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

27201 total results

Feminism and the Treatment of Women in Euripides’ Medea and William Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1755 words, 5 pages)

The status of women has changed over the course of human history, from objects of possession to the current ranking alongside men as independent intellectuals and even leaders. Feminism is an essential theme in both Euripides Medea and William Shakespeares The Tempest in that they portray the treatment and position ... Read More

Fate Versus Free Will in Oedipus the King and Macbeth (890 words, 3 pages)

Fate vs. Free WillThe theme of fate versus free will has been a prominent theme in a lot of the texts read throughout high school. I believe free will is the true force that decides the future. This is supported in Oedipus the King and Macbeth. Both of these plays ... Read More

The Ideals of Masculinity in the Play Hamlet by William Shakespeare (634 words, 2 pages)

Shakespeares Hamlet portrays the ideals of masculinity for the period which the play was written in. At the turn of the seventeenth century, the gender roles of men and women were very different than that of today. Theatre was an art during this period of time, and was portrayed as ... Read More

A Misogynistic Definition of Women Through the Character of Ophelia From the Play Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1527 words, 5 pages)

Ophelia A Window into Literatures Misogynistic Definition of Women Women have long been defined by mens perspectives through literature, an influence that still has a strong hold on people in todays world. Shakespeare is a man who wrote so many influential pieces of literature that have lived on through the ... Read More

The Author’s Message of Living Forever in Our Literature Through Literary Elements in Sonnet 18, a Poem by William Shakespeare (1154 words, 4 pages)

Someone once said that love is the best part of any story and that true love goes beyond the limits of death. That someone was completely right. William Shakespeare is known worldwide as the greatest poet of the English language, a title well deserved. He, who is the master of ... Read More

The Transformation of the Ideas of Family, Law, and Sisterly Affection in The Woman in White, a Novel by Wilkie Collins (2172 words, 8 pages)

In the Victorian era, Wilkie Collins composed a renowned novel to transform the ideas of family, law, and sisterly affection. Leila Silvana May, from North Carolina State University, critiques Collinss book The Woman in White in her journal article Sensational Sisters Wilkie Collinss The Woman in White. According to her, ... Read More

A Personal Reflection on the Story of Alice in Wonderland (481 words, 2 pages)

Alice in Wonderland Opinion PaperAlice in Wonderland is a classic tale of a daydreaming little girl who goes on an adventure lost in the chaos of her own thoughts and fantasies. Children everywhere have marveled over the story for a century and a half since its publishing in 1865. Upon ... Read More

Comparing the Similarities and Differences in the Plot, Characters, Setting, and Theme in the Movie She’s the Man and William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (1353 words, 4 pages)

The contemporary movie Shes the Man is a loose adaption of the Shakespearean Play Twelfth Night. The adaptation of the play into the movie, Shes the Man, only makes the movie more relevant to modern thought and ideas. The movie and the play seem very different at a glance but ... Read More

Morality and Humor in the Stories in Canterbury Tales, a Collection of Stories by Geoffrey Chaucer (822 words, 3 pages)

The Canterbury ComicalityIn the stoic normality of the Middle Ages, Geoffrey Chaucers Canterbury Tales would have been construed as either extremely refreshing from the usual humdrum literature or horribly crass compared to the pious lectures of that era. The morally-crushing blows of supposedly holy persons such as friars, pardoners, and ... Read More

The Consequences of Our Actions in Hamlet, a Play by William Shakespeare (1657 words, 6 pages)

Man Will Reap What He SowsHAMLET. What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world. The paragon of ... Read More

Othello’s Language Versus Iago’s Language in Othello by William Shakespeare (1165 words, 4 pages)

Deception is defined as the action of deceiving or misleading someone. In William Shakespeares Othello, the main character Othello is persuaded by a manipulative and cunning individual named Iago. At the beginning of the play, Othellos language is deemed to have beauty, confidence, and intelligence. After Iago is rejected the ... Read More

A Comprehensive Analysis of Julius Caesar, a Historical Tragic Play by William Shakespeare (3740 words, 12 pages)

INTRODUCTIONJulius Caesar is one of the great Shakespeares tragedies where the author narrates the assassination of Julius Caesar and events that have to do with it. It is laying the groundwork for the establishment of the future Roman Empire. It is mainly a political play, but besides ambition and struggle ... Read More

The Matter of Life and Death: An Analysis of Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1467 words, 4 pages)

The Matter of Life and Death Analysis of Shakespeares HamletAfter he learns about his fathers murder, Hamlet is ordered by his fathers ghost to revenge his death, but Hamlet hesitates because he is afraid of damnation. Tormented by his fathers death, he tries to logically think through his duty to ... Read More

The Loss of Control over Faked Mental Instability in The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, a Play by William Shakespeare (836 words, 3 pages)

Hamlet has presented its readers with hundreds of questions that have no concrete answers. Some find this to be very annoying but I like to look at it as a challenge. Since I am, in a way, accepting Shakespeares challenge to me I decided to answer a few of those ... Read More

The Ghost as a Figment of the Protagonist’s Imagination in The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, a Play by William Shakespeare (616 words, 2 pages)

Hamlet is one of the most iconic plays of all time, so iconic that several versions of the play have been made and release throughout the years, one of the more notable retellings, The Lion King ended up becoming one of the highest grossing films of all time. The tragic ... Read More

