Studying for a literature degree? Taking a literature course? Literature students will appreciate our range of literature essays covering a variety of popular topics. Get a helping hand with these essay examples, donated by students like yourself! Find more literature essays here.
An Essay on Man is a philosophical poem by Alexander Pope, first published between 1733 and 1734. Written in heroic couplets, it is a seminal work in the neoclassical era of English literature, combining rich poetic language with profound philosophical inquiry. The poem is an attempt to “vindicate the ways of God to man,” a … Read more
1. Howard Jones’ book Crucible of Power: A History of American Foreign Relations from 1945. Howard Jones in chapters 7-10 of his book Crucible of Power: A History of Foreign Relations from 1945, considers the change in foreign policy from Jimmy Carter to the policy of containment by Ronald Reagan and the missionary diplomacy of … Read more
The final location Jane inhabits is Fearndean, a place we also find in Charlotte’s life under the name of Wycoller Hall. Fearndean is believed to have been pencilled after this location built by the Hartley family in the latter part of the 16th century. On her way there, Jane describes the places she passes by … Read more
The use of hindsight within the first person narration is an effective technique in both novels. In addition to providing distinctly clear detail surrounding events, it also presents a perspective garnered by maturity that a child would not have had. In Jane Eyre, this maturity is demonstrated through the language and the complexity of the … Read more
The Bronte sisters are of literary origin. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne created fantasy worlds which created the starting point of their ventures into fiction. Anne Bronte teamed up with Emily Bronte and developed the idea of imaginary country called Gondol. Charlotte and her brother Branwell created an imaginary country called Angria. Charlotte Bronte struggled to … Read more
The gaze is a significant tool in the hands of Charlotte Bronte to construct her new masculinity in the Victorian society in general and the Victorian literature in particular. The gaze plays a role in the power dynamics between men and women; between the gazer and the gazed. The gazer is considered the subject and … Read more
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys Part I Antoinette Cosway is a young girl living with her mother and brother at Coulibri, near a Spanish Town, Jamaica. The Emancipation Act was going on and the death of her father, the family is financially ruined. The black community despises them for being former slaveholders, and the … Read more
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman hold a great significance to the short story genre. The stories have a tale of women going crazy because of isolation. Despite the American time period in The Yellow Wallpaper and the British time period in Jane Eyre there are many similarities in … Read more
After the emergence of a middle class as a result of the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain’s social class system experienced several changes. The members of the working middle class were wealthy enough to separate themselves from the lower class, but not wealthy enough to be included in the upper class. The expectations of women shifted … Read more
Charlotte Bronte occupies a position of great importance in the history of women’s literature in particular and in the history of the Victorian literature in general. She gave a female voice to fiction creating a new female as well as male consciousness in the novel genre. In doing so, she laid claim to unchartered territory, … Read more
Macbeth The play begins with the appearance of the three witches and it then moves on to a military camp where the Scottish king Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo, defeated two armies from Ireland and Norway. After their battle with these enemy forces Macbeth and Banquo encounter the three witches … Read more
For thousands of years, families put their children to work in whatever labor was necessary for survival; only wealthy and powerful children were able to avoid this fate. In 19th Century England, children of lower class were to work long hours in factories, warehouses, and coal mines for low wages and little food. They also … Read more
Great Expectations is a novel that centres on the life of a young boy, Phillip Pirrip, who lives with his abusive sister and her husband, his kind brother in law and his journey and the trials and tribulations throughout his life. Throughout the novel we meet many characters who have had a profound effect and … Read more
In Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale Of Two Cities, Sydney Carton is a man of several distinct characteristics. Carton is shown originally to be a frustrated alcoholic, but then turns out to be a very noble and genuine man. Sydney Carton is also shown in the novel to be somewhat immature in his actions and … Read more
The theme of love being stronger than hate is illustrated in the novel A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens which takes place in France and England during the French Revolution. Charles Dickens demonstrates how Sydney Carton makes his decisions based on love for the benefit of others and himself and Madame Defarge makes … Read more
When writing a literature essay, it is crucial to keep in mind the importance of the readability of your essay. Throughout the essay, ensure that the essay is not a regurgitation of other writers’ ideas, research notes or facts. This is important because people will not find your essay interesting to read if you would not read it yourself.
The following sections offer fundamental guidelines on how to write an literature essay.
Planning is an important point, which you need to keep in mind before you even start to write your essay. It is important that before starting to write your literature essay, you identify your audience. Planning for your essay requires that you identify a goal or the major points to discuss in your essay. Before starting the essay, ensure that you write all the key points or ideas you intend to discuss in your essay. Visualize how you want your essay to be, and develop an outline of all the paragraphs. Identify the argument of the essay and position.
It is important to have an idea of where you want to take the reader in terms of the impacts you seek to have on the audience after reading the literature essay. These are among the various important aspects that you need to keep in mind when writing a literature essay. These suggestions when followed are helpful in writing a high standard essay, which is relevant to the topic of discussion.
Learning how to write a literature essay is not just about writing the essay. You also need to know how to structure the essay in the correct way.
This is the most important factor in an essay. The length of each paragraph is a crucial point for consideration to avoid a reader getting lost while reading it. Paragraphs are useful to both you as the writer, and the reader of the essay. Use different paragraphs to categorize your points and ideas. Ensure that you use short paragraphs throughout your essay. A high standard essay should not have paragraphs that exceed an A4 page.
Literature essays require that you have a strong argument unless the paper instructions need you to write a summary of a provided text. Ensure that your argument is not biased. The discussion should comprise all the possible position of the argument. A quality essay should provoke discussion by including different thoughts using the texts creatively.
The aim of writing a literature essay is to demonstrate an individual’s love of words and English language. Utilize literary devices like alliterations, onomatopoeia, sibilance, and anaphora to make your English essay interesting. These technique can be effectively used when writing poetry.
All sources used in the essay should be credited and acknowledged using footnotes and creating a reference list. There are various ways which you can use to credit texts and ideas from other writers that you have used in your essay. In-text references can comprise name of the author, year of publication, and page number of the source. This allows a reader to look up the source used should he want. Ensure that your footnotes for the essay are well notated, and include information about the edition of the source and name of the publisher.
Use quotations in your essay to support facts, theories, ideas, thoughts, and argument in the essay. Quotations are effectively presented either as part of an essay sentence or as a word. Ensure that you include quotations in your essay creatively. In cases where you think that you need to use lengthy quotations to support your discussion or argument, make sure that you satisfy the following areas in your essay:
