Literature Essay Examples and Topics. Page 36

8,819 samples

“Ars Poetica” by Archibald Macleish

This poem, like most of the Cummings' other poems, exists, quite meaningfully exists, in both form and content. Indeed, the form both encapsulates and expounds the meaning of the poem.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 552

“1812: The War that Forged a Nation” the Book by W.R. Borneman

Borneman proposes readers an exiting and vivid description of the war of 1812 which led to consolidation of the nation and 'forged America's national identity.' Borneman analyzes the major events of the war and discusses [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 608

Milton’s and Dante’s “Paradise” Analytical Comparison

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1608

Desperation in ‘The Glass Menagerie’ by T. Williams

Williams admits that she regrets her diminished status: the fading of her beauty and the increasing harshness of her tone of voice: "a little woman of great but confused vitality clinging frantically to another time [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1150

The Significance of Fences

By naming his play Fences, the plural form of the word even though only a single physical fence is evident in the play, August Wilson brings attention to the symbolism of the fence itself as [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1657

Poetry v. Prose: Their Differences and Overlaps

Fiction can possibly include the happenings of everyday life and is reliant on the person that narrates the happenings, the manner of its narration, and its composition.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 903

Albert Camus’ Novel “The Strange”: The Death Penalty

In his role as the principal character in Albert Camus' novel The Stranger, Meursault is a threat to society that upholds the death penalty because he is looked upon as a bad and dangerous example [...]
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 853

Hesitation and Indeterminacy of Hamlet

There is no denying the importance of the fact that the whole fabric of Shakespeare's tragedy unfolds in Hamlet subjective perception and interpretation of his uncle and mother' treason.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 920

“Hamlet” by William Shakespeare: To Be or Not to Be

It begins with supernatural such as the presence of the ghost and Hamlet attempting to glance into Claudius' soul, to the mystery of the crime and the need for revenge. The masterful use of style, [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 827

How to Win Friends and Influence People by D. Carnegie

The simple truths in the book were relevant to all generations and hence the book is of universal appeal."How to Win Friends and Influence People" tapped into the insatiable hunger for self-improvement and success in [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2322

Underworld in Greek and Roman Mythology

The human personality traits determined the gods and goddesses to be immortalized, hence the actions that were observed in the myths were as a symbol of the actual actions of men.
  • Subjects: Mythology
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1642

Apollonian and Dionysian in Euripides’ “Bacchae”

The opposition between Apollonian and Dionysian can be described to be in the center of modern literary analysis since literary work is a difficult interrelation between form and contents, norm and abnormality, which can be [...]
  • Subjects: Mythology
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1285

Nature as an Element in Romantic Literature

That his response to this vista is restorative and necessary is expressed within the second stanza, "These beauteous forms, / Through a long absence, have not been to me / As is a landscape to [...]
  • Subjects: Romantic Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1002

A Good-Enough Mother: “The Fifth Child” by Doris Lessing

When David and Harriet went on holiday's with the children, usually Harriet's mother Dorothy looked after Ben, but one day she suggested that they send Ben to the institution, but Harriet was against the idea [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 923

Feminism in Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler, upon the discovery that her imaginary world of free-living and noble dying lies in shivers about her, no longer has the vitality to continue existence in the real world and chooses self-annihilation. At [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 880

Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”: Response

The utilization of children will reduce the number of "papists who, according to Swift, were "most perilous enemies" and also the "principal breeders of the nation".
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 543

The Mill on the Floss by Maggie Tulliver

The Mill on the Floss tells the story of Maggie Tulliver, the daughter of a miller in Victorian England, and reflects the values of society.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 14
  • Words: 3915

Characters in “The Scarlet Letter” and “Hamlet” Film

Hester returns to Boston just before her death, in order to be buried in the same grave as Dimmesdale, with 'A' inscribed on their tombstone. Much to her son's anger and disgust, she marries Claudius [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 622

Children Literature. “Peter Pan” by J. M. Barrie

In Peter Pan literature, the writer uses different techniques to deliver his message to the writer. The writer tells a story complete with characters that include Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Jane.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 690

Pablo Neruda, a Great Latin American Poet

In 1920, he had written literary journal "Selva Austral" under the pen name of Pablo Neruda, which he took on in memory of the Czechoslovak poet Jan Neruda.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 958

Mrs. Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative of the Captivity

A peculiar feature of works of this type is that the main characters, women, are not treated as they should be: they see numerous deaths of their dearest people, they are deprived of the fulfillment [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 892

Walker’s “Jubilee”: Oral History in Lyrical Melodies

Margaret Walker's Jubilee is a lyrical novel that captures and shapes the saga of the African American experience by using the lyrics of slave songs and spirituals that give testimony to the legacy of her [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2647

“Jabberwocky” Poem by Lewis Caroll

The meanings in the glossary differed from those in the Through The Looking Glass, therefore, the translation read: "It was evening, and the smooth active badgers were scratching and boring holes in the hill-side, all [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1336

