common, making the analysis more complicated.
Find both differences and similarities. Once you’ve formulated the topic, make a list of features to compare. If the subjects are too different, choose the block method of contrasting them. Otherwise, the alternating technique will do.
Formulate a thesis statement that has a comparative nature. It should convey the gist of the essay’s argument. Highlight the relationship between the books. Do they contradict, supplement, develop, or correct each other? You can start the thesis statement with “whereas.” For example, “Whereas Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice are full of pride, this trait leads them to different troubles.”
Outline and list key elements. Select three to six comparable aspects depending on your essay’s expected length. Then, plan in what order you’ll present them and according to which technique.
Link elements and write. Distribute the features among the comparative paragraphs. If you wish to prove that the books are more different than alike, start with the most diverging factors and move to the most similar ones.
That’s it! Thank you for reading this article. For more examples of comparative literature essays, check the links below.
The poem was written in 1921 by the young Hughes who was just adding his voice to the plight of the African Americans at the time."We Wear the Mask" is a poem by the famous [...]
He thinks about the fact that revenge is not a good action to make his soul get to heavens. His is a prince of Norway, but likewise Hamlet did not receive the crown, he was [...]
After offering prayers to the dead, the people of the river offered the sheep to them and put the remaining parts in a pit that had been dug with shadows of the dead gathering around.
As aforementioned, the plot of the two versions of this story is the same; the storyline of the two versions carries a clandestine love affair between Anna and Gurov with a happy conclusion where the [...]
He has the gift of imagination in the highest and strictest sense of the word. In the Romanticism of Wordsworth there is the consciousness and will of a return to natural sources.
The aspects of human nature that George Orwell criticizes in his work 1984 compared to today's world Orwell in the novel 1984 represents the modern society be it capitalist or communist.
First of all, speaking about similarities between the main characters of Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" and Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", it should be stated that both of them are an embodiment of men of strong [...]
In this analysis, it is clear that mood in the two pieces of literature is enhanced by the characters and how they act and speak, the manner in which the author advances the plot and [...]
This paper examines romantic love as the source of joy and fulfillment in "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Love is the source of pain and suffering in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
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When it comes to ethics, he suggests that the prince should only be concerned with actions that are beneficial to a leader and ones that promote the well-being of his state.
As he comes to understand the difference between his servant's and his family's views on life, Ivan begins to realize that he has lived a life of moral death, a life empty of everything save [...]
The essay shall analyze the power of social prejudices on the basis of the analysis of "Little things Are Big" by Jesus Colon and "Thank You Ma'am" by Langston Hughes.
Thus, in the case of "the lottery" it can be seen that it is a form of protest against the practice of blindly following "tradition" without taking into consideration the full logic of the actions [...]
In Milton's 'Paradise Lost', the image of hell is clearly visible during the depiction of Satan's fall and also Adam and Eve's fall and the epic concerns the Judo-Christian legend of the fall of men; [...]
Evidence, suggesting that the author is a little bit ironic is the language of the poem. Judging from the grammatical constructions, and the vocabulary, it is possible to conclude, this text is a bright example [...]
The present paper argues that whereas in "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt justice is executed fully at the end of the novel due to the fact that all members of the group are punished [...]
Curry believed that the "stylistics of Faulkner's language...serves to subordinate Emily, ostensibly the subject of the tale, and to elevate the town as the truer subject".
They are as follows: the presentation of the heroes, the consideration of the ethical themes, and the final stages of the plays the latter help to draw some ethical conclusions based on the peculiarity of [...]
The fact that both Faulkner and O'Connor were from the South and that they wrote during almost the same period led to many similarities in their style of writing like the religious themes and foreshadowed [...]
Although the plot is different in each of these poems, both Annabel Lee and The Raven share the themes of death and lost love, as well as the symbolic language.
Despite the seeming difference in genre, stylistic choices, characters and settings, the novel Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Langston Hughes' poem A Dream Deferred have a lot in common; in fact, one [...]
The main conflict of the play is thoroughly intergenerational and lies in Willy's inability to accept the decision of his older son Biff, as the latter is willing to leave town to go to farmland [...]
The main conflict in the play is the murder of John Wright. Although the murder is not solved in the course of the play, some characters are able to develop.
This essay aims to explore the elements of defamiliarization that are evident in the two works and to summarize the points to show how the use of this technique differs in the stories.
The Old Major's speech as portrayed in the narrative Animal Farm has myriad of similarities and differences to the speech given by Martin Luther King Jr.in his attempt to liberate the black race from discrimination.
Of Cherokee descent, Harjo graduated from the Iowa Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa and is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma.
The tension in her relations with her parents contributes to the development of the necessity to prove that she is better than that, actually, that she is the best.
King of Thebes Creon is obligated to maintain the rules of the land because of his position of authority. Being an outsider and a woman, Antigone begins the play in a position of weakness.
