English Literature Essays Examples For College & High School Students in PDF

27201 total results

The Masterful Use of Language in Macbeth, a Tragic Play by William Shakespeare (811 words, 3 pages)

In Shakespeares Macbeth, we as the audience find that the playwright masterfully uses language to bring his audience into a unique world that he creates. This includes the use of time, imagery and colour. With the use of such techniques, Shakespeare creates a sense of horror and deep character understanding. ... Read More

The Themes of Doubles and Opposites in Wuthering Heights, a Novel by Emily Bronte (972 words, 3 pages)

Wuthering Heights by Bront, is a novel that brings the theme of Doubles and Opposites into light. This theme is one that is very important in order to understand the relationship between all characters. Through the characters in the novel, their relationships and the novels settings, Bronte illustrates the destructive ... Read More

The Central Theme of Journeys in the Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India (1621 words, 5 pages)

Both Heart of Darkness and A Passage to India consider the motif of journeys throughout their stories. The narrator is the principle vehicle for describing the journeys in both texts. Yet we are not simply presented with literal journeys, rather each novel prefers to use the journey both in its ... Read More

The Progressive Character of Macbeth in Macbeth, a Tragedy by William Shakespeare (672 words, 2 pages)

In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare presents the character of Macbeth, as a progressive one, and thats not the good kind. This means that as the plot proceeds his few good qualities disappear, while the evil becomes more and more developed. Macbeth is shown to turn from a hero to a ... Read More

A Comparison of the Portrayals of Evil in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola (3543 words, 10 pages)

The face of death. Of the apocalypse. The darkness which is inherent in all human beings is personified in Kurtz in both Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, and it is this darkness which is the basis for the journey that the prime characters in the novel and film undergo, ... Read More

The Dissolution of Plot in the Modernist Literary Works of Henry James, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf (2278 words, 6 pages)

The dissolution of plot in modernist writing In the spirit of modernist literature, mostly focused on the 19th and 20th century rationality of the human mind, Virginia Woolf writes the essay Modern Fiction(1919). Beginning from the extract if a writer were a free man and not a slave, if he ... Read More

The Topic of Subjectivity, History, and Time in the Contemporary Literature of Julian Barnes (2420 words, 7 pages)

Subjectivity, History and Time in contemporary writing Subjectivity seems to be the main concern of literature in the last half of the century, and in those terms postmodernism becomes the literature which tries, and in many ways succeeds, to show its readers that nothing, not even history, not even the ... Read More

A Character Review of Twelfth Night, a Play by William Shakespeare (848 words, 2 pages)

SPEECH FOR LITMalvolio the fortunate-unhappy character, unfortunately became spotlight to the comedic sub-play of Twelfth night. His extraordinary dynamic character is explored through the intertwining elements of Hubris and Parody.Count Malvolio's function in this comedy is to act as a contrast, making the main action more fluent and entertaining to ... Read More

The Tension and Theme of Conflict in the Opening Chapter of Enduring Love, a Novel by Ian McEwan (1262 words, 2 pages)

"Enduring Love" Analysis - Chapter 1The opening chapter of "Enduring Love" is the most well-known part of theentire book particularly because of the extreme tension McEwan creates.The suspense is introduced from the very first sentence. The shortness andthe fact that "The beginning is simple to mark" is so straight to ... Read More

The Victorian Ideal of Possession in Wuthering Heights, a Novel by Emily Bronte (999 words, 4 pages)

1. The keynote of Victorian culture and society is numerositybigness, density, multiplicity, massness Valentine Cunningham. Emily Brontes historical novel, Wuthering Heights, is an expansive text typical of an author writing in Victorian England, an era of significant political, social and economic change. By the time the novel was published in ... Read More

The Presentation of Decision-Making in Troilus and Criseyde, a Poem by Geoffrey Chaucer (998 words, 5 pages)

Word Count 1009In Troilus and Criseyde, Chaucer presents decision-making in a variety of ways, including through the relationship between fate, knowledge and freedom of action, ideas that are at the centre of medieval philosophy. Troilus claims to not believe in total free will, but rather a passive free will of ... Read More

The Portrayal of Dead Children in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a Novel by Lewis Carroll (1526 words, 4 pages)

Q. Must dead children in a story always be morbid?In this essay I will be exploring the presentation of dead children in Alices Adventures in Wonderland, a novel for children written by Lewis Carroll in the late nineteenth century. The idea of death is firmly present throughout both of these ... Read More

The Portrayal of Sexuality in the Short Stories and Novels of Thomas Hardy (1860 words, 5 pages)

In this essay I will be discussing the presentation of sexuality in a variety of Thomas Hardys short stories and novels, and discussing whether or not the suppression of natural sexuality can cause strains on both the style and content of Hardys writing. The first work I will be focusing ... Read More

Religious Hierarchy in the Passage from Book 5 of Paradise Lost, a Poem by John Milton (1606 words, 5 pages)

The text I will be analysing is a passage from Book 5 of John Miltons Paradise Lost. This section comes relatively near the end of Book 5, just after Raphael attempts to articulate the fact that God did not create Adam as entirely perfect, as he possesses the ability to ... Read More

A Comparison of The Limits of Not Quite by James Wood and How One Should Read a Book by Virginia Woolf (889 words, 3 pages)

The Difficulty of ReadingUnderstanding and interpreting any work of literature may be challenging to the average individual. Many can read but most do not understand what they are reading. In The Limits of Not Quite by James Wood and in How One Should Read a Book state that it is ... Read More

