Free Comparative Literature Essay Examples & Topics
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 compare and contrast essay when it comes to literature? It’s still an academic paper that requires specific methodology and subordinates to conventional rules. Mind that only the pieces that have something in common are comparable.
And this is where all the challenges start. 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.
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 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.
Depending on the chosen structure, you will formulate a thesis, distribute the arguments and supporting evidence. You can consult the possible options in our comparative literature essay examples.
How to Compare Literary Pieces
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 be familiar with 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. Depending on the expected length of your essay, select three to six comparable aspects. 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.
In Pastan's work, the state of loneliness and fear is depicted: the author is "learning to abandon the world", and she has already "given up the moon / and snow".
Similarly to Rama, Odysseus belongs to the descendants of Zeus, the king of all gods, and uses a special bow as his favorite weapon. Another difference between Odysseus and Rama is their attitudes to family [...]
1 However, irrespective of the choice of the level of imagery, both authors employ it, which gives their stories a peculiar character and arouses mixed feelings on the part of the reader.
The paper also includes the analysis of the narratives in accordance with the epic laws introduced by Axel Olrik. In Cinderella's story, the presence of royalty is only limited to the prince.
The general impression of Emily Dickinson's poems is that they are very economical with words and the message being conveyed. The general impression of these poems is that the writer feels oppressed and discriminated against [...]
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 [...]
Both Count Orlok and the Other Mother possess the ability to mimic normal people but still are have more powers than these people, yet the disturbing relatability of Beldam's motives and the terrifying goal of [...]
As I read the texts, the regular language used in the two texts is evidence that the writers sought to make their texts easy to understand for both the middle-class Americans and the aristocrats.
The story of the poetic love of Rustam to a beautiful Tahmina and the betrayal of the insidious and envious Shah of Cavus create an atmosphere of tragedy and inevitability.
He is regretful of the dowry he did pay and thinks the Duchess was just pretentious. Fortunato is determined, and despite the sorry state of his friend, he tags him along to his demise.
In Shakespeare's play, the motif of discrimination is explored in conjunction with Othello's dark skin color, something that caused the "noble Moore" to be treated with suspicion by other characters throughout the play.
For example, in Poe's story, the narrator is driven insane by the beating of the older man's heart, even after his death. Poe's story is done in the first person from the perspective of the [...]
Quotation: "The philosophical dimension of beauty does not depend on the limits of the physical world; true beauty far exceeds our earthly bounds". It is necessary to consider the beauty's "subtle qualities" such as "tone, [...]
Although Ian Tattersall does not focus on race, his arguments can be used to show that the racial theory of evolution is inconsistent. This is one of the main aspects that can be identified.
For those who strive to gain an in-depth insight into the discursive significance of Greek antiquity, it represents the matter of crucial importance to be able to understand that the Olympian gods of Apollo and [...]
In particular, the writers explore the way in which the worldviews and moral principles of a person can be determined by the norms established in a particular community or a social group.
In Edgar Allan Poe's, "The Cast of Amontillado" Montresor appears as a caring friend but that appearance is only used to mask the fact that Montresor is a mad man.
First of all, I have to say that the poem is recognized to be a reflection of the Victorian Period. I suppose that the success of the poem can be explained by the author's ability [...]
On the other hand, the book, "Sea of Poppies" discusses the cultural shock of neocolonialism in the extensive opium farms by natives in honoring the 'girmit' of offshore labor provision in sugarcane plantations.
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 [...]
In the story Black Skin What Mask, the writer brings to light many instances of irony between the narrator and his friend. He is still a friend to the narrator who is black.
The authors of these famous texts show in detail how the main characters Gilgamesh and Prospero struggle with the sense of alienation because of their exile, but overcoming this challenging experience, the characters develop their [...]
This essay is going to compare and contrast the characters of two women, Calixta from Chopin's "The Storm" and Elisa Allena from Steinbeck's "Chrysanthemums", who are in different contexts of the stories.
A major difference between poems and drama and the short story is that the first two have a predefined format of writing which includes the use of more dramatic words as compared to the short [...]