In contrast, the villains are made to capture the fears, and challenges of the societies represented by these epics. The import of these three epics lies in their historicism.
The three features which are discussed in this respect are the division of the two societies into social strata, the use of state power and control over citizens, and the loss of people's individualities.
Though both books talk about the food industry and the ills that plague it, it is important to establish that, Eric Schlosser's aim of writing Fast Food Nation was to make the public know the [...]
For example, in his article Dodgson's Dark Conceit: Evoking the Allegorical Lineage of Alice, Andrew Wheat suggest that in Carroll's novel, the character of Alice is being presented as the challenger of 'undeniable truths', as [...]
It cannot escape our attention that Don Quixote's illusions are strongly associated with his commitment to "protect justice", therefore they cannot be discussed as "thing in itself", as it is the case with Hamlet's illusions, [...]
Macbeth ascends to the throne, he is determined to hold on to the throne, and so he must get rid of Banquo and his family because the witches had predicted that the throne would go [...]
This statement by the narrator is a significant tool of characterization because it reveals that the main character is insane. The narrator is also important in revealing the character of the old man.
As a result, their narratives, in tone, in mood, in presentation of self, in degree and kind of analysis of the world around them, reflect these differences.
The works by two famous American Puritan writers of the 17th century Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson reflect the main features of the Puritan writing because the authors discuss their personal experience concentrating on their [...]
Here, the essay compares how the theme of colonization is captured in the novels, and goes ahead to explain the techniques employed by each author in conveying the theme.
The book is based on the story of a farmer and his family, who, due to the problematic nature of the head of the family, are forced to change their place of residence: "None of [...]
It was written after the Restoration, but the powerful voice of the poet declared that the spirit of the Revolution was not broken, that it still lived in the hearts of the people.
It is possible to compare and contrast two poems, "The Lamb" and "The Tyger", to understand how the poet managed to create evoking and appealing images.
In the film "The Black Swan" directed by Darren Aronofsky, Nina struggles to fit into the ultimate role of the play "The Swan Lake", as the Black Swan, even though she is comfortable playing the [...]
Knights were expected to have honor, courage, honesty, respect, selflessness, and several other qualities of how a perfect knight was considered, like Olivier and Roland in The Song of Roland.
The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast one of the main characters of literature - Oedipus and Hamlet, as well as to determine the qualities and skills of people which make them [...]
Finally, as Dante and Virgil reach the most bitter, tormented place in the universe, the ninth circle of hell, they immediately depart after seeing Satan and the final circle of the underworld.
The story of Hindu creation myths differs from Ancient Greek creation myths in a number of facts, including the beginning of the world, and some elements of the creation of the living creatures.
This paper aims to compare the aspects of symbolism in Othello and The Rape of the Lock. The lock in the poem "The Rape of the Lock" is more than just a coiled strand of [...]
The nature is one of the greatest mysteries of the world; the value assumptions about the place of individuals in nature and their relationship to their canine companions is the issue discussed in two nice [...]
Iago's reports and the loss of the handkerchief appear to Othello reliable proofs of Desdemona's unfaithfulness, and under the effect of anger the protagonist is both unable and unwilling to do further investigation.
From the suffering of people in Haiti in the wake of several hurricanes that struck them in 2008 to individuals facing hunger and drought in various states of Africa, as well as the war-torn countries [...]
The two characters had to overcome several obstacles in a manner that led many of their followers to respect and honor them, and their royal positions Othello can be considered to be a black member [...]
This shift in perspective underscores the theme of women's bonds and shared understanding. Overall, the adaptation effectively employs perspective to emphasize different dimensions of gender roles, justice, and women's realities in a thought-provoking manner.
There are certain commonalities between the artistic and symbolic representations of both writers/directors, especially in their representation of the madness and paranoia that exists in the world when people are placed in isolation and the [...]
Margaret Atwood's book 'The Dancing Girls' is a collection of 16 short stories and the Dancing Girls is one of the stories and has given the name for the collection.
People tend to think that the mother is the one who always worries about the children more while the father is believed to be the strongest member of the family who is not allowed to [...]
His creation is gentle at the start, but after the people start to resent it because of its looks, the monster runs and hides from the society. When Victor refuses to create a spouse for [...]
From such a position the audience is allowed to examine the position of a woman in the society. What this signifies is that the woman is painted as a social misfit and this resulted in [...]
He thinks such behavior is offensive to his position and his power, this is why this woman is in the past, and the other one is waiting for him downstairs to enlarge Duke's collection of [...]
The opening scene of The Tragedy of Macbeth starts with the words "fair is foul and foul is fair" that Polanski takes from the end of the Shakespeare's scene.
In essence, The Lottery and The Metamorphosis are expository on misfortune as triggering alienation and unsettling the harmony of life to which one's community and family weaken in their duty of care and protection and [...]
