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

27201 total results

The Theme of Family in The Tragedy of Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1051 words, 3 pages)

The Shakespearian play The Tragedy of Hamlet is about the prince Hamlet who tries to avenge his father who was killed by his uncle. His uncle Claudius married Hamlets mother and became the king of Denmark. One can look at this tragedy in many different ways, but one of the ... Read More

The Masterful Use of Deception in Much Ado about Nothing, a Play by William Shakespeare (2071 words, 6 pages)

Week 4 Close Reading 1In Much Ado About Nothing, deception is an essential plot device. There are three crucial occurrences of deception throughout the play. Whether it is an instrument used by friends to ameliorate each others lives or to disperse chaos and unhappiness, the plot is fueled by these ... Read More

An Exploration of Gender Roles in Macbeth, a Play by William Shakespeare (1005 words, 3 pages)

Week 6 Close Reading 2In Macbeth, it is clear that the roles of gender are out of its traditional order. Lady Macbeths character is one of the most famous and powerful examples of this notion, not only in Shakespeares works but in all of literature. She is known for this ... Read More

The Division of Power between Genders in Guo Yuehua’s Gender Struggle over Ideological Power in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Neely’s Women and Men in Othello (684 words, 3 pages)

Marriage TrickeryGuo Yuehua's article Gender Struggle Over Ideological Power in Ibsen's A Doll's House analyzes the concept of division of power between Nora and Torvald and their misconceptions about their power. Men are thought to be superior to women in the society of A Doll's House, and Tolvald treats Nora ... Read More

A Review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a Book by J. K. Rowling (730 words, 3 pages)

I am currently reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. This book is the 4th in the Harry Potter Series, about a young wizard in training named Harry. In this fantasy novel, Harry competes in the Triwizard Competition, but he never entered his name into the ... Read More

The Power of Dr. Manette, Madame Defarge, and Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities, a Novel by Charles Dickens (505 words, 2 pages)

Power comes in many forms. Money, influence, and job positions aresome examples of power. People have a hunger and thirst to gain more power,and it's not a new thing. A desire for power has been in man's heart sinceAdam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. In ... Read More

Thoughtfulness, Persuasiveness, and Analysis Are the Key to Making a Good Writer (953 words, 3 pages)

Reflection I arrived at the University of Arizona after completing high schoolat a private Catholic school that I assumed would prepare myself for thehard, analytical, and lengthy essays, projects, and assignments that Iwould face in college. Diving into higher education English, I waspresented with multiple writing assignments that would test ... Read More

A Look at the Social Commentary in Oliver Twist, a Novel by Charles Dickens (2939 words, 11 pages)

Explaining Oliver TwistFor instance, Charles Dickens has a lot of social commentary in his novel, Oliver Twist, the following is an example the orphan of a workhousethe humble, half-starved drudgeto be cuffed and buffeted through the worlddespised by all, and pitied by none (Dickens, Oliver Twist, 3). He said this ... Read More

The Theme of Deception and Dishonesty in the Play Hamlet by William Shakespeare (984 words, 3 pages)

Deceived and DishonestDeception can be used for many reasons, maybe one is insecure about their true self, scared to know the truth or maybe they just want to hide a secret. In Shakespeares Hamlet, many of the characters act in order to deceive someone or in some cases, everyone. As ... Read More

Crime and Punishment in the Story of Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost by John Milton (1485 words, 4 pages)

The story of Adam and Eve is one of, if not the earliest tale of crime and punishment in the West. John Miltons Paradise Lost retells the age-old fable, adding depth and emotion to the story, consequently revealing the very important, sometimes overlooked implications of the legends outcome. Eve, having ... Read More

The Motives of Villains in King Lear and Othello, Two Plays by William Shakespeare (1265 words, 4 pages)

Every villain has motive. It just so happens that William Shakespeare writes the same motive for every villainous character in King Lear (Edmund, Cornwall, Goneril and Regan), as well as for Iago in Othello. The motive that controls the actions of these characters is hunger for power. Sure, the characters ... Read More

Gender Stereotyping in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1883 words, 6 pages)

Over the last sixty years, female equality is something that has really made strides of progress in the world, and this evolution of equality is highly evident in literature throughout the time. Despite this progress, the stereotypes of womanhood and femininity are constantly being reinforced and ingrained with storytelling of ... Read More

An Analysis of the Symbolism in The Manciple’s Tale From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1806 words, 5 pages)

Symbolism in The Manciples TaleWritten by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales includes several stories told by a group of travelers who are just looking to pass the time. The Manciples Tale is told by a law court steward and is centered around Phoebus, his cheating wife, and his petcrow. The ... Read More

Gender Discrimination Against Women in A Scandal in Bohemia, a Short Story by Arthur Conan Doyle (497 words, 2 pages)

In one of Sherlock Holmes stories A scandal in Bohemia by Conan Doyle ( 1888), Sherlock Holmes does not hold women at really high esteem, he probably think he cannot be outsmarted by any women before he met Irene Adler. In the story we were made to understand that when ... Read More

Literacy and Gender Wars in the Prologue of Wife of Bath From The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1169 words, 5 pages)

The Wife of Baths Prologue Literacy and Gender WarsGeoffrey Chaucers Wife of Bath is adored for her outrageous demeanor and actions in The Canterbury Tales, making her a valuable component of a poem written in this time period. At the time of the Middle Ages, church was the most influential ... Read More

Honesty and Manipulation of Iago in Othello by William Shakespeare (1961 words, 7 pages)