One of the reasons behind the rising popularity of the "eco-fiction" genre has to do with the fact that the philosophy of environmentalism has now been firmly incorporated in the discourse of post-modernity, which nowadays [...]
The formalist analysis of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep repeats the same mistake, as it focuses on the plot devices and tropes presented in the story.
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 the details of each of the seven stores, there is the invisible and almost intangible connection between the seven parts of the book.
Both of them focused on similar problems but used entirely different methods to deliver their ideas while having clear benefits and disadvantages of their choices.*One the one hand, novels like Citizen help build an emotional [...]
The topic of a woman's voice being silenced by society and becoming heard in writing appears to be among the similar themes of the critical essay "The Laugh of the Medusa" by Cixous and the [...]
Even though both works reveal the main values of society, emphasizing the role of love, they show that people from the 12th and 21st centuries are not the same.
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.
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.
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 [...]
Although the theme of shame is central to both Anna Karenina and The Idiot, the nature of this feeling is explained differently: Tolstoy regards shame as the result of a person's actions, while Dostoevsky considers [...]
In addition to the Great War, urbanization, immigration, and the rapid progress of technology led to the general feeling of uncertainty due to the rejection of old, traditional ideas.
The pilgrimage is scary as the characters are squeezed in a reek and noise that torments them as they get to the lowest point of the center full of ice and there no signs of [...]
The queens in Hamlet and Macbeth play a pivotal role in the life of the heroes of the play. She is portrayed as a mother who, in her awareness of Hamlet's crisis, feels guilty and [...]
In Nausea, the main character is a well-traveled 30-year-old man afflicted with intense feelings of the meaninglessness of his own being, an experience he dubs 'nausea.' The main character and narrator, Roquentin, is portrayed as [...]
In this paper, the focus will be to compare the goal-orientation between the protagonist in the play 'Waiting for Godot' and the novel 'Fear and Loathing in Vegas'.
Analysis of the Similarities portrayed between Alice and Jim and the respective applications of the authors style of literature. In addition, the author uses the different settings of the story and the character traits of [...]
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.
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.
Rosalind is the boy-heroine of As You Like It, who, like her father, deprived of her rightful inheritance, lived a life of captivity as a friend and lady-in-waiting to Celia.
Transcendentalism was one of the brightest literary movements of the 19th century, in which a few people belonging to cultured and educated American society founded a movement that proclaimed the power and importance of the [...]
Both Jack's and Molly's parents are poor, and the children in the stories are forced to experience difficulties in finding food and trying to survive; therefore, the boy and the girl get into ogres' houses.
Dina's experiences in Japan depicted in Geese contribute to the depiction of her life at Yale from Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, offering valuable insights into the development of her character and search for personal and national [...]
The author perceived the foundation of modern capitalism through war capitalism, which used military strength and technological advantages in order to clear land for cotton plantations and subjugate or exterminate various indigenous races that got [...]
The consistency of the three works in addressing power struggles within the family as a social unit is a lesson to the society of the urgent need to restructure the family as the basic social [...]
In her book, The Rich People's School, the writer uses the main character, Sylvia, to highlight the issues of class struggles and parenthood in society.
Both the children and the husband will definitely miss her because she is the epitome of their comfort and sustenance."The Mother Return" by Dorothy Wordsworth is a highly sensational poem.
Compensating the Wrongly Convicted is intended to introduce the issue of wrongful convictions that persists in the United States today answering some of the basic questions concerning the problem and informs about the potential solutions [...]
The often promoted idea of nationalism that increases patriotic sentiments during a time of conflict may play a substantial role in the development of wrong ideas regarding war and its purposes, and provoke division of [...]
In his 1922 poem "The waste land", Thomas Eliot attempts to portray how social solidarity of in the modern world is affected by social and cultural changes such as the change in gender roles, dynamism [...]
In contrast, Connie's difficulties can be explained by the fact that she resists the control of her mother. This is one of the aspects that can be distinguished.
Though a range of facts concerning the household and traditions of the people of Ancient Egypt remain buried under the sands of time, several facts about the culture in question can be considered relatively well-known.
This paper explores the differences and similarities between the heroes of the ancient epics such as "The Odyssey" by Homer and "The Epic of Gilgamesh" the product of the culture of ancient Mesopotamia.
Consequently, in the book 'The long walk: A story of war and the life that follows' authored by Brian Castner, the two major events that are evident after reading it include the battle for oneself [...]
Thesis Statement: The use of song lyric and art collection in Li Qingzhao's work portrays the disillusionment associated with the Song Dynasty while Tao Qian's dianyuan style depicts the disunion and desire for freedom during [...]
Frederick Douglass' "Learning to Read and Write" and Richard Wright's "The Library Card" are the stories of perseverance and resolve in overcoming the obstacles that prevented the marginalized black people from the most basic and [...]
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 [...]
It starts by showing God's creation of the universe and all the living things including man and how Adam and eve disobeyed God by eating fruits from the tree that God had warned them not [...]
This understanding forms the background of The Grapes of Wrath and As I Lay Dying analysis in this paper. The unity of structure and language in any comical genre take after carnivalistic folklore..".there is a [...]
In spite of the fact that the theme of isolation is shown in both the poems, the idea of isolation is presented in Arnold's poem "Dover Beach" with the focus on the melancholic isolation of [...]
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.
The concept reflects the foundation of the decent authority through showing the tendencies of power both in the ancient times and in the period of Renaissance.
The act of giving is described as the presentation of a gift to the intended individual with the purpose of pleasing or offering assistance to the recipient.
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.
His psychological reality contrasts with his material reality such that he does not practice his homosexuality just because of his class and the social attitudes at the time.
Lewis' works offer a reimagining of the story of Jesus as depicted in the New Testament and a representation of Orthodox Christian beliefs in the context of his imagined world.
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 [...]
Both writers show that it is extremely difficult for these women to get used to the role of drover's wife or a person who has to struggle against heavy odds in order to support the [...]
The theme of being imprisoned in the environment that is seemingly open-minded to a range of cultures, yet promotes a single standard in terms of the identity that one is supposed to have and the [...]
Having started with the announcement of her death, the author then reveals the main facts of her life from the point of view of the community of the city.
Resting on these facts, it is possible to analyze some works which belong to the same period of time in order to understand the main ideas of the epoch and the authors message to readers.
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 [...]
Walk Whitman was born in the first half of the 1800s and Robert Frost in the second. The use of figurative speech in poetry gives the poems a capacity to reach out to the hearts [...]
Their union comes out as selfish in respect to the man's family, and it is evident that in the context of this story, marriage is not the objective of their love.
Though "This Is a Picture of Me" by Margaret Atwood and "Heat" by Archibald Lampman differ from each other considerably in terms of their style, imagery, characters, and other essential details, they are connected with [...]
The current paper is the evaluation of two powerful books about the lives of different families in the frames of one period of time and the demands to follow the rules and personal ambitions.
Both of the works serve as detailed and deep reflections of the histories and cultures of the countries they came from and elaborately portrayed the relationships between men and women, religions and spirituality, and the [...]
The plot is set in 1934, and the manuscript describes life in rural China through the eyes of a young lady and her grandfather. In the book "Six Records of a Floating Life", Shen loses [...]
Probably the most memorable aspect of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front is that it contains a number of scenes that expose readers to the graphic accounts of war-induced carnage and death.
It should be pointed out that the issues concerning functioning and improvement of the memory, effects of the childhood experience and background on the personality, and the significance of having the heart not only as [...]
The idea of a person being in the center of the action and trying to overcome some problems connected with doom, fate and some other supernatural forces become peculiar to this kind of art.
The concept is interested in looking at the daily lives of individuals from both the lower and middle classes, whose character is determined by social factors. The movement covered the whole country since it was [...]
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 [...]
It can be said that while both of these books address the issue of hidden methods of coercion, Nineteen-eighty Four provides a bleak vision of the future in which the whole of society is controlled [...]
The poem, "What it's Like To Be a Black Girl," depicts a racially abusive society, which does not accept the conditions of the black girl. It is clear that both characters are prejudiced by the [...]