“Jude the Obscure” Novel by Thomas Hardy

Previous to he was able to try to enter the university; the immature Jude was influenced into getting married to a rather uncouth and outward confined girl, Arabella Donn, who left him in two years.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1333

“To His Coy Mistress” Poem by Andrew Marvell

The title shows the intolerance of the passionate young man to the lady who is hesitant. The literal meaning of the poem is that the passionate man is intolerant of the coyness of the lady.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 640

Human Nature in “Lord of the Flies” by Golding

Considering this, the present paper will analyze the validity of the given statement by drawing on the experiences of characters in Lord of the Flies and evaluating the conditions in which they lived.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 905

Happiness in “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury

In the first chapter Guy Montag, the protagonist finds himself in a position that allows him to recognize the lack of genuine happiness in his life, viewing those around him as uncompassionate and disinterested shades.
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 676

Director’s Notebook for “Pygmalion” by Shaw

In retrospect, the cultural context of the play was that of a period of transition from the Victorian values to the new ones and the desperate search of the ideas that could constitute a new [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 20
  • Words: 5532

Ritual Performance and Cosmology in the Rig Veda

Despite differences in the interpretation of features text as a whole, the data remained of the most ancient Indian religious texts allows restoring some elements of mythology and cosmology of the Vedic Indians. Altogether, it [...]
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1730

Human Condition in Cannery Row

Due to the fact that Cannery Row tells a story of different characters with a range of aspirations it can be argued that Steinbeck showcases various aspects of the human condition in his work by [...]
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1659

People & Nature in “Tourist Season” by C. Hiaasen

First of all, it is the mystery of a man who wants to preserve the nature of Miami and area, save it from being destroyed by tourists and other people who disrespect it.
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1403

George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” Short Story

The first example of the subverted power dynamic is at the very beginning of the story. The writer shows that power comes at a certain price, and in the case of the main character, he [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1179

Family Dynamics in the Bible and Modern Literature

The topic of family dynamics is necessary and relevant to modern relationships between parents and children. In turn, the poem by Hughes focuses on the metaphor of stairways as a symbol of her difficult life [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 854

The Play “Fool for Love” by Sam Shepard

The following paper aims to analyze themes from the play, identify the connections to the concept of identity, and determine whether the reality they are dealing with offers them a possibility to live the American [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2228

Madness in “Henry IV” by Luigi Pirandello

One of the main reasons for the emergence of such fusion is the desire to show the unique character of the psyche and, from the other hand to emphasize the fact that all people have [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1667

Realism of Wide Sargasso Sea and Madame Bovary

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.
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 653

Feudalism in Europe in the “Beowulf” Poem

The Old English epic poem Beowulf presents a good illustration of the relations and obligations of lords and vassals. God defines the rights and obligations in feudal society.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 194

Raymond Carver Story “A Small Good Thing”

At the beginning of the story, we come across Ann as one of the protagonists in the story as she tries to order and give instructions for her son's birthday cake.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 838

Social Darwinism in “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison

The Battle Royal is a non-fictional work of Ralph Ellison and talks of the black people fighting for their freedom in the Whites' society. Furthermore, a good life is also embedded in hard work and [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 304

Symbols in Junot Diaz’s “Is This How You Lose Her”

By incorporating a range of symbols such as the main characters' clothes, their personal belongings, and attributes of their culture, the author conveys the conflict of belonging, sense of being lost, and the problem of [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2212

The Story “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield

It becomes clear when different ideas appear in her head, and all the participants of the performance know her and love her as one of the members in the general fun.
  • 4
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 967

“The Snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro” by E. Hemingway

A short story uses all the elements of that genre to develop his or her theme; in fact, all the elements are used to lead the reader to the central meaning of the work.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1719

“Like a Winding Sheet” by Ann Petry

The story starts by raising the action with Mae believing that the thirteenth, which is a Friday, is a bad day and does not want to go to work.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 499

Complex Communities in Monica Ali’s “Brick Lane”

In the development of this theme, the novel is authored in English. This situation is a demonstration of a community that has not or has refused to assimilate into the English culture.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 608

“When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” by Jhumpa Lahiri

Although he has a company that makes his life easier, such as Lilia's family, where he goes to watch the news and have supper, he still feels lonely and detached. Lilia's family has lived in [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 313

“The Caretaker” by Anthony Doerr

Liberia descends to anarchy and lawlessness, and he runs for dear life and finds himself in a different country, thousands of miles from his.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 334

“Scarlett and the Sinkhole” by Padgett Powell

The tone that the narrator uses is a complete contrast to this sad condition. The narrator should have used a more appropriate manner that is evidence or characteristic of Scarliotti's situation.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 182

The Poem and the Sign by Ferdinand de Saussure

The basic idea of a new approach to the structure and function of the language was that language is a system of signs which can be distinguished and studied separately, "Language is a system of [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1125