In the play Othello Iago is one of the main and influential characters as well as the primary antagonist, who with his honesty and strong capabilities in manipulation and plotting plants the seed of suspicion in Othello eventually causing the murder of an innocent Desdemona. Iagos wonderful honesty is brought ... Read More

Women’s Role in Victorian Era in the Novel Emma by Jane Austen (2919 words, 10 pages)

During the Victorian Era in England, women did not have suffragerights, judicial rights, or the right to own property. The revolution onwomen's social status had not yet occurred, so all in all, women werelimited in power. The majority of women who worked took up the professionof becoming a governess, someone ... Read More

Community, Identity and Stability in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (593 words, 2 pages)

Neil Postman EssayIn the first line of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, we are taught the three pillars on which the novels world is allegedly built upon, Community, Identity, Stability." The process used to maintain these three qualities are, however, seemingly completely incongruous in Brave New World. For most ... Read More

The Purpose Behind the Play Macbeth by William Shakespeare in Relation to the Gun Powder Plot (1047 words, 4 pages)

Although most students do not question the purpose behind Macbeth or even what this play might mean, I have reason to believe that not only was Shakespeare reflecting on an event, but he was also replaying this event the way he would have had it. I also believe that because ... Read More

The Bleak Identity of the Monster in Frankenstein, a Novel by Mary Shelley (1516 words, 4 pages)

In most stories, the hero and the villain can be easily distinguished. However, in this novel, Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, the identity of the true monster was not so clear. The creature, who was created by Victor Frankenstein, had an appearance like that of a monster in our imaginations. ... Read More

The Character of Heathcliff in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (5024 words, 15 pages)

This essay delves into the character of Heathcliff in the novel Wuthering Heights written by Emily Bront. As perceivable throughout the chapters, Heathcliff appears to be the dominating character who has a convoluted relationship with Catherine and takes his series of revenge to another level. Although he is concluded to ... Read More

The Sacrifices and Obstacles to Overcome in Hamlet, a Play by William Shakespeare (2062 words, 7 pages)

And They Lived Unhappily Ever AfterIn Shakespeares Hamlet, there are many sacrifices and obstacles that Hamlet must endure in order to fulfill his deceased fathers desire for revenge. One of the sacrifices involves ending his relationship with Ophelia. Many would argue that Hamlet never loved Ophelia anyway and claim that ... Read More

Problems and Conflicts in the Book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (320 words, 1 pages)

In the book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the main idea is that Harry has been chosen to compete in the Tri-wizard Tournament (even though he does not meet requirements to participate) so that someone could abduct and kill him. Throughout the book, there were many problems and ... Read More

The Different View of the Reason for the Cruel Behavior of Hamlet in Hamlet’s “Cruelty” in the Nunery Scene: The Actors’ Views, an Essay by Carol J. Carlisle (1225 words, 4 pages)

Hamlets Complex CrueltyIn her essay Hamlets Cruelty in the Nunnery Scene The Actors Views, Carol J. Carlisles describes the many different perspectives of the reason for Hamlets cruel behavior during the nunnery scene. Each of the perspectives present somewhat different causes for Hamlets actions such as his suspicion of a ... Read More

Life and Works of Elizabeth Goudge, an Acclaimed Author of White Wings during Edwardian Era (821 words, 3 pages)

Acclaimed author Elizabeth Goudge was born on April 24, 1900, the only child of the Reverend Henry Goudge and his wife, Miss Ida Colette. A family living in the Edwardian era, their home was tucked away in Wells, Somerset, a small town that linked the provincial to the outside world ... Read More

Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Clarice Lispector’s The Hour of the Star: Summary and Analysis (1305 words, 5 pages)

Mrs. Dalloway and The Hour of the Star Summary and AnalysisVirginia Woolfs novel Mrs. Dalloway, written in 1925, is set in 1920s London, England, just after the First World War,. This novel depicts a day in the life of high-class socialite Clarissa Dalloway, who is planning to have a party, ... Read More

The Authoritative and Arrogant Character of Claudius in Hamlet, a Play by William Shakespeare (1054 words, 4 pages)

Arrogance of a New Leader Shakespeares Hamlet is a story of anger and revenge all of which starts with Hamlets uncle Claudius. Claudius is the brother of the recently deceased king of Demark. Due to his brothers passing, Claudius takes the throne and marries his sister-in-law. As if this werent ... Read More

Political Animalism and the Animals’ Roles in Society in Animal Farm, a Novel by George Orwell (1263 words, 5 pages)

Political Animalism and the Roles of SocietyThe governmental power is a strong thing in this country, and throughout the entire world. Relating and differentiating between different powers and seeing characteristics in the world pertaining to authority are very important in being able to understand how the world works. It is ... Read More

The Leadership Qualities of Brutus and Cassius in Julius Caesar, a Play by William Shakespeare (837 words, 2 pages)

Julius Caesar EssayIn every story, there are characters that emerge as leaders. Thesecharacters display certain qualities and abilities that are generallyassociated with being a leader. Many of these qualities can be seen in theplay Julius Caesar. In Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius both exhibit andlack certain leadership qualities, such as ... Read More

Acting With Violence Once in Hold of Power in Macbeth by William Shakespeare (583 words, 2 pages)

While reading Macbeth, by Shakespeare, we see how people react with violence when faced with greed and the ability to gain power. This is proven through the characters thoughts and actions throughout the play. It is also shown to the reader through the imagery that Shakespeare gives in the first ... Read More

English Literature Essay Examples