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.
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 [...]
This abstract symbolizes the matter, that fate achieved the turning point, and the wind of change is blowing. The tears, which she rewards denote that these changes will be rather painful, and lots of effort [...]
Set in the cities of New York and Boston, "Death of a Salesman" the story happens during the 50s and 60s, the story reminds readers that there is more to life than just pursuing the [...]
The first book that has been taken under consideration goes by the name of The Figaro Trilogy and is a compilation of numerous works by the author namely Beaumarchais.
The basic theme of the novel is Ibo culture which is to be changed because of the pressure on the part of the external forces. The introduction of the protagonist of the story Okonkwo is [...]
Gertrude as Queen is the lead female character opposite Hamlet in the book of the same name. Beatrice has long served as Dante's inspirational muse and in the Divine Comedy it is no different, Beatrice [...]
Even though McKenzie raises important aspects of multiculturalism in the article "The Menace of Multiculturalism", he fails to defend his position because there is a lack of logic and coherency in the presented arguments.
Despite her insistence on loathing the false leg and the thick glasses she depends on to see, in the end, Hulga finds she is literally left without a leg to stand on.
Throughout the two stories, Byron's journey to realize is that of self-reflection, thinking, and apprehension, while Nea's journey is that of striving and pushing hard to change the things how they were.
This story is a part of many that form the book. The play of culture is a part of the character's mind and is reflected in the environment around him as well as the reactions [...]
The cruelty of the revolution and the Taliban regime brought not only a lot of changes and sufferings to people's lives but also provided the literature world with significant masterpieces filled with pain and difficulties [...]
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 [...]
In Bacchae, the denying of the irrational as Pentheus did leads to the demise of personality and society since denying the irrational is denying life itself and encircling it in the 'second nature' which leads [...]
In the book, 'Confessions' Rousseau unfolds his life story beginning with a description of his family and the impact of his mother's death at his birth.
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 main difference lies in the characters of Odysseus and the cursed girl "Sadako" in 'Ring.' Odysseus, after going through a hardship of ten years, still opt a normal human life and rejected the idea [...]
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 [...]
The present paper looks more closely at "Men in the Sun" and "The Land of Sad Oranges" and argues that the symbols physical disability and road point to the helplessness and powerlessness of the Palestinian [...]
The characters of Louise Mallard in "The Story of an Hour" and the storyteller for "The Yellow Wallpaper" are representative of what the authors want to express about themselves and their current situation.
Joseph stands out to be a hero in The Old Testament because, from the stature of a slave sold to an Egyptian merchant, he grew to be the powerful administrator in Egypt, second only to [...]
The Dispossessed discusses a wide range of utopian concepts derived from Taoism, the ideas of political thinkers like Fourier and Kropotkin, and the oppositional politics of the 1960s and early 1970s.
For Dante, the Divine Comedy was not a substitute for the two Testaments, but an extension of them and because of this, Inferno is a critical part because it serves as a reminder of the [...]
Vonnegut is a science fiction writer who tells about Cold War fears and the threat of the Bomb, the lurking dangers of overpopulation and food shortage on the one hand, and on the other government's [...]
He is the founder and leader of Macondo, and during his life, he never stops striving for knowledge. Siddhartha's quest for the Self is developed by three major events including his meeting with Buddha, his [...]
In contrast to Disgrace, both Kaffir Boy and Master Harold and the Boys depict events through the eyes of boys influenced by racial oppression and discrimination.
The changes of the plot throughout the movie in comparison with the original novel are disturbing watchers since the times of cinema appearing and performance of the derivative movies.
One such device in Hamlet is Shakespeare's placing of the Danish prince in the context of Fortinbras and Laertes as the characters that, like Hamlet, find themselves in the role of having to avenge their [...]
In some ways, the description of the first and second stanza is similar to that of a flower, perhaps through this, the poet is emphasize that he is rooted/stuck with his problems.
Chaucer's The Miller's Tale and in Shakespeare's Macbeth, to be more exact, we will find out how the notion of poetic justice is represented by examples of the main characters of the works mentioned.
Though Lost in Yonkers and Yo! both address family problems, the play and the novel differ in their approaching them due to the following points: the way the women and their roles in the family [...]
While Shelley's work concerns the fantastic events that took place in the time contemporary to the author, the setting of "Oryx and Crake" is a far future when, as the author predicts, the mankind will [...]
But what is one to do?" Through the course of the story, the woman transforms from an individual who adores the outside and green growing things to becoming lost in the artificial world created by [...]
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".
The members of the community have made all the preparations, "had all put their hearts into their work" and now are ready to present the results of their work to the public opinion.
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.
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 [...]