Paulo Coelho: The Lesson of Finding One’ Purpose in Life

One of the most common themes in Coelho's books is finding one's purpose in life and seeking after the attainment of ones dreams.'The Alchemist', 'The Witch of Portobello', 'The Zahir' and 'Brida' have this theme [...]
  • Subjects: Writers
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1594

The Adventures of Robin Hood

He felt the pain of killing the man and became an outlaw living in the forest. He became an outlaw in the early19th century.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 399

Demythologization of the Agikuyu Creation Story

He led him to the highest point of the mountain and pointed him to a certain point on the land where there were lots of fig trees referred to as Mugumo in your native language.
  • Subjects: Mythology
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1356

Bhagavad Gita as a Spiritual Book

Lord Krishna is believed to be the inspiration behind the book known as the Gospel of the Lord. From this knowledge, the history of the Gita, the purpose of yoga, and a guru becomes significant [...]
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 783

The Bhagavad-Gita Book Analysis

There are 700 verses in the Bhagavad-Gita, which reflect the philosophical aspects of the dialogue between Prince Arjuna and God Krishna before the battle Kurukshetra.
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1403

“Babylon Revisited” by Scott Fitzgerald

The crash of the stock market that results in economic depression is a result of the sinful extravagance of the wealthy and can be related to this prophecy.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 692

David Montgomery’s “The Fall of the House of Labor”

The book highlights the events that led to the formation of workers' unions and David Montgomery's contribution to the revolution. He also claimed that the existence of different classes of labor led to the downfall [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 848

People Who Remind Me of Greek Gods

In the myths, she is described as the goddess of virginity, the moon, the hunter, childbirth, and caretaker of the natural environment.
  • Subjects: Mythology
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1120

“World War Z” a Book by Max Brooks

This could not hold because the League of Nations failed to prevent the most tragic war in the world that is, the Second World War.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1995

“Maus: A Survivor’s Tale” a Novel by Art Spiegelman

Intertwined throughout the story is the turbulent and pragmatic relationship between Art and his elderly father. This was the root of the overwrought relationship that existed between Vladek and his son because he held his [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 306

History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki

The author also ties the multicultural history of people comprising American diversity with a thorough analysis of the place they are at the time of writing his book.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2742

“The Garden of Forking Paths” by Borges Luis Jorge

The narrator means that time and space are incorporated in the current decision-making processes and the truth that generated the historical actions is revealed in the present century.
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 874

Gift-Giving in “Gifts” by Nuruddin Farah

The young woman's reaction to gift-giving is interesting because the discussion of this reaction can add to Peter Singer's vision of the necessity to be generous in relation to the people of the Third World.
  • Subjects: Romantic Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 856

Symbols in Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”

In "The Masque of the Red Death", Poe uses space to define division and a sense of safety. For human beings, the end of a day is dark and sad, typical of the representation of [...]
  • Subjects: Concepts in American Novels
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 435

Blanche in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Williams

It is a perfect presentation of the two major characters Blanche DuBois whose pretensions to virtue and culture only thinly cover her alcoholism and illusions of greatness, and Stanley Kowalski, who is primitive, rough, and [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 648

Meursault in “The Stranger”: A Novel by Albert Camus

When Meursault is asked by Raymond to write a letter that the latter can use to torture his mistress, he unsympathetically consents to the request because he "did not have any reason not to".
  • Subjects: World Philosophy Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1465

“Them Dodgers Is My Gallant Knights” by Harley Henry

From the title of the article to the use of graphic representation, such as the picture of the injured Feller's mother lying in the hospital bed, Henry strives, and quite sufficiently so, to show the [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 605

Exile of Gilgamesh and Shakespeare’s Prospero

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 887

The History of Yevgeny Yevtushenko

The citizens of the USA became familiar with the poet in the early sixties. I suppose that famous Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko is one of the most influential literary figures in the world.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

“About Men” a Book by Gretel Ehrlich

She starts by introducing herself and where she comes from and thus informing the reader that she has experience of whatever she is about to discuss. The theme is developed throughout the essay by a [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 568

John Stuart Mill’s “The Subjection of Women”

In "The Subjection of Women," John Stuart Mill argues for the emancipation of marginalized women for both the benefit of the society and the personal gain of the woman.
  • Subjects: Gender in Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 289

Heroism and Power in Homer’s “The Illiad”

In The Iliad, the relations between two characters, Agamemnon and Apollo, as well as their motivation and passion help to underscore the theme of power and rage; the conflict between the characters is based on [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1565

Chinese Literature: Su Shi’s Poetry

2 The implication of social and political concerns through his beautiful and artist description of daily life inspires the readers to realize the real situation of the society throughout his poetic works.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1655

Themes and Experiences: “I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai

In telling her story, Malala emphasizes the importance of education for girls, the differences in culture and religion she experienced growing in Pakistan, the dangers of being an education activist, and the beginnings of the [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1117

Metaphors in “A Madman’s Diary” Story by Lu Xun

One of these metaphors can be seen in the third part of the story: "I see that woman's 'bite several mouthfuls out of you,' the laughter of those green faced, long toothed people and the [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 897