A Character Analysis of the Fool in the Play King Lear by William Shakespeare (1758 words, 5 pages)

The Fool of FortuneIdiot, ass, blockhead, dunce, imbecile, simpleton, moron, clod, nincompoop. These are just a few of the many fun synonyms for the word fool that you can find by doing a quick google search. The truth is that anyone can define that word in such simple terms, but ... Read More

An Analysis of Victor’s Relationship with the Natural World in Frankenstein, a Novel by Mary Shelley (355 words, 2 pages)

In the first few paragraphs of Chapter X of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein describe the natural world as Victor Frankenstein sees it. As he wanders through the valley, Victor notices the natural world around him and seems to feel surrounded by it. Words that Shelley used, like barricade, abrupt, icy wall, ... Read More

The Differences Between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (883 words, 3 pages)

In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte creates defined distinctions between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. These differences are evident through the way Bronte describes the appearances of the houses, reflects the houses characteristics onto the occupants, and changes the characters who move from house to house.Within this novel, Bronte does a ... Read More

An Analysis of the Depiction of Love in the Play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (601 words, 2 pages)

Depiction of Love in A Midsummer Nights DreamIn Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, love is portrayed as fickle. This means that characters love one another for inconstant reasons. They love because of appearances, persuasion, or perhaps a potion. At times, it is uncertain as to whether there even is any ... Read More

An Analysis of the Mother-Daughter Relationship From an Extract From the Play Kindertransport by Diane Samuels (1018 words, 2 pages)

Reread Act 1 Scene 1 from page 9 (FAITH. Mum please stop doing that.) to page 13 (EVA hugs HELGA.). Discuss the presentation of mother-daughter relationships in this extract and elsewhere in the playPreceding this extract we see Helga preparing Eva for her journey to England and Evelyn and Faith ... Read More

A Comparison between the Characters of Victor Frankenstein from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Henry Higgins from George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (408 words, 2 pages)

Frankenstein vs. PygmalionVictor Frankenstein in Mary Shelleys novel Frankenstein and Henry Higgins in George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion are from two completely different time periods, the former being of the Romantic Age and the latter being from the Victorian Age. However, even though their plots and times may differ, they still ... Read More

The Personal or Political Dimensions of Shakespeare’s Interest in Comparative Reference to Middleton’s Interests in the Revenger’s Tragedy (1309 words, 3 pages)

In Hamlet, it is hard to decide whether Shakespeares interests lie primarily lie with the personal or political dimensions of his subject. Explore this point of view with comparative reference to Middletons interests in The Revengers TragedyFrom the outset, it is clear that Hamlet is a play with overt political ... Read More

An Analysis of the Themes of Childhood and Growing Up in In Mrs Tilscher’s Class by Carol Ann Duffy (830 words, 2 pages)

Analyse the ways in which Duffy presents themes of childhood and growing up in In Mrs Tilschers ClassThroughout the poem In Mrs Tilschers Class Carol Ann Duffy presents themes such as childhood and growing up. Duffy explores ideas about changes that happen during childhood and adolescence, and the emerging sexual ... Read More

Human Growth in the Books Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (886 words, 3 pages)

When you walk into a bookstore and want to find books on mental, physical, or emotional growth you usually go straight for the self-help section. The books in that row are known for competing against each other for which can give you the best advice and, hopefully, help you realize ... Read More

A Comparison of the Images of Africa in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (304 words, 1 pages)

Discuss the contrasting images of Africa in novels.Africa has most of the time been under-represented or misrepresented in literature and popular culture who tend to perpetuate stereotypes regarding Africa as being a land of wild animals with little importance given to the culture and its people. This essay will discuss ... Read More

Could cultures in themselves be different species within the human race? Probably not, but in Edward Burnett Tylors book, Primitive Culture, chapter one (The Science of Culture) he makes a point that cultures are like species. We can track them, define them, classify them, and sometimes even predict how this ... Read More

Manipulation and Obsession in Fifty Shades of Grey, a Novel by E.L. James (1057 words, 5 pages)

50 Shades of Sexual Abuse Misinterpretation of romance and healthy BDSM I just finished reading the most AMAZING book a woman whispers, leaning secretively to her friends ear beside her. Fifty Shades of Grey! The friend gasps and blushes, turning towards her with wide eyes. You mean the one about ... Read More

The Importance of Straightforward Poetry in Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare (820 words, 3 pages)

William Shakespeares intricate poem about love, Sonnet 116, is very blunt and straightforward. Shakespeare is quick to get to the point of the poem and literally spells it out for the reader only two lines into the 14 lined poem. This method of being very clear about what his intentions ... Read More

An Analysis of Crooklyn, an Autobiographical Piece by Spike Lee That Shows What His Childhood Was Like (316 words, 1 pages)

Crooklyn is a sort of autobiographical piece made by Spike Lee to describe what his childhood was like. Three brothers - one of whom would have been Spike - and a sister are raised in Brooklyn. The brothers taunt their sister and seem to leave her out very often throughout ... Read More

The Duality Between the Brain and the Ego in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (758 words, 3 pages)

Bronte constructed Wuthering Heights greatly as a duality. This theme occurs throughout the novel oratorically as the vocabulary on the pages Two houses, and their particular inhabitants, entirely create the plot and essential characters. The duality illustrated is Brontes way of analyzing the human brains internal, life struggle. Between the ... Read More

English Literature Essay Examples