Using The Man in a Black Suit title, and not, for example, the Devil in a Black Suit or the Beast, King emphasizes one of the themes of the work: namely, the incarnation of the [...]
This paper will look at the features of the stories and characters of Beatrice and Georgiana to demonstrate their main differences with the same ending of their stories.
In relation to this concept is the fact that Lennie and George's dreams inspire the duo to be mutually cooperative and loving as is evident through Gorge's action of covering up for Lennie's deficiencies when [...]
Driving to work involves the use of evolving technology as every car made today includes varying degrees of computerized information systems that inform the vehicle of important information everything from the need for an oil [...]
Literature is one of the art forms invented by the humanity to reflect the phenomena of the objective reality. As contrasted to Twain's work, "The Law of Life" by London is a depiction of positive [...]
This progression toward enlightenment can be most clearly seen by making a comparison between Plato's Allegory of the Cave and the situation in which the man and boy find themselves within McCarthy's novel, particularly in [...]
In preparing for the performance, Hamlet provides the players with specific lines and actions to include within the overall play they are about to perform and gives them lengthy instructions as to the acting of [...]
Much ado in the Illiad tells of the dishonor he suffered from Agamemnon, his decision to quit the field because of it, and the futile efforts of the Greeks to appease him and draw him [...]
Therefore, the dichotomy of violence and hope remains alive in a deliberate attempt by the author to show that conflict is a necessity for peace and stability.
Thus, it is possible to state that the journey described in Izumi Kyoka's "The Holy Man of Mount Koya" can remind the elements of the journey presented in Matsuo Basho's "The Narrow Road to Oku" [...]
The brutality and cruelty of humans to the god and the puppy is laid bare when the puppy dies out of the experiments that are carried on her by the master.
This is because while the gods are obviously responsible for choosing the path that one's life is to take, it still takes the free will of the involved person to follow that path.
In the two poems, the poets use the elephants to symbolize the profoundness of events that happen in their lives. In the poem "Elephant eternity", the elephant can be said to be representative of the [...]
As the narration progresses, fear arises in the reader or viewer, and finally, something horrific happens."The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Cask of the Amontillado" share all of the features above, as [...]
The tone in "To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time" and in "To His Coy Mistress" is the same as the narrators move from persuasion to warning their subjects.
From the very beginning, the author provides a thorough description of Tito's present life including the place he worked, the people he communicated with and the attitude he had towards other people, which emphasizes some [...]
All through the narration the reader is engulfed in mystery and suspense, not knowing what to expect or what will happen next.'The Red Room' accomplishes the same effect, although it does so using another approach.'The [...]
The research introduces the authors' symbolic concepts of strangeness which address alienation and desire and, which happen in the unconscious state of the creator's Victor and Dr.
On the other hand, to hypothesize and expand the concept of Heaven, it was first necessary to create a general framework of life after death and specify such issues as admissions to the various parts [...]
Although the theme of female body is disclosed differently in two poems, both authors resort to a variety of devices to make the idea clear and to engage the readers in the perception of it.
The book Fahrenheit 451 and the movie Equilibrium have some similarities and contrasts: Both the book and the movie delve into the topic of the suppression of free thought; in both cases, the concept of [...]
The reader is extremely important for the writer because reading is the significant act in disclosing the generosity of the work, and the writer should understand for whom he writes because the reader is free [...]
In the footnote, he informs his readers that the main figure in the poem is a trickster and a teacher who lived in the legends of the Blackfoot Indians of southern Alberta.
They differ in that in "What It's like to be a Black Girl", the girl desires to recognize with the society and likeness of her African American predecessor's slave possessors, while in that of the [...]
One of the most famous examples of the use of the characters taken from Greek mythology in pop culture must be the mentioning of the famous goddess, Venus, in advertising, which is, in fact, based [...]
Emily Dickinson's keen eye saw the hypocrisy and ludicrous avoidance of death she encountered in her everyday life, and wrote about it in a quiet yet penetrating way.
As soon as the notorious prophecy of him murdering his father and marrying his mother is made aware to him, Oedipus runs away from his foster parents, being under the assumption that they are his [...]
Many tales and films loved by children have always adopted the animal bridegroom concept, which is evident in Beauty and the Beast, the frog King, and the Pig King.
In my opinion, in both Walker's and Kincaid's stories, there are the three themes of mother-daughter relationships, economic struggles, and societal expectations. In the case of Girl, the conflict is based on the concerns the [...]
Through the years the author got the new vision of his poems what was expressed by the difference between the imagery of Introductions and the Song's of Nurse in the Songs of Innocence and Songs [...]
The two literary works under consideration are the poem The Everlasting Regret by Bai Juyi-Yi and the play The Autumn of the Lustrous Emperor of Tang: Rain on the Wutong Tree by the famous Chinese [...]
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