An Analysis of the Theme of Madness in Othello and Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1641 words, 5 pages)

In this essay I will be analysing Shakespeares two Jacobean tragedies, Hamlet and Othello, on the theme of madness. In Othello, there are two main characters that show a high level of madness Iago, a Machiavellian character and the ensign for the Venetian army who relies on faults of human ... Read More

The Positive and Negative Demonstration of Animals in the Novels of Lewis Carroll (3551 words, 10 pages)

In this essay I will be focusing on both the positive and negative presentation of animals in Lewis Carrolls writing, primarily in his 1865 text, Alices Adventures in Wonderland and his later text, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, published in 1871. I believe these novels to ... Read More

The Importance of Minor Characters in Animal Farm, a Book by George Orwell (1335 words, 3 pages)

The purpose of this essay is to seek to examine the role and importance of minor characters within George Orwells renowned political satire Animal Farm. Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegory of the prevailing situation within Russia during the revolutionary years of communism and as such Animal Farm is presented ... Read More

An Analysis of Themes in A Tale of Two Cities, a Novel by Charles Dickens (833 words, 3 pages)

A Tale of Two Cities Theme AnalysisCharles Dickenss work A Tale of Two Cities portrays ideas of redemption and sacrifice, in order to provide the reader with hope and an awareness of the possibility of renewal and restoration. The book focuses on the relationships between a father and a daughter, ... Read More

The Indirect Characterization of Mrs. Das in The Interpreter of Maladies, a Book by Jhumpa Lahiri (754 words, 3 pages)

In Jhumpa Lahiris intricately beautiful The Interpreter of Maladies, Mrs. Das serves as both a catalyst for plot development and vehicle for social commentary. Through her indirect characterization, Mrs. Das serves as a direct cultural contrast to Mr. Kapasi, thereby moving the plot forward and creating poignant social commentary.The short ... Read More

A Comparison of Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Out, Out by Robert Frost (670 words, 2 pages)

Nearly everyone aspires to have a good life. However, people in different situations act differently, and what they do affects if their life is good or not. Although Macbeth in The Tragedy of Macbeth causes and sees many deaths and emphasizes through tone and personification that death is inevitable, OUT, ... Read More

An Analysis of Social Conformity in Othello, a Play by William Shakespeare (1202 words, 4 pages)

Social Standards Consumption of PeopleHumans often long to find a haven where they can fit in and be accepted. In order to do so, humans have to give up their individuality to follow social conventions and to have commonalities with others. Othello is a great example of this. In order ... Read More

An Analysis of Fate and Free Will in Frankenstein, a Novel by Mary Shelley (1024 words, 4 pages)

Free Will vs. Fate A Deterministic Analysis of FrankensteinThe debate between fate and free will has led to massive schisms within the scientific and philosophical community for centuries. Because it has become such a decisive issue throughout the world it is important to find ways to settle the debate. The ... Read More

An Analysis of the Setting in King Lear, a Play by William Shakespeare (2552 words, 7 pages)

The King Lear is regarded as one of the greatest story is a tragic crowning works of Shakespeare. The story is a tragic tale by Shakespeare that outlines and revolves around the themes of tragic loss, personal transformation and conflict of interest. The setting of the story is based on ... Read More

An Analysis of Magic Realism in Chivalry, a Short Story by Neil Gaiman (1033 words, 4 pages)

Magic realism in literature is the incorporation of mystical and fantastic elements into realistic fiction. It is the ability to blend something realistic with fiction usually common in American literature. This essay will analyze magical realism and how it is manifested in Chivalry by Neil Gaiman. Close reference will be ... Read More

A Comparison of Engleby by Sebastion Faulks and Soldier’s Dream by Wilfred Owen (2398 words, 7 pages)

The elements of Christianity, which both Faulks and Owen challenge within their texts that centre upon the atrocities of World War One, serve to augment the involvement of religious faith in a place where human slaughter and annihilation of morals were commonplace. However, the ways in which both writers portray ... Read More

The Presentation of Men and Women Relationships in Mrs. Dalloway, a Novel by Virginia Woolf (1365 words, 2 pages)

How does Woolf present the relationship between men and women in the novel Mrs Dalloway?Virginia Woolfs Mrs Dalloway highlights the unequal relationship between men and women living in the post-WWI period in London. The novel is set in 1923, three years after women have gotten the vote, yet there is ... Read More

Character and Theme Analysis in Hamlet, a Play by William Shakespeare (801 words, 3 pages)

Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, written in the early 1600s, is a play which tells the story of a Danish prince named Hamlet who is approached by the ghost of his recently deceased father, Old King Hamlet. The ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his brother and that he ... Read More

A Comparison of the Similarities and Differences Between My Narrative and William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1142 words, 4 pages)

A great ideal of comparison and contrast is shown through my narrative and the comedy play A midsummer nights dream by William Shakespeare, and is elaborated through understanding of content. In Act 1 Scene 1 conflict between Egeus and Hermia arise causing family issues to disperse because Hermias father Egeus, ... Read More

A Critique of Satan in Paradise Lost, a Poem by John Milton (3850 words, 12 pages)

Miltons Satan is one of the most powerful characters in his great epic, Paradise Lost. A wondrous feat of the imagination, Satan has received an abundance of attention from critics of Milton. As I will show, readers have been divided on whether the figure of Satan ought to be praised ... Read More

English Literature Essay Examples