essay questions about world literature

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Student Opinion

100-Plus Writing Prompts to Explore Common Themes in Literature and Life

By The Learning Network

• Jan. 31, 2019

Update, Feb. 15, 2019: Learn more about how to use our 1000s of writing prompts by watching our free on-demand webinar: “ Give Them Something to Write About: Teach Across the Curriculum With New York Times-Inspired Daily Prompts. ”

Every day since 2009 we’ve been asking students a question inspired by an article, essay, video or feature in The New York Times.

Periodically, we sort those questions into lists to make finding what you need easier, like these previous lists of prompts for personal or narrative writing and for argumentative writing , or like this monster list of more than 1,000 prompts , all categorized by subject.

This time, however, we’re making a list to help your students more easily connect the literature they’re reading to the world around them — and to help teachers find great works of nonfiction that can echo common literary themes.

Below, we’ve chosen the best prompts — those that ask the most relevant questions and link to the richest Times materials — from our Student Opinion collection that address every stage of life, from coming-of-age and wrestling with one’s identity to understanding one’s role in a family; making friends; getting an education; falling in love; working; and experiencing old age. We hope they can provide jumping-off points for discussion and writing, and inspiration for further reading.

Most teachers know that our Student Opinion questions are free and outside The Times’s digital subscription service, but what you may not realize is that if you access the Times articles we link to from those questions via our site, the articles are also free. So in this list we hope we’re not just suggesting 100-plus interesting questions, we hope we’ve also helped you find 100-plus great works of nonfiction that can speak to the literature your students are reading.

So whether you’re taking on classic works like “The Catcher in the Rye,” “Romeo and Juliet” or “1984,” or whether you’re teaching more contemporary literature like “The Poet X,” “Speak,” “Refugee” or “There There,” we hope there are more than a few items on this list that will resonate.

Please note: All our recent questions, from late 2016 on, are still open to comment on our site. While questions published on an older version of The Learning Network are no longer open to comment, both the questions and the related Times materials are still available via the link.

I. Coming-of-Age

1. What Rites of Passage Mark the Transition to Adulthood in Your Community? 2. When Have You Reinvented Yourself? 3. Is It Harder to Grow Up in the 21st Century Than It Was in the Past? 4. Have You Ever Felt Pressured by Family or Others in Making an Important Decision About Your Future? 5. What Do Older Generations Misunderstand About Teenagers Today? 6. Are You Too Hard on Yourself? 7. What Childhood Rules Did You Break? 8. What Have You Learned in Your Teens? 9. Do You Think Anxiety Is a Serious Problem Among Young People? 10. Does Suffering Make Us Stronger and Lead to Success? 11. Do We Give Children Too Many Trophies? 12. Do You Have ‘Emerging Adult’ Skills? 13. Is Childhood Today Too Risk-Free? 14. How Young Is Too Young to Use Social Media? 15. What Are Your Secret Survival Strategies? 16. What Have You Learned From a Younger Person — and What Have You Taught an Older Person? 17. Do You Think Teenagers Can Make a Difference in the World?

II. Identity

1. Are You the Same Person on Social Media as You Are in Real Life? 2. How Much Does Your Neighborhood Define Who You Are? 3. Have You Ever Taken a Stand That Isolated You From Your Peers? 4. What’s the Story Behind Your Name? 5. Are You Being Raised to Pursue Your Dreams? 6. Have You Ever Been Told You Couldn’t Do Something Because of Your Gender? 7. Do You Feel Constricted by Gender Norms? 8. What Messages About Gender Have You Gotten From Music? 9. Why Is Race So Hard to Talk About? 10. Is America ‘Backsliding’ on Race? 11. What Is the Role of Religion or Spirituality in Your Life? 12. How Often Do You Start Conversations About Faith or Spirituality? 13. What Is Your Earliest Memory? 14. How Resilient Are You? 15. Are You a Patient Person? 16. What Role Does Envy Play in Your Life? 17. How Do You Handle Fear? 18. How Much Control Do You Think You Have Over Your Fate? 19. What Are You Grateful For? 20. How Often Do You Leave Your ‘Comfort Zone’? 21. When Was the Last Time You Did Something That Scared or Challenged You? 22. Does What You Wear Say Anything About You as a Person?

III. Being Part of a Family

1. Who Is Your Family? 2. How Are You and Your Parents Alike and Different? 3. How Much Freedom Have Your Parents Given You? 4. Will You Follow in Your Parents’ Footsteps? 5. How Much Do You Know About Your Family’s History? 6. How Often Do You Fight With Your Parents? 7. Do You Have Helicopter Parents? 8. Do Your Parents Spy on You? 9. Should Parents Track Their Teenager’s Location? 10. How Do You Make Parenting Difficult for Your Parents? 11. What Good Can Come From Disagreements? 12. What Advice Would You Give to Your Mom, Dad or Guardian on How to Be a Better Parent? 13. How Do You Get What You Want From Your Parents? 14. Should Parents Bribe Their Children? 15. Do Your Parents Yell at You? 16. What’s the Best Way to Discipline Children? 17. How Should Parents Teach Their Children About Race and Racism? 18. Do the Adults in Your Life Follow You on Social Media? 19. What Advice Do You Have for Teenagers and Their Parents? 20. What Messages About Food and Eating Have You Learned From Your Family?

IV. Making Friends, IRL and Online

1. Do You Ever Feel Lonely? (video) 2. How Good a Friend Are You? 3. Do You Find It Easier to Make New Friends Online or in Person? 4. How Alike Are You and Your Friends? 5. Do You Have Any Unlikely Friendships? 6. What Does the World Need to Know About an Important Person in Your Life? 7. Does Technology Make Us More Alone? (video) 8. How Often Do You Spend One-on-One Time With Your Closest Friends? 9. Is Your Phone Love Hurting Your Relationships? (quiz) 10. Do You Spend Enough Time With Other People? 11. How Do You Feel About Introducing Friends From Different Parts of Your Life? 12. Do You Like Your Friends? 13. Do You Consider Your Siblings Friends? 14. How Have You Helped a Friend in a Time of Need? 15. Do You Take More Risks When You Are Around Your Friends? 16. Who Outside Your Family Has Made a Difference in Your Life? 17. Do You Ever Talk About Issues of Race and Class With Your Friends? 18. Is Your Online World Just a ‘Filter Bubble’ of People With the Same Opinions?

V. Getting an Education

1. What Do You Wish Your Teachers Knew About You? 2. Is School a Place for Self-Expression? 3. Are You Stressed About School? 4. Are Straight A’s Always a Good Thing? 5. How Well Do Rewards and Incentives Work to Motivate You? 6. Are High School Students Being Worked Too Hard? 7. When Has a Teacher Inspired You? (video) 8. Has a Teacher Ever Changed Your Mind-Set? 9. Does Your Teacher’s Identity Affect Your Learning? 10. Should Schools Teach You How to Be Happy? 11. Do You Feel Your School and Teachers Welcome Both Conservative and Liberal Points of View? 12. Have You Experienced Racism or Other Kinds of Discrimination in School? 13. Do Teachers Assign Too Much Homework? 14. How Should Schools Address Cyberbullying? (video) 15. Has a Novel Ever Helped You Understand Yourself or Your World Better? 16. Is Your School’s Dress Code Too Strict? 17. What Worries Do You Have About College? 18. Do Other People Care Too Much About Your Post-High School Plans? 19. Is the College Admissions Process Fair? 20. Should Everyone Go to College? 21. How Prepared Are You for College? How Well Do You Think You’ll Do? 22. How Well Do You Think Standardized Tests Measure Your Abilities? 23. Can Students at Your School Talk Openly About Their Mental Health Issues? 24. Is Live-Streaming Classrooms a Good Idea?

VI. Learning About Love (and Sex)

1. Have You Ever Been in Love? 2. Should Your Significant Other Be Your Best Friend? 3. What Are the Basic ‘Rules’ for Handling Breakups? 4. What’s the Best Way to Heal a Broken Heart? 5. How Important Do You Think It Is to Marry Someone With the Same Religion? 6. How Do You Think Technology Affects Dating? 7. Is Dating a Thing of the Past? 8. Is Hookup Culture Leaving Your Generation Unhappy and Unprepared for Love? 9. Could Following These Directions Make You Fall in Love With a Stranger? 10. What Constitutes Sexual Consent? 11. Do You Find It Hard to Say ‘I Love You’?

VII. Working and Finding Your Purpose

1. What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? 2. Do You Think You Will Have a Career That You Love? 3. Would You Pursue a Career If You Knew You Likely Would Not Make Much Money? 4. Does Achieving Success Always Include Being Happy? 5. How Do You Express Yourself Creatively? 6. What Are Your Thoughts on ‘Hustle Culture’? 7. Is Struggle Essential to Happiness? 8. Does Achieving Success Always Include Being Happy? 9. Do You Give Yourself Enough Credit for Your Own Successes? 10. How Important a Role Has Money, Work or Social Class Played in Your Life? 11. When Have You Failed? What Did You Learn From It? 12. What Challenges Have You Overcome? 13. What Are Your Expectations About Earning, Saving and Spending Money? 14. What Choices Do You Make About Money Every Day? 15. Do You Perform Better When You’re Competing or When You’re Collaborating? 16. What Activities Make You Feel Most Alive? 17. Where Do You Think You Will Live When You Are an Adult?

VIII. Experiencing Old Age and Confronting Death

1. Do You Look Forward to Old Age? 2. Would You Want to Live Forever? 3. What Do You Want to Be Known for After Your Death? 4. If the World Was Ending, What Would You Want to Say? 5. Would You Like to Be Cryogenically Preserved (Frozen!) Upon Your Death? 6. Do You Believe That Everything Happens for a Reason?

World Literature Essay Examples and Topics

Review on a short story “marriage is a private affair”, by chinua achebe.

• Words: 1424

Pablo Neruda’s “United Fruit Company”: Poem Analysis and Summary Essay

Moral of “the necklace” by guy de maupassant, guy de maupassant’s “the jewelry”: summary, literary elements, and character analysis essay, “half a day” by naguib mahfouz, “the hunchback of notre dame” by victor hugo: new historicism approach.

• Words: 3887

“Am I Blue” by Alice Walker: Analysis & Summary

Chivalry in sir gawain and the green knight – examples & quotes, tom ramsey in maugham’s “the ant and the grasshopper”.

• Words: 1127

Matsuo Basho Haiku Analysis: The Narrow Road to the Interior as the Reflection of Searching for the Harmony

Themes and symbolism in things fall apart: symbols & examples of imagery.

• Words: 1618

The Boy Who Cried Wolf: Analysis of Story by Aesop

Magical realism of “a very old man with enormous wings” by garcia marquez, somerset maugham`s work “the man with the scar”, social status in “the necklace” by guy de maupassant.

• Words: 3496

Symbolism in “The Tin Drum” by Gunter Grass

“god’s food” fairy tale by jacob and wilhelm grimm.

• Words: 1150

The Cinderella Essay

The enuma elish (babylonian genesis) and genesis: a comparison.

• Words: 1506

A Doll’s House Modernism Theme

• Words: 1729

Psychoanalytic Perspective on Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”

• Words: 1697

Eveline James Joyce Analysis Essay

The epic ramayana by valmiki, friendship of amir and hassan in the kite runner, definition and characteristics of children’s literature.

• Words: 2417

Little Red Riding Hood: A Comparison of Three Versions

Gender roles in antigone essay.

• Words: 1385

The Fairy Tale Rapunzel

Literary analysis of “good people” by david foster wallace, appearance and reality in “the necklace” by guy de maupassant, alienation in the modern world: “the metamorphosis” by franz kafka.

• Words: 1649

From the Diary of an Almost-Four-Year-Old

Culture in things fall apart by chinua achebe.

• Words: 3939

In the Land of the Free

“araby” by james joyce literature analysis, unaccustomed earth by jhumpa lahiri.

• Words: 2305

Poem “To a Sad Daughter” by Michael Ondaatje

Tuta wharepapa from “his first ball” by witi ihimaera, the major themes in “the analects of confucius”.

• Words: 1516

De Maupassant G. “Was It a Dream?”: Main Characteristics

“the paper menagerie” by ken liu: a story review.

• Words: 1540

“Beauty and the Beast” Story Analysis Using Literary Theory

Critical discourse analysis.

• Words: 2503

Literature Review: E-Books vs. Traditional Books and Influence on Public Library Systems

• Words: 4144

“Dogeaters” by Jessica Hagedorn Major Characters

Night by elie wiesel: eliezer’s changing relationship with his father, the short story “dead men’s path” by chinua achebe, the epic of gilgamesh: the death and the afterlife, analysis of the orphan and the elk dog, gordimer’s “once upon a time” literary analysis.

• Words: 1456

“Alibaba and the Forty Thieves” by Antoine Galland

“good readers and good writers” by vladimir nabokov, religion and cultural belonging: “the flea palace” by elif shafak.

• Words: 1656

Literature Studies: “The Bath” by Janet Frame Essay

A doll’s house by norway’s henrik ibsen.

• Words: 1062

“Young Goodman Brown,” “Heart of Darkness”: Analysis

“the alchemist” by paulo coelho literature analysis.

• Words: 1109

Byelikov in “The Man in a Case” Short Story by Chekhov

• Words: 1693

Character, Conflict and Imagery in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Voyage”

• Words: 1476

Folklore Genres And Analysis

• Words: 1960

“In an Antique Land” a Novel by Amitav Ghosh

• Words: 2097

Why Should People Read for Pleasure?

• Words: 1117

Formalist Strategies in Literary Criticism

Religion role in douglass narrative story.

• Words: 1115

The Kite Runner

“the pied piper of hamelin” the story by roseman stanley, liberation of women: “a doll’s house” analysis, “charlotte’s web” by e.b. white.

• Words: 1387

Themes Explored in the Novel “Snow” by Orhan Pamuk

• Words: 2781

Literacy Analysis of Trevor Noah’s “Born a Crime”

• Words: 2401

“The Chase” a Fiction Story by Alberto Moravia

Japanese literature. “no longer human” by osamu dazai.

• Words: 1998

Analysis of “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

Themes in “the reader” by bernhard schlink.

• Words: 2279

Psychological Theories of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King

• Words: 1113

Analysis of the tale Cinderella

• Words: 2943

“Free Union”: An Analysis

• Words: 1247

Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”: Social Aspects

• Words: 1234

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: A Modernist Work

• Words: 1711

What Is Literature? Definition and Meaning

• Words: 4190

“The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne

• Words: 1096

The Novel as a Popular Form of Literature

“in praise of folly” by desiderius erasmus literature analysis, size 6: the western women’s harem, etgar keret’s “the bus driver who wanted to be god”.

• Words: 1778

Cheikh Hamidou Kane: Ambiguous Adventure

• Words: 1684

Hassan and Amir: The Relations, Which Touch the Soul

Naturalism in “the awakening” by kate chopin.

• Words: 1076

Okorafor’ “Lagoon” Chapters Analysis

The tale of kieu, literary tools in paulo coelho’s “the alchemist”, roles of women in “the odyssey” by homer, “angela’s ashes” by frank mccourt: rhetorical devices.

• Words: 1294

The Truth about Stories by Thomas King

• Words: 1407

“The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World” by Nawal El Saadawi

• Words: 1146

Looking at Women. Scott Russell Sanders

Literature: development throughout history.

• Words: 2169

“The Dream of a Ridiculous Man” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

• Words: 1709

“The Nose” by Nikolai Gogol

• Words: 1123

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

• Words: 1086

“An Imaginary Life” by David Malouf

• Words: 2577

Philosophical Issues of Defining Humanness and Real Values in “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by D. K. Philip

• Words: 1087

“The Rape of the Lock” by Alexander Pope Review

• Words: 1891

“The Robber Bridegroom” by Brothers Grimm

The description of nonsense words in “jabberwocky” by lewis carroll, irony in “a very old man with enormous wings”, interpreting “cinderella” by jacob and wilhelm grimm.

• Words: 1092

“Heidi” by Johanna Spyri

• Words: 1126

Hibridity in Walcott poetry and drama

• Words: 4745

“The Stranger” by Albert Camus: Literary Analysis

Symbolism in “a fine balance” by rohinton mistry, david lurie: “disgrace” character development.

• Words: 1168

“Man of the People” by Chinua Achebe

“oryx and crake” by margaret atwood: literary devices.

• Words: 1102

“Our Treaty With the Hoof Nation” Story of Anishinaabeg

“my secret life as a black man” by anthony walton, garcia marquez’s “one hundred years of solitude”, summary of the “exterminate all the brutes” by sven lindqvist.

• Words: 1461

Protagonists of the Novel “Eugene Onegin”: The Changes of the Views

• Words: 1273

The Story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant

Essays About Literature: Top 6 Examples and 8 Prompts

Society and culture are formed around literature. If you are writing essays about literature, you can use the essay examples and prompts featured in our guide.

It has been said that language holds the key to all human activities, and literature is the expression of language. It teaches new words and phrases, allows us to better our communication skills, and helps us learn more about ourselves.

Whether you are reading poems or novels, we often see parts of ourselves in the characters and themes presented by the authors. Literature gives us ideas and helps us determine what to say, while language gives form and structure to our ideas, helping us convey them.

6 Helpful Essay Examples

1. importance of literature by william anderson, 2. philippine literature by jean hodges, 3. african literature by morris marshall.

• 4.  Nine Questions From Children’s Literature That Every Person Should Answer by Shaunta Grimes

5. Exploring tyranny and power in Macbeth by Tom Davey

6. guide to the classics: homer’s odyssey by jo adetunji, 1. the importance of literature, 2. comparing and contrasting two works of literature  , 3. the use of literary devices, 4. popular adaptations of literature, 5. gender roles in literature, 6. analysis of your chosen literary work, 7. fiction vs. non-fiction, 8. literature as an art form.

“Life before literature was practical and predictable, but in the present-day, literature has expanded into countless libraries and into the minds of many as the gateway for comprehension and curiosity of the human mind and the world around them. Literature is of great importance and is studied upon as it provides the ability to connect human relationships and define what is right and what is wrong.”

Anderson writes about why an understanding of literature is crucial. It allows us to see different perspectives of people from different periods, countries, and cultures: we are given the ability to see the world from an entirely new lens. As a result, we obtain a better judgment of situations. In a world where anything can happen, literature gives us the key to enacting change for ourselves and others. You might also be interested in these essays about Beowulf .

“So successful were the efforts of colonists to blot out the memory of the country’s largely oral past that present-day Filipino writers, artists and journalists are trying to correct this inequity by recognizing the country’s wealth of ethnic traditions and disseminating them in schools through mass media. The rise of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and 1970s also helped bring about this change of attitude among a new breed of Filipinos concerned about the “Filipino identity.””

In her essay, Hodges writes about the history of Philippine literature. Unfortunately, much of Philippine literary history has been obscured by Spanish colonization, as the written works of the Spanish largely replaced the oral tradition of the native Filipinos. A heightened sense of nationalism has recently led to a resurgence in Filipino tradition, including ancient Philippine literature. 

“In fact, the common denominator of the cultures of the African continent is undoubtedly the oral tradition. Writing on black Africa started in the middle Ages with the introduction of the Arabic language and later, in the nineteenth century with introduction of the Latin alphabet. Since 1934, with the birth of the “Negritude.” African authors began to write in French or in English.”

Marshall explores the history of African literature, particularly the languages it was written over time. It was initially written in Arabic and native languages; however, with the “Negritude” movement, writers began composing their works in French or English. This movement allowed African writers to spread their work and gain notoriety. Marshall gives examples of African literature, shedding light on their lyrical content. 

4.   Nine Questions From Children’s Literature That Every Person Should Answer by Shaunta Grimes

“ They asked me questions — questions about who I am, what I value, and where I’m headed — and pushed me to think about the answers. At some point in our lives, we decide we know everything we need to know. We stop asking questions. To remember what’s important, it sometimes helps to return to that place of childlike curiosity and wonder.”

Grimes’ essay is a testament to how much we can learn from literature, even as simple as children’s stories. She explains how different works of children’s literature, such as Charlotte’s Web and Little Women, can inspire us, help us maximize our imagination, and remind us of the fleeting nature of life. Most importantly, however, they remind us that the future is uncertain, and maximizing it is up to us. 

“This is a world where the moral bar has been lowered; a world which ‘sinks beneath the yoke’. In the Macbeths, we see just how terribly the human soul can be corrupted. However, this struggle is played out within other characters too. Perhaps we’re left wondering: in such a dog-eat-dog world, how would we fare?”

The corruption that power can lead to is genuine; Davey explains how this theme is present in Shakespeare’s Macbeth . Even after being honored, Macbeth still wishes to be king and commits heinous acts of violence to achieve his goals. Violence is prevalent throughout the play, but Macbeth and Lady Macbeth exemplify the vicious cycle of bloodshed through their ambition and power. 

“Polyphemus is blinded but survives the attack and curses the voyage home of the Ithacans. All of Odysseus’s men are eventually killed, and he alone survives his return home, mostly because of his versatility and cleverness. There is a strong element of the trickster figure about Homer’s Odysseus.”

Adetunji also exposes a notable work of literature, in this case, Homer’s Odyssey . She goes over the epic poem and its historical context and discusses Odysseus’ most important traits: cleverness and courage. As the story progresses, he displays great courage and bravery in his exploits, using his cunning and wit to outsmart his foes. Finally, Adetunji references modern interpretations of the Odyssey in film, literature, and other media.

8 Prompts for Essays About Literature

In your essay, write about the importance of literature; explain why we need to study literature and how it can help us in the future. Then, give examples of literary works that teach important moral lessons as evidence. 

For your essay, choose two works of literature with similar themes. Then, discuss their similarities and differences in plot, theme, and characters. For example, these themes could include death, grief, love and hate, or relationships. You can also discuss which of the two pieces of literature presents your chosen theme better. 

Writers use literary devices to enhance their literary works and emphasize important points. Literary devices include personification, similes, metaphors, and more. You can write about the effectiveness of literary devices and the reasoning behind their usage. Research and give examples of instances where authors use literary devices effectively to enhance their message.  

Literature has been adapted into cinema, television, and other media time and again, with series such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter turning into blockbuster franchises. Explore how these adaptations diverge from their source material yet retain the key themes the writer composed the work with in mind. If this seems confusing, research first and read some essay examples. 

Literature reflects the ideas of the period it is from; for example, ancient Greek literature, such as Antigone, depicts the ideal woman as largely obedient and subservient, to an extent. For your essay, you can write about how gender roles have evolved in literature throughout the years, specifically about women. Be sure to give examples to support your points. 

Choose a work of literature that interests you and analyze it in your essay. You can use your favorite novel, book, or screenplay, explain the key themes and characters and summarize the plot. Analyze the key messages in your chosen piece of literature, and discuss how the themes are enhanced through the author’s writing techniques.

Literature can be divided into two categories: fiction, from the writer’s imagination, and non-fiction, written about actual events. Explore their similarities and differences, and give your opinion on which is better. For a strong argument, provide ample supporting details and cite credible sources.  

Literature is an art form that uses language, so do you believe it is more effective in conveying its message? Write about how literature compares to other art forms such as painting and sculpture; state your argument and defend it adequately. 

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

For help picking your next essay topic, check out the best essay topics about social media .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing about World Literature

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This resource provides guidance on understanding the assignment, considering context, and developing thesis statements and citations for world literature papers. It also includes a PowerPoint about thesis statements in world literature for use by instructors and students.

Media File: Writing about World Literature

This resource is enhanced by an Acrobat PDF file. Download the free Acrobat Reader

The diversity of stories and poems available from around the world makes writing a world literature paper a fascinating experience. At the same time, dealing with texts from different cultures, languages, and time periods presents challenges. Here are six questions to help you through the writing process. Click the link at the top of the page to find a worksheet that will help you organize your notes when writing a world literature paper.

1) What is the assignment?

Make sure you understand what the assignment is asking you to do. Here is a list of common world literature papers (adapted from Karen Gocsik’s Writing about World Literature ):

Literary Analysis

Goal: Explore an image, theme or other element in a text and come to a conclusion about how that element relates to the work as a whole. See the OWL's PowerPoint workshop on literary analysis .

Historical Analysis

Goal: Demonstrate the relationship between a text and its political, cultural, or social environment and argue for the significance of this relationship.

Comparison Paper

Goal: Compare or contrast two texts in order to draw a conclusion about their worldviews, values, rhetorical aims, or literary styles. The following two assignments are types of comparison papers.

Writing about Adaptation

Goal: Compare a literary work to a later work that creatively responds to it (e.g., Disney’s The Lion King as an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet ). Make an argument about the significance of the similarities and differences between the original and the adaptation.

Writing about Translation

Goal: Compare two or more different translations of a work. Evaluate the translators’ decisions about certain textual aspects and make an argument about how these decisions exemplify different perspectives on the text as a whole.

2) What are the social and historical contexts?

Research the author and time period, consulting, for example, the introduction in an anthologyor The Dictionary of Literary Biography . Make sure that your interpretation of the text makes sense in light of its contexts. Be careful not to make blanket assumptions about cultures, countries, or time periods, and remember that literary movements are expressed in different ways by different writers. American romanticism is not the same thing as German romanticism.

3) What is the genre?

A genre is a type of composition that has its own characteristic forms, styles, and themes. Genres can vary across cultures.

4) Are you reading the text in translation?

If so, consider what may have been lost in translation. When using a translation as your source text, do not ground your argument on word choice, sentence structure, or rhyme scheme unless you can refer back to the original language.

5) What is your thesis?

Your thesis should put forward an argument rather than merely offer a description or observation. Ask the following questions: What is the significance of your interpretation? How does your interpretation help us to better understand the work as a whole?

Here is an example of a descriptive thesis . It is too obvious and does not constitute a real argument.

Here is an example of an argumentative thesis . It offers an interpretation of the characters of Achilles and Hector that sheds light on the meaning of the work as a whole.

6) Are your citations correct?

When you quote from your sources, be sure to cite correctly.

Here is an example that shows how to quote a primary source from an anthology in MLA style.

Then, in the Works Cited , provide full bibliographic information for the source:

Works Consulted

Damrosch, David. How to Read World Literature . Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

---, ed. Teaching World Literature . New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009.

---. What Is World Literature? Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2003.

Gocsik, Karen. Writing about World Literature. New York and London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2012.

*Special thanks to the World Literature teachers of Purdue University for sharing their insights.

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World Literature by Sowon Park , Jernej Habjan LAST REVIEWED: 24 April 2019 LAST MODIFIED: 25 July 2023 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780190221911-0025

As a global academic branch of studies, world literature emerged around the turn of the millennium, though thinking about literature with reference to “world,” however defined, can be traced back to at least two hundred years earlier. The underlying factors for the emergence of world literature studies are many. The end of the Cold War and the rise of non-Western economies, the advent of a global literary marketplace, and the proliferation of digital platforms are seen as some of its preconditions. In general terms, the expansion of world literature can be seen to reflect the rapid integration of the world into a single market. As a field of inquiry, world literature continues to grow in response to the problems encountered by teachers, students, and readers in their daily contact with literature from around the world. Historically, a prevalent way of thinking about world literature in the Western literary tradition was as the selection of masterpieces from around the world. This serviceable notion was, however, shown to fall below its own theoretical requirement and to be clearly in need of revision, since the “world,” in practice, referred to the “First World,” and world literature had simply been another name for the classics from the five major European states—Britain, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy—and from Russia and the United States. The urgent need to acknowledge and validate occluded regions of the non-Western world as unique literary and historical spaces that contribute to the whole has necessitated an altogether different framework for theorizing concepts such as language, nation, and masterpieces. In its current form, world literature studies aspires to overcome some of the problems that have arisen from the methods and procedures of traditional nation-based literary studies, as well as to address unresolved tensions within comparative literary studies, which have sometimes implicitly equated world literature with European literature. In this it overlaps with critiques of cultural imperialism and Eurocentrism raised by postcolonial studies. Where it differs markedly is in its thinking about the global system of literary production, dissemination, and evaluation beyond Europe and its former colonies, and in its focus on the methodological issues that emerge from the barely manageable inundation of literary texts now made available by digital multimedia platforms. In this effort, world literature studies is often joined by other recently established disciplines, especially globalization studies, translation studies, cosmopolitanism studies, and transnationalism studies.

Scholarly work on world literature often takes the form of either anthology or theoretical study. General overviews, which are limited to either cumulative sampling or theoretical reflection, are thus rare. The renewed interest in world literature around 2000, however, has resulted in monographs that can serve also or primarily as general overviews of world literature. This is the main aim of D’haen 2012 , a detailed history of the terminological, conceptual, pedagogical, and geopolitical aspects of world literature; Goethe’s definitions, Pascale Casanova’s and Franco Moretti’s theories, and European and US-American academe are given special attention. Similarly, Pizer 2006 focuses on the theoretical reception and pedagogical institutionalization of Goethe’s notion of world literature. The problem of teaching world literature is also a concern of Damrosch 2009 , where readers of world literature are offered ways of appreciating texts linguistically or culturally, or formally challenging them while learning to recognize their universal features. Gupta 2009 examines the roles of English studies, world literature studies, and translation policies in the collaboration between globalization scholars and literary scholars; it adds to the dialogue by focusing on the relation between globalization and literature. Globalization is also at the center of Helgesson and Thomsen 2020 , a more recent introduction to world literature and globalization that examines new approaches to digital humanities and world literature, ecologies of world literature, translation, and race and political economy.

Damrosch, David. How to Read World Literature . Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

A practical companion to Damrosch 2003 (cited under Turn of the Millennium ), where world literature is defined primarily as a mode of reading across national boundaries, this book suggests ways of reading literary works whose language, cultural context, or genre seems foreign to the contemporary English-language reader.

D’haen, Theo. The Routledge Concise History of World Literature . London: Routledge, 2012.

This compendious and accessible presentation of world literature traces the history of the notion, its recent theorizations, and its institutionalization in comparative literary studies, world literature courses, and translation studies. It also addresses the relationship between world literature and postcolonial and postmodern literatures.

Gupta, Suman. Globalization and Literature . Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2009.

Gupta presents and intervenes in the recent debates in globalization studies and literary studies. Focusing on the relationship between the two disciplines, as well as between their respective objects of study, he addresses the lack of scholarly collaboration and sees in globalization both the prevalent condition for and a theme of contemporary literature.

Helgesson, Stefan, and Mads Rosendahl Thomsen. Literature and the World . London: Routledge, 2020.

Helgesson and Thomsen provide a brief history of world literature studies as well as a series of case studies from around the world. They discuss world literature in relation to digital humanities, ecology, literary form, translation, and political economy. Their concluding dialogue is dedicated to the future of world literature studies.

Pizer, John. The Idea of World Literature: History and Pedagogical Practice . Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006.

Combining historical presentation with programmatic intervention, Pizer argues for and exemplifies the adoption of a Goethean dialectical approach to world literature in US academia. To this end, he offers concise accounts both of the academic reception of Goethe’s approach and of contemporary courses on world literature in English translation.

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What is World Literature

What is world literature, other necessary literary terms you must know, the norton anthology of world literature, the iliad literary analysis.

Useful information: Lolita book summary and analysis.

How to Write World Literature  – Basic Tips Where to Start

• Assign yourself a topic: world literature is bulky and in order to simplify your task, you need a specific topic. Ascertain your topic and comprehend the task(s) before you. It is after you have ascertained and understood your assigned topic that you can move to the next phase.
• Get resourceful materials that are related to the topic and Analyze: while writing world literature, you will need to explore many materials, their structure and concept. After getting your facts right; try relating it to your aim and stances.
• Whatever your topic is, analyze the history of your subjects: give your work a historical basis by citing historical stances and relating your stances with political, cultural, or social references.
• Make reasonable Comparison in your paper: in order to bring out differences between two or more concepts or subject, you will have to compare and contrast them—so as to bring a very logical conclusion. Comparing helps to draw valid conclusions about global views, ethics, rhetorical goals or literary techniques.

Read also: Research paper on Their Eyes Were Watching God .

Below are the two types of comparison papers:

• Writing on Translation: the aim of writing on translation is to compare various translations of the same work. Thereby, allowing you to evaluate the translator’s view on specific aspects of the texts. Also, it exposes the ways individual perspective influence the judgment of a text.
• Writing on Adaptation: the main goal of such comparison is to put two literary works—in which one is a creative response to the other. Ore example The Lion King, made by Disney is an adaptation of Hamlet, the original work of Shakespeare. Writing on adaptation fully aims at bringing up a valid argument on the possible similarities and differences between the authentic work and the adaptation.

Read also: Literary analysis of Gone With The Wind .

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• 120 Literary Essay Topics

Students may be assigned a literary analysis essay when taking an English, literature, or writing class. This essay aims to analyze a particular work or body of work within the context of literature.

Students giving this type of writing assignment often find that while they can understand the texts being studied, they have difficulty putting their thoughts about them into words. This can be frustrating because literary analysis requires both interpretation and evaluation, two skills that can be challenging to put on paper.

Fortunately, we’ve created an expert guide to help students write the best literary analysis essay possible. Additionally, we’ve included 120 literary analysis essay topics that offer a wide range of interesting options for students to choose from.

What Does Analysis Mean?

While students may have written essays with different purposes in the past, a literary analysis essay asks them to take a different approach. When students engage in literary analysis, they explore the text deeply and in detail. They are not simply summarizing the plot or retelling the story. Instead, they are looking at the how and why of the text, delving into its deeper meaning.

Students must learn how to go beyond simple surface-level analysis and move towards a more complex understanding of the text. This can be achieved by asking the right questions, such as:

• How does the author use literary devices?
• What is the author’s purpose in writing this text?
• What are the underlying themes in the text?
• What does the text reveal about the author’s point of view?

Answering these questions can help students move beyond simply understanding a text to being able to analyze it effectively.

Types of Literary Analysis Essays

There are three common types of literary analysis essays that students may be asked to write. Each has its own unique purpose and focus.

Character Analysis

In a character analysis, students are asked to analyze a character from a literary work. This could be a protagonist, an antagonist, or a minor character. This type of essay aims to help students understand the role that characters play in a work of literature. To do this effectively, students must pay close attention to how the author develops the character throughout the text.

For example, if a student were asked to write a character analysis of Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, they would need to consider how Gatsby is developed throughout the novel. This might involve looking at how Fitzgerald uses symbolism, narration, and dialogue to reveal things about Gatsby’s character.

Theme Analysis

A theme analysis essay focuses on a work of literature’s central theme. The purpose of this type of essay is to help students understand the theme’s role in the work as a whole. To do this effectively, students need to identify the work’s major themes and understand how they are developed throughout the course of the text.

For example, if students were asked to write a theme analysis of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, they might identify the book’s central themes of teenage angst and rebellion. They would then need to examine how these themes are developed throughout the course of the novel.

Symbolism Analysis

A symbolism analysis essay focuses on how a work of literature uses symbols to represent ideas or themes. The purpose of this type of essay is to help students understand how symbols are used to convey ideas and messages in a work of literature. To do this effectively, students need to be able to identify the work’s major symbols and understand their significance.

For example, suppose a student was asked to write a symbolism analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In that case, they might examine the ways in which the green light, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, and the valley of ashes function as symbols in the novel.

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay

When writing a literary analysis essay, it is important to be sure that you are clear about your thesis statement. Your thesis statement is the main point of your essay and should be concise and easy to understand. Some good examples of thesis statements for literary analysis essays include:

“In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses symbols to represent the teenage experience.”

“Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism in The Great Gatsby reveals the theme of the corruption of the American dream.”

Once you have your thesis statement, you will need to support it with evidence from the text. This could be done through the use of quotes, examples, or other types of evidence. Be sure that you are clear on what your evidence is and how it supports your thesis.

Another important aspect of writing a literary analysis essay is organization. Your essay should be well-organized and flow smoothly from point to point. Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence that states the main point of the paragraph and supporting evidence to back it up. Be sure to transition smoothly between paragraphs to make your essay easy to follow.

Finally, the conclusion of your essay should sum up the main points of your argument and leave the reader with a clear understanding of your position. A good conclusion will also restate your thesis in different words than how it was stated in your introduction.

120 Literary Analysis Essay Topics

Students stuck on a topic for their essay can use any of these 120 literary analysis essay topics to get inspired.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Symbolism

• How does the author use symbols to represent ideas in the text?
• What is the significance of the book’s title?
• How do the book’s characters embody the themes of the text?
• What objects or images appear throughout the book, and what do they symbolize?
• How does the author use color to convey ideas in the text?
• What is the significance of the book’s setting?
• What does the narrator’s point of view reveal about the characters and events in the text?
• How does the author use foreshadowing to build suspense in the story?
• What motifs appear in the text, and what do they symbolize?
• How does the author’s use of irony contribute to the text’s overall theme?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Theme

• What is the book’s central theme? Why?
• How does the author explore the book’s main theme?
• What messages does the author convey about the book’s main theme?
• How does the author develop the book’s secondary themes?
• What messages does the author convey about the book’s secondary themes?
• How does the author’s choice of words contribute to the development of the theme in the text?
• What characters embody the book’s central themes, and how do they represent them?
• How does the author’s use of figurative language contribute to developing a theme in the text?
• What events in the book support the main theme, and how do they contribute to its development?
• How does the author’s use of symbolism contribute to the development of the theme in the text?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Character

• How do the book’s characters develop throughout the story?
• How do the book’s characters contribute to the development of the plot?
• How does the author use dialogue to reveal information about the book’s characters?
• What physical traits do the book’s characters possess, and how do they contribute to the story?
• What psychological traits do the book’s characters possess, and how do they contribute to the story?
• How do the book’s characters interact with each other, and what does this reveal about them?
• What motivates the book’s characters, and how does this contribute to the development of the plot?
• How does the author’s use of point of view contribute to the development of the book’s characters?
• What conflicts do the book’s characters face, and how do they resolve them?
• How do the book’s characters change by the end of the story, and what does this reveal about them?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Plot

• What is the book’s main plot?
• How does the author develop the book’s main plot?
• What messages does the author convey about the book’s main plot?
• How does the author develop the book’s secondary plots?
• What messages does the author convey about the book’s secondary plots?
• How does the author’s choice of words contribute to the development of the book’s plot?
• What events in the book support the main plot, and how do they contribute to its development?
• How does the author’s use of symbolism contribute to the development of the book’s plot?
• How does the author’s use of figurative language contribute to the development of the book’s plot?
• What characters embody the book’s main plot, and how do they represent it?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Setting

• How would a different setting affect the book’s plot?
• How does the book’s setting contribute to the development of its characters?
• What messages does the author convey about the book’s setting?
• How does the author use the book’s setting to develop the book’s mood?
• How do events in the book make the setting more or less real?
• How does the author’s use of description contribute to the development of the book’s setting?
• What physical traits does the book’s setting possess, and how do they contribute to the story?
• What psychological traits does the book’s setting possess, and how do they contribute to the story?
• How does the author use the book’s setting to develop the book’s theme?
• What symbols are present in the book’s setting, and what do they represent?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About American Classic Literature

• Compare and contrast the American Dream as it is portrayed in The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman.
• How does F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of symbolism contribute to the development of the theme in The Great Gatsby?
• What similarities and differences exist between the characters in The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird?
• In what ways does Harper Lee’s use of first-person point of view contribute to the development of Atticus Finch’s character?
• How does J.D. Salinger’s use of figurative language contribute to the development of Holden Caulfield’s character?
• What messages about society does Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman convey?
• How does the author’s use of symbolism contribute to the development of the theme in All My Sons?
• What messages about family does Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie convey?
• What messages about love and relationships does Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf convey?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About British Literature

• How does Shakespeare’s use of symbolism contribute to the development of the theme in Romeo and Juliet?
• What messages about family does William Golding’s Lord of the Flies convey?
• What messages about love and relationships does D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers convey?
• How does the author’s use of symbolism contribute to the development of the theme in Women in Love?
• What messages about society does George Orwell’s Animal Farm convey?

Literary Analysis Topics About Poetry

• How does the author’s choice of words contribute to the development of the theme in a particular poem?
• What messages about society does the poem convey?
• How does the author’s use of symbolism contribute to the development of the theme in the poem?
• What clues in the poem suggest the poet had a troubled life?
• What physical traits does the poem’s speaker possess, and how do they contribute to the poem’s development?
• What psychological traits does the poem’s speaker possess, and how do they contribute to the development of the poem?
• How would a different choice of words contribute to the development of the poem’s theme?
• What different images does the author use in the poem, and how do they contribute to its development?
• Compare and contrast the author’s use of imagery in two different poems.
• How does the author’s use of sound contribute to the development of the poem?

Literary Analysis Topics About Theater

• Examine how the playwright’s use of stage directions contributes to character development in the play.
• How does the playwright’s use of dialogue contribute to the development of the theme in the play?
• What messages about love and relationships does the play convey?
• How does the author’s use of symbolism contribute to the development of the theme in the play?
• What messages about family does the playwright’s use of figurative language convey?
• How does the author’s use of point of view contribute to the development of the play’s characters?
• In what ways does the playwright’s use of setting contribute to the development of the play’s plot?
• What messages about society does the play convey?
• How would a change in the play’s setting contribute to its development?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About YA Novels

• Explore the main differences between the book and its film adaptation.
• What messages about love and relationships does the novel convey?
• Examine the use of adolescent slang in the novel and its effects on the development of theme.
• Argue for or against including a particular novel in high school curriculums.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Speeches

• Compare and contrast Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech with Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet
• Explore the symbolism in Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.”
• Analyze the rhetoric in JFK’s “Moon Speech.”
• What messages about society does Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech convey?
• How does Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech contribute to his character development?
• What physical traits does the speaker possess, and how do they contribute to the development of the speech?
• What psychological traits does the speaker possess, and how do they contribute to the development of the speech?
• How would a different choice of words contribute to the development of the speech’s theme?
• What different images does the author use in the speech, and how do they contribute to its development?
• Compare and contrast the author’s use of imagery in two different speeches.
• Does the intensity of the rhetoric in the speech contribute to its effectiveness?
• How does the author’s use of sound contribute to the development of the speech?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Books Turned into Movies

• Explore the themes of capitalism in Fight Club.
• Discuss how The Catcher in the Rye is an autobiographical novel.
• Analyze the character of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye.
• Compare and contrast the book and film versions of The Great Gatsby.
• Examine the use of color in The Great Gatsby.
• Explore the theme of betrayal in The Great Gatsby.
• Analyze the character of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby.
• Compare and contrast the book and film versions of To Kill a Mockingbird.
• Examine the use of point of view in To Kill a Mockingbird.
• Analyze the character of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Non-Fiction Books

• Compare and contrast two biographies of the same person.
• Analyze a section of the US Constitution.
• Compare and contrast two religious texts.
• Analyze the historical effects of the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli.
• Compare and contrast the ideas of Karl Marx and Adam Smith.
• Analyze the thoughts of Rousseau on education.
• Evaluate the methods used in a self-help book.
• Review a political science text.
• Compare and contrast the autobiographies of two different philosophers.
• Compare and contrast the claims made in two history books.

With any of these 120 literary essay topics, you’ll be able to deep-dive into the world of literature and create an impressive essay on any text you’ve read.

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• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.

A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :

• An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
• A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
• A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.

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Table of contents

Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.

The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.

Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.

To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.

Language choices

Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?

What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).

Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.

Narrative voice

Ask yourself:

• Who is telling the story?
• How are they telling it?

Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?

Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.

The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?

Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.

• Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
• Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
• Plays are divided into scenes and acts.

Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.

There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?

With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.

In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for  dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.

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Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.

If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:

Essay question example

Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?

Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:

Thesis statement example

Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.

Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.

Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.

Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:

Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:

The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:

Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.

Finding textual evidence

To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.

It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.

To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.

Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.

A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.

If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.

“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The introduction

The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.

A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.

Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!

If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.

The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.

Paragraph structure

A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.

Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.

In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.

Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.

Topic sentences

To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:

… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.

Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.

This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.

Using textual evidence

A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.

It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:

It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.

In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:

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The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.

A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

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Literary Analysis: Essay Prompts, Outline, & American Literature Topics

• 📚 Literary Analysis Definition

🧩 Elements of a Literary Analysis

• 📝 Literary Analysis Outline
• 💡 Literary Analysis Prompts
• 🤔 Topics for Literary Analysis
• 🗽 American Literature Topics
• ☘️ British & Irish Literature Topics

🌐 Classic European Literature Topics

🗺️ world literature essay topics.

It’s high time to discuss everything about literary analysis in detail!

📚 What Is Literary Analysis?

Literary analysis (literary criticism) is the process of interpreting a piece of literature. It implies a critical look at a text to understand the author’s message.

In this assignment, you trace tiny symbols and puzzles left by the author. As a reward, you get to the main idea. It is essential to differentiate a literary analysis from a summary where you just restate ideas from a text. Here, you need to dig into them and interpret them. Here are the main steps of a literary criticism process:

• Interpretation

What Is the Purpose of a Literary Analysis Essay?

Literary analysis has several purposes. Here are some of them:

• Understanding and interpreting the author’s point of view.
• Looking deeper into the literary work canvas and finding new meanings in it.
• Making up an opinion about the book.
• Estimating a book in general, its strong and weak sides.

The proper literary analysis includes many details. You should provide not a summary but an interpretation . In the end, it can be considered a separate work.

Brainstorming and observing the following aspects makes writing more manageable.

📝 Literary Analysis Essay Outline – 3 Parts

We want to present you with a complete literary analysis outline. The parts from the section below will navigate you through writing your work.

Introduction of a Literary Analysis Essay

When writing a literary analysis, you examine the whole text and its components. So we recommend starting from the primary constituents. Here’s what you can include in your literary analysis essay intro :

• In many cases, there’s already a lot said in the title – look at it more precisely.
• Don’t forget to mention the author and give a piece of information about them.
• Get the reader’s attention with a good hook . It will make the audience interested in your writing.
• Give some background information about the book. For example, you can mention the context of when and where it was created.

Body of a Literary Analysis Essay

The body is the “fleshiest” part of your paper. Let’s see how to make it complete and exciting.

• Introduce the contents of the section in a topic sentence .
• Provide the reader with the evidence you’ve collected. It can be quotations, specific details from the book, or summarized sentences . Mind that you have to give your interpretations.
• Smoothen the transition to the next paragraph with a closing sentence .

Conclusion of a Literary Analysis Essay

To wrap up your analysis, you will need a proper conclusion . Let’s look at its components:

• A paraphrased thesis statement – reformulate your thesis preserving its main idea.
• A summary of your work – give a quick review of the most significant points.
• Only the information you already gave – don’t introduce any new facts.

💡5 Literary Analysis Prompts

The section below gives you clues on building an excellent literary analysis. You can choose any of them to focus your work on something specific.

1. Analyze a Character’s Behavior, Choices, and Motifs

First, you have to choose a character who resonates with you. In that case, your analysis will be more profound. You will enjoy writing it. Use the following or similar questions to perform it:

2. Compare Internal Conflict Vs. External Conflict

There is often a conflict or several in a literary work. It is something that makes a story engaging. Try to find it and put it to the test. For example, answer these questions:

3. Focus on a Specific Sentence

An author can put a lot of significance even into one sentence. If you manage to find it, you’ll get the key to understanding the whole point of the work. Try to find a sentence or several that got your attention and made you reflect on them.

4. Evaluate the Role of Setting

The setting often plays a significant role in a storyline. Look for the descriptions that may resonate with the characters’ state and the atmosphere.

5. Research the Background and Its Meaning

The majority of literary pieces resonate with historical or cultural contexts. You can use it for the analysis.

🤔 307 Literary Analysis Essay Topics

Consider the topics below for deep analysis. You’ll find titles to any taste, including American, British, and European literature.

Try our remarkable research title generator if these 300+ topics are not enough. It’s free and easy to use!

🗽 American Literature Essay Topics

• The language and narrative in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald .
• Analyze themes of the American Revolutionary period in literature.
• Devil’s presence in “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
• Reunion of Daisy and Gatsby in The Great Gatsby novel by Francis Scott Fitzgerald .
• Is “The Power of Sympathy” the first American Novel?
• “A Ghetto Takes Shape: Black Cleveland” by Kusmer .
• Vietnam War in The Things They Carried novel by Tim O’Brien .
• The moral education of early America in “The Power of Sympathy.”
• A disease of Marriage in “The Story of an Hour” by Chopin.
• Religion and public life in American Grace by Putnam .
• The friendship in Moby Dick: should it be an example for others?
• “A Rose for Emily”: Analysis of a short story by William Faulkner .
• The language and themes in the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost .
• Elaborate on race and enslavement topics pictured in Moby Dick.
• Kate Chopin’s background in “Story of an Hour.”
• Racism experiences in the Black Like Me book by John Griffin .
• Research the anti-slavery narratives in early American literature.
• Gender struggles in To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf .
• Composition of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien .
• Moby Dick: How did the sermon that Ishmael heard affect him?
• Marriage in “The Awakening” Novel by Kate Chopin.
• Behind a Convict’s Eyes by K. C. Carceral: Book review .
• How does Walter Whitman use symbols in “Leaves of Grass”?
• American Grace : A book by Robert Putnam and David Campbell .
• Walt Whitman poetry: how to read and understand it?
• Civil War history: “A Year in the South” by Ash .
• Symbolism in “A Wall of Fire Rising” by Edwidge Danticat .
• Walter Whitman: what are the controversial themes in “Leaves of Grass”?
• Plot analysis of “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway.
• What is the deistic influence in Walter Whitman’s poetry?
• Religion in American Grace by Putnam and Campbell .
• Harlem Renaissance in “The New Negro” by Alain Locke .
• What does “athletic friendship” mean in Walter Whitman’s poetry?
• An Eye For An I: Critical Analysis of Poe’s “Tell-Tale Heart.”
• Grief in the novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold .
• Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain: a racist or anti-racist novel?
• Cultural heritage in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker .
• Lessons learned from “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” short story by Flannery O’Connor .
• Compare and contrast two characters of Mark Twain: Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.
• How to describe the American society in Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?”
• The concepts of good and evil in Young Lions by Irwin Shaw.
• Black women in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs .
• Female characters in Death of a Salesman by A. Miller .
• Compare and contrast three main characters of Irwin Shaw’s “Young Lions.”
• “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” vs. “Smooth Talk”: Connie’s character.
• How do Holden’s relationships with people differ in “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger?
• Analysis of different works by Edgar Allan Poe .
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller: Parallels with McCarthyism .
• Analyze the imagery, structure, and syntax in Emily Dickinson’s poetry.
• Chinese and American Women in Joy Luck Club novel and film.
• The American decadence themes in Grapes of Wrath by J. Steinbeck.
• Time in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner .
• The theme of consequences in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe .
• Crime and punishment in Theodor Dreiser’s “American Tragedy.”
• How is the process of growing up reflected in “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger?
• Can we see James Joyce’s influence in William Faulkner’s novels?
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: Injustice of slavery and racism .
• Hidden symbols in “The Storm” by Kate Chopin .
• To Kill a Mockingbird: the metamorphoses of Jem and Scout in the novel.
• “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams character review.
• All the Colors We Are : Children’s anti-bias book by Kissinger .
• What do Clyde Griffiths and Frank Cowperwood of Theodor Dreiser’s novels have in common?
• Rhetoric in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor .
• The Financier: can Frank Cowperwood be a role model for young and ambitious people?
• “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steve Covey: book concepts.
• The Sound and the Fury: how do four different perspectives of narrative help understand the novel?
• Analysis of the play Fences by August Wilson .
• Fate in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by F. O’Connor .
• To Kill a Mockingbird: is Atticus a role model of a parent and a decent person?
• “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller: Willy Loman Character Analysis.
• Elaborate on the wide range of racist issues in the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
• Women’s struggles in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin .
• How is American Dream depicted in “American Tragedy”?
• Symbolism in Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.”
• Signs of feminism in “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
• Comparison of “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin .
• American ideology in Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.”
• The American dream in the play “Death of a Salesman.”
• How does Margaret Mitchell show the war tragedy in Gone with the Wind?
• Blindness in “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver .
• Gender roles in “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin .
• Vanity Fair by William Thackeray: does the book’s structure allow us to call it “a novel”?
• The importance of “The Making of a Quagmire” by David Halberstam.
• Explore transcendentalism topic in James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans.”
• “We Wear the Mask” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” analysis .
• The importance of learning in “Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” by Frederick Douglass .
• Does The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow have one main idea?
• “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath: Review .
• The Song of Hiawatha: the struggle between vice and virtue.
• Gender relations on the example of “Trifle” by Glaspell.
• Real life in “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer .
• The Song of Hiawatha: the gap between reality and the ideal.
• Cabico’s “Check One” poem: Motif-based analysis .
• Moral ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.”
• “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost: The poem as a metaphor .
• Innocence vs. guilt in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe .
• The horrors of war in Ernest Hemingway’s novel “Farewell to Arms.”
• Dave’s character in “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright.
• The oppression of women in “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros .
• How does Harriette Stowe show the slavery horrors in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”?
• “A Rose for Emily” literary analysis .
• Fallacies in “Boxing, Doctors – Round Two” by Cohn .
• What are the symbols and settings that make Poe’s works recognizable?
• Analysis of «Cod» by Mark Kurlansky .
• The hypocrisy of the civilized society in “ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .”
• “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair: the dark alleys of capitalism.
• Analysis of “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton .
• Autobiographical motives in Jack London’s “Martin Eden.”
• Analysis of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker .
• Nietzschean individualism versus socialism in Jack London’s “Martin Eden.”
• Comparison of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe .
• Illusory of the distorted American ideals in Theodor Dreiser’s “Sister Carrie.”
• “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker: plot analysis.
• “American Tragedy” – a story about urbanization, modernization, and alienation.
• “Daddy Issues” by Sandra Tsing Loh: The rhetorical analysis .
• What is the idea of the “average” American way of life depicted in Sinclair Lewis’ “Babbitt”?
• Dreams and hopes in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry .
• Comparison of “Barn Burning” and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner .
• How does Sinclair Lewis accomplish to create drama with the details?
• The life of black people in Nella Larsen’s ‘Passing.’
• What is the devastating cost of success in “The Great Gatsby” by F. S. Fitzgerald?
• “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin: Review .
• Religiousness in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by O’Connor .
• Southern families issues in “The Sound and The Fury” by W. Faulkner.
• “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson: description of the book and its relation to business.
• “Light in August”: Complex and violent relations between men and women.
• The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: Literary analysis .
• Imagery and symbolism in “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane .
• “The Sound and the Fury: are there innocent characters in the Compson family?
• Analysis of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain .
• The rise and decline of the Southern aristocracy in “The Snopes trilogy.”
• “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner: the role of point of view.
• Symbolism in the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway .
• How are the themes of struggle, pride, and death revealed in “The Old Man and the Sea”?
• Emily Grierson in “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner .
• “In Cold Blood”: the context for the crime created in society.
• Gender roles in the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams .
• The theme of mental health in “The Yellow Wallpaper” story by Charlotte Gilman .
• What Southern Gothic signs can we find in Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood”?
• The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter analysis .
• “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” poem by Emily Dickinson .
• Explore the unique style of Kurt Vonnegut in “Slaughter House Five.”
• Cultural identity in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker .
• The influence of “The Cask of Amontillado” on Bierce’s work .
• Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien.
• Ethical problems in John Updike’s novel “The Centaur.”
• Rubber hose in Death of a Salesman by Miller .

☘️ British & Irish Literature Essay Topics

• What makes “Canterbury tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer a great piece of literature?
• Analysis of the Hamlet play by William Shakespeare .
• What figures of speech does G. Chaucer use to create a humorous narrative in “Canterbury Tales”?
• The image of clergy in “Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer.
• Satire by Jonathan Swift in “A Modest Proposal” essay.
• If the “Faerie Queene” is a great “national” epic, what idea of the English nation does the poem create?
• The idea of dreaming in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare .
• Beowulf: is it a “perfect” hero from the Christian perspective ?
• A separate individual and societal system in Dickens’ novel “Little Dorrit.”
• The Character of Leggatt in “The Secret Sharer” by Joseph Conrad.
• Why did Edmund Spencer invent a poetic diction for his poem, and does that language work?
• The play Hamlet as a tragedy .
• Are Romeo and Juliet a play about revenge? Why?
• What racism issues are presented in “Othello”?
• Describe Othello as a tragic hero in Shakespeare’s play.
• Explore the imagery in John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”
• Feminism in “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” by M. Wollstonecraft .
• Female characters in the novel “David Copperfield” by C. Dickens.
• Is the poem “Paradise Lost” morally conflicted? Why?
• Themes in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
• The images of fairies and elves in Shakespeare’s comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
• A system of moral standards in Robin Hood’s cycle of stories.
• Victor in “Frankenstein,” the novel by Mary Shelley.
• The hero and author images in P. Sidney’s “Astrophil and Stella.”
• Explore the imagery in John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”
• Themes in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad .
• Thomas Heywood “A Woman Killed with Kindness”: family drama genre.
• Romeo and Juliet: the problem of love and freedom.
• Impact of gender in Shakespeare’s Othello.
• The image of the villain in Shakespeare’s “Othello.”
• Society criticism in “Careless Lovers” by Edward Ravenscroft .
• What functions do the supernatural powers perform in “Macbeth”?
• The Merchant of Venice: the topics of justice and mercy in the play.
• Review of “The Victorian Internet,” the book by Tom Standage.
• The peculiarities of the author’s irony in John Donne’s “Songs and sonnets.”
• The character of Victor in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley .
• The symbolic images of dreams and thunderstorms in John Donne’s poetry.
• Arcadian motives in Andrew Marvel’s lyrics.
• “Othello” by William Shakespeare: racism problem.
• How is the image of Satan presented in J. Milton’s poetry?
• Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelly .
• Compare the image of the lost innocence in Milton’s and Dante’s poetry.
• “The Alchemist” by Ben Jonson: the problems of style.
• Ophelia’s Character in Shakespeare’s Play “Hamlet.”
• The genre and method in the play “Volpone” by Ben Johnson.
• Analysis of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Coleridge .
• What unique features of the composition does the play “The Changeling” by T. Middleton include?
• “Perkin Warbeck” by John Ford: theatrical satire genre uniqueness.
• How is madness portrayed in William Shakespeare’s “Play King Lear”?
• The traveling theme in D. Defoe’s “The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.”
• The message in the poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by D. Thomas .
• J. Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”: utopia and dystopia in the novel.
• The satire in J. Swift’s pamphlet “A Tale of a Tub.”
• Different nations in “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift.
• A. Pope’s “Windsor-Forest”: specifics of the arcadian motives and plot.
• Satan, Adam, and Eve in “Paradise Lost” Poem by John Milton .
• The primary functions of the “Don Quixote mask” in G. Fielding’s “Don Quixote in England.”
• “Middlemarch” by G. Eliot: the problem of cognition in the novel.
• Women in Shakespeare’s and Chaucer’s works.
• Ideals and symbols in “The Corsair” by Byron.
• Gender in “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare .
• The themes of literature and writing in the novel “The Black Prince” by I. Murdoch.
• Symbols in the novel “David Copperfield” by C. Dickens.
• Shakespearean Hamlet’s character analysis.
• “The Quiet American” by G. Greene: love and duty motives.
• Costumes, mood, and tone in the play “Macbeth” by Shakespeare .
• The specifics of the sentimentalism in R. Burn’s poetry.
• English romanticism traditions in “The Wuthering Heights.”
• Romeo from “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare.
• The themes of unity and alienation in “The Wuthering Heights” by E. Bronte.
• The inner and outer beauty in Ch. Bronte’s “Jane Air.”
• “To Be or Not to Be”: Prominent Phrase Analysis.
• Egoism and altruism in “Oliver Twist” by C. Dickens.
• Themes in “Goodbye to Berlin” by Christopher Isherwood .
• Social problematics in the novel “Bleak House” by C. Dickens.
• The themes of the ambitions and happiness in the novel “Big Expectations” by Charles Dickens.
• “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens: characters, themes, and stylistic choices.
• Gender issues in the novel “Big Expectations” by Charles Dickens.
• The issues of female emancipation in the novel “The Mill on the Floss” by G. Eliot.
• The role of the Bible in “Paradise Lost” by John Milton .
• The narrator’s role in the novel “The Code of the Woosters” by P. Woodhouse.
• The role of the detective storyline in G. Greene’s “Brighton Rock.”
• Gender and Sexuality in William Shakespeare’s plays.
• Tradition and personality in the novel “1984” by G. Orwell.
• H. Hesse “Steppenwolf”: the spiritual quest of the characters.
• Existential searching in the novel “The Glass Bead Game” by H. Hesse.
• Candide and Pangloss characters and relationship analysis .
• Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose” as a historical novel of a peculiar style.
• The meaning of laughter in Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose.”
• Is Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose” a detective novel?
• The problematics of the book “Foucault’s Pendulum” by U. Eco.
• The image of Beatrice in Dante’s “Divine Comedy.”
• Oedipus: Sophocles’ character.
• Dante’s “Divine Comedy”: the system of characters and level of perception.
• The specifics of narrative style in M. Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time.”
• The problematic characters in the novel “The End of the Night” by F. Mauriac.
• Therese Desqueyroux by François Mauriac: the image of family as a cage.
• “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles: fate versus character.
• The rebel against injustice in Albert Camus’ “The Myth of Sisyphus.”
• The theme of alienation in Albert Camus’ “The Stranger.”
• The motives of doom of time and man in Gottfried Benn’s poetry.
• How does Thomas Mann show the decay of the burgher’s social class in “Buddenbrooks”?
• The genre of a family saga in Thomas Mann’s “Buddenbrooks.”
• Prophecy and fate. “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles.
• The creativity collapse in “Doctor Faustus” by T. Mann.
• The tragedy of the genius in B. Brecht’s “The Life of Galileo.”
• B. Brecht’s “The Life of Galileo”: the moral dilemma between genius and villainy.
• The theme of metamorphosis in the novel “The Trial” by F. Kafka.
• Autobiographical family drama in the novel “Metamorphosis” by F. Kafka.
• The themes of alienation and loneliness in Franz Kafka’s novel “Metamorphosis.”
• An individual in the society in the novel “A Man without qualities” by Robert Musil.
• Jaroslav Hashek’s “The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War”: the denial of war and perception of it as madness.
• The symbol of the sick people in The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka .
• The corruptive influence of the army in Jaroslav Hashek’s “The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War.”
• Pacifistic motives in Karel Chapek’s work “Salamander War.”
• The prophecy of historical events in Karel Capek’s novel “Salamander War.”
• The theme of history in the poetry of Antonio Machado: Fields of Castile.
• Federico Lorca’s Poet in New York: the problematics and style.
• Federico Lorca’s Poet in New York: the image of New York and American reality.
• The Thousand & One Nights: folk collection overview.
• “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Becket: autobiographical experience of occupied France.
• “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Becket: the peculiarities of language, speech, and dialogues .
• Allegorical presentation of society in the play “Rhinoceros” by E. Ionesco.
• “In the Labyrinth” by Alain Robbe-Grillet: what meaning does the detailed description of things have?
• The features of anti-novel in the “Golden Fruits” by Natali Sarot.
• “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles .
• Patrick Suskind’s “Perfume” as a perfect example of a postmodernist novel.
• The levels of the novel “Perfume” by Patrick Suskind.
• Reflections on friendship and love in the novel “Hello Sadness” by Françoise Sagan.
• The tragedy of disunity and loneliness in “The Time of Indifference” by Alberto Moravia.
• Analysis of important quotations from A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen .
• “The Time of Indifference” by Alberto Moravia: why do the characters remain static?
• The image of Rome in the story cycle “Roman Tales” by A. Moravia.
• Magic realism in the novel “100 Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
• “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Servantes: the “insanity” of the main character.
• “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy: the concepts of love and duty.
• The peculiarities of women characters in “The Trial” by Franz Kafka .
• The theme of love in “Madame Bovary” by Gustave Flaubert.
• “The Dog in the Manger” by Lope De Vega: the specifics of Italian comedy.
• Voltaire’s “Candid” : forming of individual personality .
• The concept of the Enlightenment person in Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “Emile, or On Education.”
• Goethe’s “Faust”: biblical references.
• The peculiarities and imagery of F. Schiller’s poetry.
• The ideological and artistic uniqueness of H. Heine’s poetry .
• The genuineness of historical figures in “Danton’s Death” by George Buchner.
• The theme of love in “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque.
• The lost generation theme in “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque.
• Identity formation in “Persepolis” by Satrapi .
• Analysis of Things Fall Apart , a novel by Chinua Achebe .
• Comfort Woman by Nora Okja Keller: Summary & themes .
• Cultural clash in “Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe .
• Igbo society in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe .
• The theme of virtue in “The Tale of Kieu” by Nguyen Du .
• Women’s struggles in “Three Daughters of China” by Jung Chang .
• The character of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe .
• The Ramayana of Valmiki , translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith .
• Personal mythology based on “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe .
• The theme of love in the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini .
• Vietnam War in Last Night I Dreamed of Peace by Dang Thuy Tram .
• “The Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro .

🔗 References

• How to write a literary analysis essay | Bucks County Community College
• A short guide to close reading for literary analysis; The Writing Center; UW – Madison
• University Writing Center – Literary Analysis
• How to write literary analysis – Sparknotes
• University Writing Center (UWC) – Analyzing Novels & Short Stories
• Writing Prompts for Analyzing Fiction // Purdue Writing Lab
• Summary vs. Analysis | UAGC Writing Center
• Teaching Literary Analysis | Edutopia
• Writing a Literary Analysis – English Resources – Resources by Subject at C. G. O’Kelly Library

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Are you looking for an engaging literary research paper topic? Whether you're writing a college-level essay or a master's thesis, the right literature research paper topics can make all the difference. They range from exploring particular genres or authors to examining the use of language in literary works. By researching these topics, you will gain a greater understanding of the ideas, improve your critical thinking skills, and learn to appreciate the nuances. This article will explore such literature topics for research and open up endless possibilities for analysis and interpretation, ranging from classic to modern-day texts. Are you ready to choose a trending topic and write a paper that will win your professor’s heart? 

What Are Literary Research Paper Topics?

Literary research paper topics focus on a particular literary work, such as a book, poem, novel, play, or story. They provide a great starting point for researching the specific aspect you're planning to explore for a better perception of the idea and help to eliminate any artificial facet. Literary research topics may analyze a single text, compare different writings by the same author, or contrast different authors' styles.  Common literature topics for research papers comprise symbolism, characterization, themes, plot structure, historical context, point-of-view analysis, biographical contexts, and intertextual connections. These research paper topics may also focus on how an author has been interpreted or evaluated over time, analyzing the critical reception of their works and examining any changes within literary canonization. Additionally, these topics can explore how literary works intersect with other disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, sociology, politics, or economics.

Characteristics of Good Literature Research Paper Topics

Literary research paper topics are usually considered good when they are:

• Relevant They should be engaging, thought-provoking, and appropriate to the academic work.
• Specific Similarly, good literature research topics must have a narrow focus and not be overly broad.
• Interesting They should pique your interest and encourage you to explore and aspire to know more about the literary work.
• Challenging Deep analysis, thoughtful reflection, and creative thinking are also vital.
• Unique They should be memorable and offer new insights into academic work.

With these important characteristics of literary topics for research papers in mind, you're ready to start writing!

How to Choose a Literature Research Paper Topic?

Choosing a literature research paper topic can be daunting, but with careful thought and planning, you're sure to find the perfect one. In order to do this, you need to complete the following:

• Brainstorm: First, start by brainstorming topics that interest you. Think about the works you've been studying, authors and genres you enjoy reading, and themes that have resonated with you.
• Narrow it down: Once you've identified a few research topics that intrigue you, narrow them down to one that is most relevant and specific.
• Research: Explore if it is relevant. This will guarantee that you have enough material to work with.
• Refine: Once you have researched, refine your topic to ensure it is specific and engaging. Consider the most interesting aspects and how they can be explored further.
• Choose: Finally, choose the title that best reflects your interests and passions for an enjoyable research experience!

With these tips, you can find the perfect literary research paper topic! Don’t have time for reading piles of books? Get professional help with research paper writing from StudyCrumb and have your study completed by a real pro.

List of Literature Research Paper Topics

A list of literature topics for research offers a wide range of literary-related issues that can be explored and studied for your project. It includes ideas that could spark your creativity and help you choose the best title. Whether you're interested in exploring the works of Shakespeare or examining modern literature, this list of literary research paper topics has something for everyone!

• Use of symbolism in romantic poetry.
• Importance of technology within cyberpunk genres.
• Impact of fantasy on contemporary culture.
• Representation of male or female authors as represented by classic literary works.
• Postmodernist views of time and space in literature.
• Representation of race and ethnicity within contemporary fiction.
• Representation of LGBTQ characters in literary works.
• The role of mythology during the era of ancient works.
• Social media impact on modern texts.
• Classic and contemporary literary criticism.

Interesting Literary Research Paper Topics

If you are interested in classic books or modern trends, these ideas can be a fascinating starting point for your project. They include theories, criticism, comparison, and specific authors or genres. Besides providing an analysis of the work, a literary research paper topic could also comprise examining different themes. Explore the following interesting literature topics for your project:

• Literary influences of Jane Austen's works.
• Symbolism as represented by gothic texts.
• Relevance of classic mythology within contemporary fiction.
• The role of magic or fantasy in children's literature.
• The role of women in Victorian literature.
• Representation of race and ethnicity in early 20th-century literature.
• Themes of love and loss in romantic poetry.
• The use of horror genres in contemporary fiction.
• Postcolonialism's impact on literary works.
• Nature in 19th-century literature .
• Representation of LGBTQ characters as represented by contemporary fiction.
• Technology's impact on modern literary works.
• Classic and contemporary interpretations of gothic texts.
• The role of magic and fantasy in modern literary works.
• Representation of death and loss in 20th-century works.

Great Literature Research Paper Topics

A list of great literature research topics provides a variety of ideas related to literary works. These research topics in literature can offer an exciting starting point for your English paper:

• Rebellion themes in Shakespeare's tragedies.
• Class and economic status in Victorian texts.
• Symbolism in romantic poetry.
• Impact of British imperialism on literary fiction worldwide.
• Gender and sexuality representation in early 20th-century writings.
• Postcolonialism in 19th-century fiction.
• The literary influence of WWII on modern writings.
• Vampires' role in gothic literary texts.
• Use of fantasy in childhood writings.
• Technology's impact on contemporary literary works.
• Race and ethnicity as represented by postmodern fiction.
• Religion in romantic poetry.
• Themes of love and loss in 20th-century texts.
• Horror genres in literary fiction.
• Postmodernism's impact on contemporary literary works.

Unique Literature Research Paper Topics

Unique literature topics for research papers can help students explore new concepts and gain a deeper understanding of their subject. Below are rare literature paper topics for you to review:

• The role of jealousy in 17th-century literary works.
• Gender identity as represented by reformist fiction.
• Mythological figures as portrayed by Greek and Roman poetry.
• The relationship between gender and power in Shakespeare's plays.
• Themes of isolation in 20th-century British poetry.
• Metaphors in the works of Gabriel García Márquez .
• Themes of rebellion and revolution in African American literary texts.
• The role of women in medieval romance literature.
• Poverty representation in Victorian novels.
• Themes of oppression and freedom in colonial Latin American texts.
• Use of metaphor and allegory in Dante's divine comedy.
• Influence of industrialization on 19th-century fiction.
• Dystopian settings within modern literature.
• Religion in contemporary fiction.

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Controversial Literary Research Paper Topics

Controversial literary research topics can provide students with an opportunity to explore complex and sometimes contentious issues related to literary texts. Find below a controversial literary research paper topic for your dream English project!

• Racial stereotypes during 19th-century English literature.
• Themes of sexuality and desire in ancient Greek poetry.
• The relationship between political power and language in Shakespeare's plays.
• Conflict representation during 20th-century English fiction.
• English role in colonial Indian literature.
• Gender and racial representations within African American autobiographies.
• Themes of justice and control in Victorian English novels.
• Themes of oppression and resistance in feminist texts.
• The role of English in modern Japanese fiction.
• Themes of identity and belonging in postcolonial Indian literature.
• Censorship, free speech, and social responsibility in 19th-century English novels.
• Politics and power representations in Latin American poetry.
• Gender, race, and class representations in English renaissance drama.
• English as a tool for political ideology within the works of George Orwell.
• Language used to defy authority during modern fiction writing.

Fresh Literature Research Paper Ideas

Coming up with fresh ideas for literature research topics can be daunting. Students may want to look at the works they have studied or venture outside the traditional reading list and explore different authors and genres. Some literature research paper ideas comprise studying how certain authors influenced the literary movement, analyzing how language has been used throughout history, or examining gender, race, and class representations from a literary text. Here is a perfect list of fresh ideas!

• Aesthetics as presented by postmodern fiction.
• The theme of loss as portrayed by African authors .
• Use of language throughout history.
• Identity and belonging representation in contemporary young adult fiction.
• The intersection between art and literature in modern poetry.
• Themes of authority, rebellion, and revolution in medieval epic poetry.
• Role of fantasy in horror fiction.
• Gender, race, and class representations within British romanticism.
• American literary realism and naturalism.
• Influence of symbolism on French modernist poetry.
• Construction of memory within African American autobiographies.
• Representation of narrative time in Latin American fiction.
• Social injustice theme during early 20th-century American drama.
• The relationship between social identity and language during postcolonial fiction.
• Values and beliefs representations as presented by ancient Greek mythology.

Literature Research Paper Topics for Students

For students looking for research topics in literature for study, there is a wide variety of options available. Depending on the level and course, they might focus on analyzing particular authors, literary movements, or genres, exploring the use of language throughout history, or examining representations of gender, race, and class in books. You also need to study literary devices and their effects on readers when exploring literary topics for a research paper . Below are examples of literature topics for different students:

Literature Research Paper Topics for High School

These are literature topics to research, specifically tailored to high school students. They involve exploring the influence of literary work on culture, analyzing a single author's literary movement or genre, or investigating language use throughout history. This list of research topics in literature for high school provides an original starting point for your literary project!

• Racism as presented during early 20th-century works.
• Social criticism within contemporary dystopian young adult fiction.
• Folklore's impact on contemporary poetry.
• Representation of nature in modern literature.
• Spirituality as portrayed by reformist literature.
• Social class representation within postmodern novels.
• The theme of environment in romantic works.
• Colonialism representation during postcolonial works.
• Effects of pop culture on modern fiction.
• Mental illness representation during 19th-century poetry.
• The role of music and art in early 20th-century literary texts.
• Literature's influence on identity building in minority cultures.
• Family dynamics in postmodern poetry.
• Family and community representations during gothic fiction.
• Literature as a tool for social change.

Literature Research Paper Topics for College Students

These titles entail more serious and in-depth scrutiny than a high school literary paper. A college-level literary research paper topic provides students with a broader range of analysis. It encompasses looking at literature as a form of political commentary to get its relationship with other art forms. Below are literature research paper topics for college students:

• Identity construction during postmodern poetry.
• Alienation themes within modern fiction.
• Gender role representations in Shakespearean tragedies.
• The relationship between narrative and memory within Holocaust literature.
• Nature's role in contemporary American fiction.
• Authority and subversion themes during the early 20th-century drama.
• Race, class, and gender representation within African American autobiographies.
• Social media influence the literary language.
• The relationship between social identity and language in postcolonial fiction.
• Values as presented by ancient Greek mythology .
• Psychological distress during 20th-century war narratives.
• Attitudes towards mental illness as portrayed by gothic texts.
• The relationship between science and literary imagination.
• Social hierarchy within Victorian novels.
• Religion's role in southern American literature.

Literary Research Paper Topics by Categories

Research paper topics for literature by category offer an exclusive and stimulating perspective on literary analysis worldwide. They can be grouped into literary movements, authors, and genres, as well as topics related to language and history. If you are interested in European, American, and English literature topics, these ideas will help you find the perfect literary research paper topic for your project.

World Literature Research Paper Topics

Research paper topics for world literature allow students to explore literary works from any part of the world, including texts written in English, Spanish, and other languages. Below is a list that provides original world literature research topics for any project:

• Impact of colonialism on native literary traditions.
• Gender representation within French literature.
• Religion's role within literary works from Latin America.
• Symbolism in English poetry from the 19th century.
• Themes of nationalism within modern Russian fiction.
• Power and politics in Spanish plays.
• Conflict as portrayed by African literature.
• The role of folklore within Chinese fiction.
• Themes of cultural identity in Japanese drama.
• Family ties in Italian poetry.
• Symbolism in Arabic literature.
• Social class representation in Indian novels.
• Impact of globalization on middle eastern fiction.
• Human rights themes by contemporary Australian poets.
• Western representations of other cultures in modern literature.

American Literature Research Paper Topics

In research paper topics for American literature, you examine the works of early American writers and poets, as well as those from later periods. Here is a list of American literature topics for your paper!

• Attitudes towards race in early American novels.
• Colonialism during 19th-century poetry.
• Freedom and rebellion themes within revolutionary literature.
• The emergence of gothic horror in American fiction.
• Impact of transcendentalism on American writing.
• Gender representation during pre-civil war literature .
• Themes of morality in post-World War II American fiction.
• Role of religion during 19th-century American novels.
• Slavery and its abolition by American poets.
• Social class representation during early American drama.
• Themes of identity in postmodern American fiction.
• Industrialization of 20th-century literature.
• War and conflict representation by contemporary American playwrights.
• Racism in 20th-century American novels.
• Assimilation and immigration themes in post-World War II American literature.

British Literature Research Paper Topics

In British literature research topics, you explore works from early British writers to contemporary authors. Ideally, research topics for British literature should encompass works written by authors from all eras, including Medieval, Renaissance, and modern. Here is a list of English literature research paper topics for your perfect essay!

• Gender representation during medieval English literature.
• Colonialism's effects on British literary works during the 18th century.
• Influence of British writers on modern literature.
• The role of nature in 18th-century British novels.
• Interpretations of classic British literary works.
• Social class representations during 19th-century British fiction.
• Themes of love and romance within Victorian literature.
• Industrialization's impact on 20th-century British novels.
• Patriotism and nationalism during post-World War II literary work.
• Multiculturalism representations in postmodern British fiction.
• Effects of censorship on British authors during the 20th century.
• Mental health representation in modern British poetry.
• Representation of historical events in British works throughout time.
• Technological representations in 21st-century British Novels.
• Intersectionality by contemporary British playwrights.

Did you know that you can generate a bunch of title ideas using our Research Paper Topic Generator ?

European Literary Research Paper Topics

European literature research paper topics offer an excellent opportunity to explore the works of European authors. They allow you to study and analyze the academic traditions and cultures of some of Europe's most influential writers. You can find such literary research paper topic ideas in the list below:

• Representations of the European monarchy in classic novels.
• Censorship effects on European authors during the 20th century.
• Impact of World War II on European authors.
• Gender representations within Victorian poetry.
• Literary works from different countries and cultures in Europe.
• Use of language, symbolism, and imagery to explore themes in European texts.
• Themes of nature and environment within German short stories.
• Technology representations in late Victorian poetry.
• Popular culture's influence on European literary movements from the 20th century to modern times.
• Impact of European literary works on people's perceptions of other cultures.
• Use of supernatural elements within European gothic writings from the 18th to 19th centuries.
• Identity representations in French social realism texts.
• Technology's impact on contemporary European literary works.
• Family and community representations during post-war theater.
• Themes of justice and injustice within European dystopian texts.

Literature Research Paper Ideas by Periods

You may aspire to find literature topics for research papers from different historical periods. This involves studying literature from various cultures or eras, such as ancient, medieval, or modern ones. These ideas also cover the examination of themes and symbols used in writings and scrutinizing characters and their development through various works. Other topics include the exploration of texts from a political perspective in relation to their historical contexts. These ideas contain some literary research topics from various periods:

Ancient Literary Research Paper Topics

There are many exciting options to consider if you're looking for ancient literature research paper topics. They can be studied with regard to history, culture, art, and philosophy. To gain more insight, you could explore the works of Homer, Henry James, Virgil, and the Mahabharata, or old Egyptian writings, such as The Iliad and Odyssey . Below is a list of ancient literature topics for research you can choose from.

• Gender representations in epic poetry.
• Role of mythology and religion in ancient texts.
• Influence of philosophy on ancient literature.
• Power representations in Greek tragedy.
• Heroism by early epic authors.
• Love and marriage in ancient texts.
• Ancient narratives of war and conflict.
• Slavery representations in Roman poetry.
• The role of music and art in classical literature.
• Nature representations in ancient texts.
• Politics' influence on Greek comedy.
• Family and community representations in roman narratives.
• Characters' representation in epic poetry.
• The role of technology in early literary works.
• Representations of the divine in ancient texts.

Read more: History Research Topics for Students 

Medieval Literature Research Paper Topics

The medieval literary study provides a unique opportunity to explore literature research topics of the Middle Ages. From Beowulf to The Canterbury Tales , these works offer insights into this era's cultural beliefs and values. Here are such literary topics for research papers to focus on:

• Representations of medieval chivalry in literary works.
• Religion's influence on medieval works.
• Gender representation in medieval texts.
• The role of magic in medieval narratives.
• The impact of feudalism on medieval texts.
• Honor and loyalty representations by chivalric texts.
• The role of courtly love in medieval works.
• Knights and warriors' representations in literary works.
• Warfare representations in medieval texts.
• The role of education and learning in medieval literature.

Renaissance Literary Research Paper Topics

The Renaissance literature research paper ideas explore works of literature during the Renaissance era, which spanned from the 14th to the 17th century. They focus on the themes, authors, and literature of this period to provide a better understanding of how literary works have evolved within this timeframe and their impact on our current literature. Some of the most influential figures who contributed immensely to writings during this era were William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes. If you are interested in researching this period, you can consider a literature research paper topic from the list below:

• Love and romance representations in Renaissance texts.
• Science and technology in 16th-century literature.
• Class and social status representations in Renaissance literary works.
• Classical mythology in Renaissance poetry.
• Representations of family and community in Renaissance narratives.
• Effects of humanism on Renaissance literature in Europe.
• Imagery role by William Shakespeare .
• Representations of art, music, and theater in Renaissance texts.
• Politics' role in 16th-century literary texts.
• Nature representation by John Milton or Torquato Tasso.
• Exploration influence on Renaissance narratives.
• Influence of Renaissance literature on modern writing.
• Women's representation in literary texts by Anne Bradstreet or Aphra Behn.
• Magic and supernatural representations in literary works of Renaissance.
• Humanism and individualism themes within Renaissance literature.

Romantic Literature Research Paper Ideas

Romantic literature emerged during the late 18th century and flourished throughout the early 19th century in Europe. It is characterized by its focus on emotion and depictions of nature. This movement had a lasting impact on literary works and has been highly influential. Research topics in literature can explore the writings of authors such as Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and William Wordsworth. Here are some ideas related to romanticism:

• Nature representations in Romantic texts.
• The role of emotion as depicted in 19th-century literature.
• Influence of Romantic authors on modern literature and culture.
• Women's representation in Romantic narratives.
• Industrialization impact on 19th-century texts.
• Influence of religion and superstition in early Romantic texts.
• Use of technology to discuss themes in Romantic texts from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
• The role of education as portrayed by Romantic narratives.
• Character analysis and plot structure in gothic fiction.
• Nationalism and patriotism as represented by post-Napoleonic war poems.

Modernist Literary Research Paper Topics

Modern literature emerged during the early 20th century until the end of World War II. It is characterized by a rejection of traditional conventions and focused on experimentation with form. This movement had an unprecedented impact on literature research topics and is highly influential today. If you are looking for literary topics for research papers that focus on modernism, consider exploring the following:

• Nature representations by modern texts.
• Social inequality in 21st-century novels.
• Modernism's influence on current literature and culture.
• Climate change within contemporary fiction.
• Impact of social injustice on 20th-century literary works.
• Urbanization representations by modern literary texts.
• Education's influence on modernist narratives.
• Wealth and power in early modernist texts.
• Themes of urban life by Ezra Pound or Wallace Stevens.
• Modernism's impact on classical literature.
• Globalization themes within postmodern poetry.
• Multiculturalism themes in contemporary literary works.
• Mental health representations in modern British novels.
• Global conflict representation in modern fiction.
• The influence of psychoanalysis on modernist literature.

Current Literature Research Paper Ideas

Current literature paper topics can look at the latest trends. They include exploring contemporary works such as Harry Potter by J.K Rowling and Stardust by Neil Gaiman. These topics may also involve analyzing social media's effects on literary writings. If you are looking for current literary topics for a research paper, consider the following:

• Technological impact on literary works in the 21st century.
• Art, music, and theater in modern texts.
• Impact of conflict on recent literary works.
• Social injustice in 21st-century narratives.
• Racism, ethnicity, and slavery in contemporary texts.
• Wealth and power in recent literary works.
• Globalization themes in postmodern poetry.
• Urbanization in modern writings.
• Immigration within postmodern British novels.

In case you need more paper topics, feel free to browse our blog. We have a wide arsenal of ideas starting from philosophy research paper topics to education research paper topics .  

Bottom Line on Literature Research Paper Topics

Literature topics for research can explore a wide range of themes and works. Whether you are looking for visionary ideas about poetry, fiction, or books from different eras, there is no shortage of literature paper topics to choose from. To narrow down your focus and find the best idea for your project, consider researching literary movements, reading widely, and thinking about the areas that interest you most.  Literature topics for research papers should be chosen based on students' interests and areas of expertise. By conducting in-depth research, you will gain a greater appreciation for literary work and its impact on society. With this article as a guide, you can take the time to find a topic that speaks to you and create an engaging research paper.

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100 Best Literary Research Topics – Fresh Perspectives on Literature Pieces

Selecting the right literature topics for a research paper work can be challenging due to the wealth of literary works and themes available. To find the perfect topic, focus on your personal character interests, the scope of your assignment, and the availability of resources or requirements of American universities. Reflect on the literary periods, authors, or themes that captivate you, and investigate potential questions or ideas related to them. Seeking guidance from your instructor or peers can also be beneficial, as can browsing academic journals, literary critiques, or scholarly databases to discover trending literature research paper topics or ongoing debates in the literary and cultural field.

How to Understand If a Topic Is Good?

Choose literary topics for research paper works that genuinely interest you ensure there is a sufficient amount of primary and secondary sources, and contribute to the existing body of knowledge. You need to determine if literary research topics in history are suitable for your literary research paper, consider the factors: interest and engagement with the literary research topic, the scope and maintenance of the subject.

Test it with an Outline

You need to create a preliminary outline for your paper, organizing your ideas and potential arguments logically. Together with our research paper writing service , you gain the success results. In another way, you can concentrate on the text`s main points and reveal the literary research topics intricacy, pertinence, and scope.

Write a Thesis Statement

Craft a premise statement that encapsulates your central argument and offers a fresh perspective on your chosen literature research paper ideas to ensure it is neither overly broad. An effective premise statement should be clear, concise, and debatable, sparking further discussion and analysis, and if you feel troubled with managing this task our website writes for you any essay .

List of Literature Research Topics

When choosing literary research topics, consider exploring various spheres of interest that offer diverse subjects for examination. For instance, focus on the works of specific authors, the characteristics of a particular literary period, or the themes and poetry that recur across different eras. Delve into the representation of historical and social issues in literary research topics, such as gender roles, race, or mental health, and investigate how to make the list of the best research paper topics . By examining American literature research topics, you can find literature topics for research that resonates with your interests and contributes to the existing body of literary knowledge. Additionally, you may explore genres like science fiction or magical poetry, examining their impact on society and culture. Investigating the relationship between literature and other disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, or history, can also yield fascinating American or British lit research paper topics.

British Literature Research Paper Topics

You can investigate captivating elements of literary research paper topics through an array of research work topics. By scrutinizing distinct themes, genres, and historical eras, you can profoundly comprehend the multifaceted and diverse landscape of English literary research subjects and their impact on American authors. This exploration allows you to broaden your knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, and foster a genuine appreciation for the creative and intellectual contributions within the field of English literature research topics.

• Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Plays.
• Power Representation in Jane Austen’s Novels.
• Love and Marriage in John Donne’s Poetry.
• Gothic literature’s influence on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
• Imperialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
• Symbolism in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.
• Nature’s Role in William Wordsworth’s Poetry.
• Social Class in George Eliot’s Middlemarch.
• Supernatural Elements in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
• World War I’s Impact on Early 20th-Century Literature.

American Literature Topics

From iconic novels to influential authors, these literary research topics encompass the essence of American identity, history, and culture. Unravel the complexities of this vast literary landscape as you delve into themes of race, ethnicity, the American Dream, and more, uncovering the unique perspectives and voices that have shaped and defined American literature throughout the centuries.

• The American Identity in Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
• The American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
• The American Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.
• Race and ethnicity in James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain.
• The American Slavery in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
• Road Trip in Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
• Magical Realism in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.
• The American Civil Rights Movement’s Impact on 1960s American Literature.
• The American Religion in Flannery O’Connor’s works.
• The American West in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.

Science Fiction Literary Research Essay Topics

With these topics, you can delve into a myriad of literary research topics that explore the depths of futuristic societies, alternate realities, and advanced technology. Unearth the themes, symbolism, and socio-political commentary embedded within these stories, fostering a deeper appreciation for the power and allure of sci-fi literary research topics.

• Artificial Intelligence in Asimov’s “I, Robot” and Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”
• Dystopia in Orwell’s “1984” and Huxley’s “Brave New World.”
• Alienation in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” and Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle.”
• Time Travel in Wells’ “The Time Machine” and L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.”
• Genetic Engineering in Huxley’s “Brave New World” and Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake.”
• Environmentalism in Herbert’s “Dune” and Butler’s “Parable of the Sower.”
• Virtual Reality in Gibson’s “Neuromancer” and Stephenson’s “Snow Crash.”
• Post-apocalyptic settings in McCarthy’s “The Road” and Mandel’s “Station Eleven.”
• Identity in Le Guin’s “The Left Hand of Darkness” and Delany’s “Dhalgren.”
• Extraterrestrial Life in Clarke’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” and Lem’s “Solaris.”

High School Literary Research Essay Topics

These subjects should be carefully selected for their relevance and appeal, they provide the perfect foundation for developing critical thinking, analytical skills, and a love for literature. Discover thought-provoking issues relevant to high school readers with these high school literary research topics. By delving into contemporary literary research topics that resonate with teenage audiences, you can foster a greater appreciation for literature and its impact on young minds.

• Mental Illness in Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” and Plath’s “The Bell Jar.”
• Symbolism in Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” and its relevance today.
• Identity and Self-Discovery in Baldwin’s “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and Walker’s “The Color Purple.”
• Racism and inequality in Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.”
• Nature and Symbolism in Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” and Frost’s works.
• Isolation and Loneliness in Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
• Gender Roles in Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” and Chopin’s “The Awakening.”
• Magical Realism in Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and Allende’s “The House of the Spirits.”
• War and its effects in Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” and Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
• The American Dream in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” and Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.”

Modernist Literature Research Paper Topics

Discover interesting literature topics of self-discovery, rebellion, and experimental styles that resonate with teenagers, while gaining an understanding of the cultural and historical influences that fuelled this revolutionary movement. Fell the groundbreaking literary movements in these modernist research topics in literature and chose the best one for you.

• Fragmentation in Modernist Literature: Joyce’s Ulysses and Eliot’s The Waste Land.
• Modernist Literature and Trauma: Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.
• World War I’s Influence on Modernist Literature: Owen’s Works and Ford’s Parade’s End.
• Time in Modernist Literature: Proust’s In Search of Lost Time and Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury.
• Women’s Role in Modernist Literature: Barnes’ Nightwood and Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea.
• Identity in Modernist Literature: Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain and Ellison’s Invisible Man.
• Stream of Consciousness in Modernist Literature: Mansfield’s “Bliss” and Woolf’s To the Lighthouse.
• Modernist Literature and the City: Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro” and Eliot’s “Preludes.”
• Modernist Literature and the Movement: Pound’s The Cantos and H.D.’s Trilogy.
• The “Lost Generation” in Modernist Literature: Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

Renaissance Literature Research Paper Topics

The era, characterized by a remarkable resurgence in culture, art, and intellectual pursuits, has impacted the trajectory of human civilization. Uncover the rich tapestry of the revival literary research topics for your literary research paper.

• Love in Shakespeare’s Sonnets
• Women in Twelfth Night and the Duchess of Malfi
• Humanism in Utopia and Petrarch’s Sonnets
• Fate in Romeo and Juliet and Doctor Faustus
• Courtly Love in the Faerie Queene and Astrophil and Stella
• Classical Themes in Julius Caesar and Dido, Queen of Carthage
• Reformation in Paradise Lost and the Temple
• Power in Macbeth and The Revenger’s Tragedy
• Revival Influence on Hamlet and the Spanish Tragedy
• Kingship between Richard II and Edward II

Controversial Literature Research Paper Topics

Debate and analyze character issues in literature with these controversial literature literary research topics. These subjects allow you to explore literary research topics, ethical dilemmas, and social commentaries within literary works, providing an opportunity for intellectual growth and open dialogue.

• Mental Illness Portrayal in Literature: Helpful or Harmful?
• Cultural Appropriation in Literature Ethics.
• Racial Slurs Use in Literature Controversy.
• Trigger Warnings in Literature and Free Speech Impact.
• Censorship Effects on Literature and Society.
• Authorial Intent Ethics in Literary Interpretation.
• Sexuality Representation in Literature Controversy.
• Violence against Women’s Portrayal in Literature and Society’s Impact.
• Cancel Culture’s Impact on Literature and Publishing.
• Literary Classics Value Debate in Modern Society.

World Literature Research Topics

Embark on a literary journey around the globe with these World literary research topics.

• War Depiction in Global Literature
• Novel Evolution in Different Cultures
• Immigration and Diaspora in Literature
• Love and Relationships in Global Literature
• Colonialism’s Impact on Global Literature
• Mythology in Global Literature
• Cultural Identity in International Literature
•  Political Oppression and Resistance Themes
• Eastern Philosophy’s Influence on Western Literature
• Spirituality and Religion in Global Literature

Literature Research Paper Topics for Students

These literary research topics are designed to challenge students’ critical thinking and analytical skills while fostering a deeper appreciation for literature.

• Technology’s Impact on Contemporary Literature.
• LGBTQ+ Community Portrayal in Literature.
• Mental Health Representation in Young Adult Literature.
• Feminism’s Role in Shaping Contemporary Literature.
• Globalization’s Impact on Literature and Culture.
• Social Justice and Activism Themes in Modern Literature.
• Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary Literature.
• Postmodernism’s Influence on Contemporary Literature.
• Environment and Climate Change Representation in Literature.
• Science Fiction’s Role in Reflecting and Shaping Contemporary Society.

Modern Literature Research Paper Topics

Analyze the intricacies of modern literary research topics masterpieces for university students.

• Magic Realism in Garcia Marquez’s Works
• Morrison and Baldwin’s Literary Techniques
• Feminism in Alice Munro’s Short Stories
• Postmodernism in Don Delillo’s Novels
• Mental Illness in the Bell Jar and the Yellow Wallpaper
• Identity in Adichie and Lahiri’s Works
• Colonialism’s Impact on Achebe and Ngugi WA Thiong’O
• Stream of Consciousness in Mrs. Dalloway and Ulysses
• Masculinity in Hemingway’s Novels
• Memory Role in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Novels

Ancient Literature Research Topics

Delve into the origins of storytelling and literary research topics for your literary research paper. These literary research topics will allow you to investigate various themes, genres, and styles across different time periods, ultimately enhancing your appreciation for the transformative power of storytelling. 

• Women in Greek Tragedies
• Mythology in Homer & Virgil Epic
• Poetry: Greece vs Rome
• Prophecy in Greek Tragedies
• Fate in Oedipus Rex & Macbeth
• Dreams in Egyptian Literature
• Gods in Mesopotamian Literature
• Love Poetry: India & China
• Oral Tradition in African Literature
• Karma in Mahabharata 

In conclusion, selecting literary research topics is an essential step in the writing process, as it sets the foundation for your entire paper. Explore various subjects within English, American, or global literature, and consider literary research topics such as gender roles, power representation, or the impact of historical events on literature discuss. Remember to choose literary research topics that genuinely interest you, as this will make the literature discussion and writing process more enjoyable and engaging. Test your literary research topics with an outline and a premise statement to ensure it is focused, specific, and manageable.

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Programmes & Qualifications

Cambridge igcse world literature (0408).

• Syllabus overview

Cambridge IGCSE World Literature encourages learners to explore literature from different countries and cultures. Through study of great novelists, poets and dramatists from around the world, learners acquire lifelong skills in interpreting and evaluating texts. They learn how to develop and communicate an informed personal response to literature. 

The syllabus has been designed to be flexible: schools and teachers can choose texts relevant to their learners' circumstances and teachers' own specialist interests. The aims of the syllabus are to develop learners' ability to enjoy, understand and respond to literature written in English or in English translation from different countries and cultures.

The syllabus year refers to the year in which the examination will be taken.

• -->2022-2024 Syllabus update (PDF, 149KB)
• -->2025-2027 Syllabus update (PDF, 144KB)

Syllabus updates

We review all of our syllabuses regularly to make sure they continue to meet the needs of our schools and are up-to-date with current thinking. We have updated this syllabus and all assessment materials for first examination in 2022.

How has the syllabus changed?

• updated the syllabus to emphasise our focus on World Literature, including the continuing availability of texts in translation
• updated the set texts lists. We will continue to include an interesting range of literature from around the world. Section 3 of the syllabus lists the set texts for examination in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Please make sure you consult the set text list for the relevant year of examination as texts can change from year to year.

How has the assessment changed?

• The Assessment Objectives (AOs) have changed and are now equally weighted at 25% for all tasks and across the syllabus. This is consistent with the approach taken across our suite of English qualifications and provides good progression to Cambridge International AS & A Level.
• The Oral Response task has been removed from Component 1: Coursework. Learners must now study one Drama text and one Prose text for coursework.
• Paper 2 format has changed. This paper will assess unseen poetry only. The question type has also changed.
• All learners will now study Poetry, Prose and Drama across the syllabus. Studying all three forms makes sure that learners have a well-rounded experience of the study of literature.
• We have made changes to the number of marks available and the weightings components.
• Marking criteria have been updated.

When do these changes take place?

The updated syllabus is for examination from June 2022 onwards. Please see the 2022-2024 syllabus above for full details.

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Tensions in World Literature pp 1–64 Cite as

Introduction: What Is World Literature?

• Weigui Fang 2  
• First Online: 29 September 2018

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2 Citations

The introduction by Fang Weigui discusses the key subject of the book, world literature, largely from the point of view of historical semantics, but it also touches upon the dialectics of the universal and the local, world literature and national literature, the question of “minor literatures,” literatures that appear as hybrid, “bi-national” or “cross-cultural,” and so on.

It also gives an overview of the approach chosen to the subject by the contributors to the book and offers some comments.

• World Literature
• Weltliteratur
• David DamroschDamrosch
• Frankfurter Ausgabe

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Cf. David Damrosch, What is World Literature? , Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003; Pascale Casanova, The World Republic of Letters , transl. by M.B. DeBevoise, Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2004 (Original version: Pascale Casanova: La République mondiale des lettres , Paris: Le Seuil, 1999); Emily Apter, The Translation Zone: A New Comparative Literature , Princeton: The Princeton University Press, 2006; John Pizer, The Idea of World Literature: History and Pedagogical Practice , Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006; Mads Rosendahl Thomsen, Mapping World Literature: International Canonization and Transnational Literatures , New York: Continuum, 2008; Dieter Lamping, Die Idee der Weltliteratur: Ein Konzept Goethes und seine Karriere , Stuttgart: Alfred Kröner, 2010; Peter Goßens, Weltliteratur. Modelle transnationaler Literaturwahrnehmung im 19. Jahrhundert , Stuttgart: Metzler, 2011; Franco Moretti , Distant Reading , London: Verso, 2013; Emily Apter, Against World Literature: On the Politics of Untranslatability , London: Verso, 2013; Alexander Beecroft, An Ecology of World Literature: From Antiquity to the Present Day , London: Verso, 2015.

Matthias Freise, “Four Perspectives on World Literature: Reader, Producer, Text and System”, in this book, p. 202.

Édouard Glissant, “Àpropos de Tout-Monde. Ein Gespräch mit Ralph Ludwig” (Aug. 17, 1994), quoted from: Tout-Monde: Interkulturalität, Hybridisierung , Kreolisierung : Kommunikations- und gesellschaftstheoretische Modelle zwischen “alten” und “neuen” Räumen , ed. by Ralph Ludwig and Dorothee Röseberg, Bern: Peter Lang, 2010, p. 10. In their interpretation of Tout-Monde , Ludwig and Röseberg have especially clarified the following point in an enlightening manner: Glissant, they say, is consciously embracing a view of the world that is replacing the negative and thus problematic tendencies inscribed in globalization by a positively characterized chaos model that makes possible non-hierarchical relationships between the elements of the Diverse, while the net is not rigid but a continuous process. A basic experience that serves as a starting point of Tout-Monde is discovered in the Babylonian multiplicity of communications and languages that is seen as liberated from the “odiousness of the Negative.” Seen abstractly and generalized in the form of a social model, Tout-Monde signifies exactly the repudiation of the identitaire , of hierarchically structured notions of culture, and of a closed, rigid social order. (R. Ludwig and D. Röseberg, “Einleitung” (Introduction), in: Tout-Monde: Interkulturalität …, ibidem, p. 9, 10.)

Cf. Martin Kern, on “Ends and Beginnings of World Literature,” in his Beijing talk. His essay will be published in the journal POETICA, Vol. 49, ISSN: 0303-4178; E-ISSN: 2589-0530 (forthcoming).

Franco Moretti , Distant Reading , ibidem, p. 46.

Cf. David Damrosch, What is World Literature? (2003); Franco Moretti , “Conjectures on World Literature,” in: New Left Review 1 (Jan.–Feb. 2000), pp. 54–68.

Franco Moretti , “Modern European Literature: A Geographical Sketch,” in: F. Moretti , Distant Reading , ibidem, p. 39.

Franco Moretti , “Conjectures on World Literature,” in: F. Moretti , Distant Reading , ibidem, p. 46.

This is a position shared by Theo D’haen when he states that “World literature […] is no longer literature that matters in Europe […].” Theo D’haen, “World Literature, Postcolonial Politics, French-Caribbean Literature”, in: Jean Bessière, Littératures francophones et politiques. Paris: Éditions Karthala, 2009, p. 64. See also: Cosmopolitanism and the postnational: literature and the New Europe. Ed. by César Domínguez and Theo D’haen. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

Franco Moretti , “Evolution, World-Systems, Weltliteratur,” in: Studying Transcultural Literary History , ed. by Gunilla Lindberg-Wada, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2006, p. 120.

Erwin Koppen, “Weltliteratur”, in: Reallexikon der deutschen Literaturgeschichte , ed. by Klaus Kanzog and Achim Masser, Berlin: de Gruyter, 1984, p. 815. – The German text says, “Wie die meisten Begriffe und Kategorien des Literaturwissenchaftlers, entzieht sich auch die Konzeption der Weltliteratur einer verbindlichen Definition oder präzisen inhaltlichen Festlegung.”

David Damrosch, What is World Literature? (2003), ibidem, p. 281.

David Damrosch, What is World Literature? (2003), ibidem, p. 4.

David Damrosch, What is World Literature? (2003), ibidem, p. 300.

Cf. Gesine Müller, “Einleitung: Die Debatte Weltliteratur  – Literaturen der Welt ”, in: Verlag Macht Weltliteratur: Lateinamerikanisch-deutsche Kulturtransfers zwischen internationalem Literaturbetrieb und Übersetzungspolitik , ed. by Gesine Müller, Berlin: Tranvía-Walter Frey, 2014, p. 7.

See David Damrosch, What is World Literature? (2003), p. 70.

Cf. Gesine Müller, “Einleitung: Die Debatte Weltliteratur  – Literaturen der Welt ”, ibidem, p. 7–8.

David Damrosch, “Frames for World Literature”, in this book, p. 95.

See Marián Gálik, “Some Remarks on the Concept of World Literature after 2000”, in this book, p. 156.

See David Damrosch, “World Literature and Nation-building”, in this book, pp. 311ff.

Pascale Casanova, The World Republic of Letters , Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2004, pp. 46–47.

Cf. Christopher Prendergast, “The World Republic of Letters,” in: Debating World Literature , ed. by Ch. Prendergast , London and New York: Verso, 2004, pp. 1–25.

Cf. Pascale Casanova, La République mondiale des lettres , Paris: Le Seuil, 1999, p. 64.

Manfred Koch, Weimaraner Weltbewohner. Zur Genese von Goethes Begriff “Weltliteratur” , Tübingen: Niemeyer, 2002.

Norbert Christian Wolf, “De la littérature nationale à la littérature mondiale: la trajectoire de Goethe ”, in: Champ littéraire et nation , ed. by Joseph Jurt, Freiburg: Frankreich-Zentrum, 2007, pp. 91–100.

Cf. Joseph Jurt, “Das Konzept der Weltliteratur – ein erster Entwurf eines internationalen literarischen Feldes?”, in: “Die Bienen fremder Literaturen”: der literarische Transfer zwischen Großbritannien, Frankreich und dem deutschsprachigen Raum im Zeitalter der Weltliteratur (1770–1850) , ed. by Norbert Bachleitner, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2012, pp. 31–32.

Alexander Beecroft, “World Literature without a Hyphen. Towards a Typology of Literary Systems,” in: New Left Review 54 (Nov.–Dec. 2008).

Alexander Beecroft, “World Literature without a Hyphen. Towards a Typology of Literary Systems,” ibidem, p. 100.

Regarding Beecroft’s idea of world literature, see also Alexander Beecroft, An Ecology of World Literature: From Antiquity to the Present Day . Ibidem.

Emily Apter, Against World Literature: On the Politics of Untranslatability , ibidem, p. 6.

Emily Apter, Against World Literature: On the Politics of Untranslatability , ibidem, p. 3.

Emily Apter, Against World Literature: On the Politics of Untranslatability , ibidem, p. 16.

Emily Apter, Against World Literature: On the Politics of Untranslatability , ibidem, pp. 320–342.

With regard to the wide-ranging and prolonged debate on world literature, see, in addition to the already mentioned scholarly works, Debating World Literature , ed. by Christopher Prendergast, London: Verso, 2004; The Routledge Companion to World Literature , ed. by Theo D’haen, David Damrosch and Djelal Kadir, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2012; World Literature in Theory , ed. by David Damrosch, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.

Cf. Gauti Kristmannsson, “Die Entdeckung der Weltliteratur”, in: Übersetzer als Entdecker: Ihr Leben und Werk als Gegenstand translationswissenschaftlicher und literaturgeschichtlicher Forschung , ed. by Andreas F. Kelletat and Aleksey Tashinskiy, Berlin: Frank & Timme, 2014, pp. 352–353.

Many scholars, thus for instance Bernard Franco, David Damrosch and Zhang Longxi in this book, refuse to acknowledge a Eurocentric tendency that may be implied in Goethe’s concept of literature, and they emphasize above all his cosmopolitanism.

See Hans J. Weitz , “‘Weltliteratur’ zuerst bei Wieland ”, in: Arc adia 22 (1987), pp. 206–208.

Cf. Wolfgang Schamoni, “‘Weltliteratur’ - zuerst 1773 bei August Ludwig Schlözer”, in: Arcadia 43, no. 2 (2008), pp. 288–298; Schamoni notes that the Scandinavian scholar Gauti Kristmannsson had pointed out already in 2007 in his essay “The Nordic Turn in German Literature” ( Edinburgh German Yearbook , vol. 1, 63–72) that Schlözer had used the term. The decisive quotation of Schlözer had been included and appraised decades earlier in Sigmund von Lempicki’s Geschichte der deutschen Literaturwissenschaft bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1920, new and expanded edition 1968, p. 418.

August Ludwig von Schlözer , Isländische Litteratur und Geschichte , Göttingen, Gotha: Dieterichs, 1773.

August Ludwig Schlözer, Isländische Litteratur und Geschichte , quoted from Wolfgang Schamoni, “‘Weltliteratur’ – zuerst 1773 bei August Ludwig Schlözer”, p. 289. In German, he said: Es gibt eine Isländische Litteratur aus dem Mittelalter, die für die gesamte Weltlittteratur eben so wichtig, und großenteils außer dem Norden noch eben so unbekannt, als die Angelsächsische, Irrländische, Rußische, Byzantinische, Hebräische, Arabische, und Kinesische, aus eben diesen düstern Zeiten, ist. Emphasis by me.

Cf. Gauti Kristmannsson, “Die Entdeckung der Weltliteratur”, pp. 359–360; Galin Tihanov, “The Location of World Literature,” in this book, p. 87.

Johann Gottfried Herder, “Ueber die neuere Deutsche Litteratur. Erste Sammlung von Fragmenten. Eine Beilage zu den Briefen, die neueste Litteratur betreffend (1767)”, in: Sämtliche Werke I , ed. by Bernhard Suphan, Berlin 1877, p. 148.

Cf. Manfred Koch, Weimaraner Weltbewohner , p. 89.

Manfred Koch, Weimaraner Weltbewohner , p. 116.

Cf. Pascale Casanova, The World Republic of Letters, ibidem, pp. 75–81.

Cf. Andreas F. Kelletat, Herder und die Weltliteratur. Zur Geschichte des Übersetzens im 18. Jahrhundert , Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1984.

Cf. Joseph Jurt, “Das Konzept der Weltliteratur - ein erster Entwurf eines internationalen literarischen Feldes?”, p. 23.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe (Frankfurt edition)], 40 vols., ed. by Friedmar Apel, Hendrik Birus [et al.], Frankfurt/Main 1986–1999, Vol. 14, p. 445.

Cf. Gauti Kristmannsson, “Die Entdeckung der Weltliteratur”, p. 355.

Bernard Franco, “Comparative Literature and World Literature: From Goethe to Globalization,” in this book, p. 68.

Fritz Strich, Goethe und die Weltliteratur , Bern: Francke, (1946) 1957, p. 31.

Egon Friedell, Kulturgeschichte der Neuzeit , München: dtv, 1976, Vol. 2, p. 883.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Menschliches, Allzumenschliches , in: F. Nietzsche , Sämtliche Werke. Kritische Studienausgabe , ed. by Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montinari, München: dtv, 1980, II, p. 448f. (The quoted passage says in German: Wie Beethoven über die Deutschen hinweg Musik machte, wie Schopenhauer über die Deutschen weg philosophierte, so dichtete Goethe seinen Tasso, seine Iphigenie über die Deutschen hinweg. Ihm folgte eine sehr kleine Schar Höchstgebildeter, durch Alterthum, Leben und Reisen Erzogener, über deutsches Wesen Hinausgewachsener: – er selber wollte es nicht anders.)

Dieter Lamping, Die Idee der Weltliteratur. Ein Konzept Goethes und seine Karriere , ibidem, p. 11. (In German, this passage maintains that Goethe “den Ausdruck bei verschiedenen Gelegenheiten ins Spiel gebracht und es dabei durchweg bei knappen Andeutungen belassen [hat]. Mustert man seine verstreuten Bemerkungen, so wird schnell deutlich, dass er Verschiedenes unter ‚Weltliteratur‘ verstand, wenngleich er ein Verständnis deutlich vorzog.”)

Dieter Lamping, Die Idee der Weltliteratur. Ein Konzept Goethes und seine Karriere , ibidem, p. 11. (In German: Diese Vieldeutigkeit mag mitunter etwas verwirrend sein, zumal wenn der Ausdruck selbst von Literaturwissenschaftlern in ganz unterschiedlichen Bedeutungen, aber immer unter Berufung auf Goethe verwendet wird. Seine Äußerungen über Weltliteratur lassen sich jedoch durchaus in eine sinnvolle Ordnung bringen.)

Those 20 instances where we see Goethe using the term Weltliteratur have been listed systematically in Fritz Strich, Goethe und die Weltliteratur , ibidem, pp. 369–372 and in Xavier Landrin, “La semantique historique de la Weltliteratur: Genèse conceptuelle et usages savants”, in: L’Espace culturel transnational , ed. Anna Boschetti, Paris: Nouveau Monde Editions, 2010, pp. 96–99.

Goethe was in close touch with the French journal Le Globe . It has been shown that 295 articles in his copy of Le Globe have doubtless been read by Goethe ; 202 of these articles are graced by his marginalia. See Heinz Hamm, Goethe und die französische Zeitschrift “Le Globe”. Eine Lektüre im Zeitalter der Weltliteratur , Weimar: Böhlau, 1998, p. 15. This remarkable French journal was only one of several that dominated the literary and artistic debate in France between the demise of Napoleon’s empire and the revolution of 1830. As John Boening notes, the period “between 1818 and the late 1820s” saw the formation of various conservative and liberal literary and artist groups in France. Thus, the royalist and Christian romantics clustered “around the Conservateur littéraire ” founded in 1820, with Victor Hugo and his brother as dominant figures, and around the equally conservative Muse française (founded in 1823), which motivated a “counter grouping by the liberals, including Stendhal” to start the journal Mercure du XIX siècle also in 1823. Le Globe was founded by liberals a year later. See John Boening, “The Unending Conversation. The Role of Periodicals in England and on the Continent during the Romantic Age”, in: Steven P. Sondrup, Virgil Nemoianu in collaboration with Gerald Gillespie (eds.), Nonfictional Romantic Prose: Expanding Borders. Amsterdam NL / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2004, p. 294. It was in Le Globe that Prosper Duvergier wrote that in the arts and literature, “as elsewhere, the Ancient Regime battles against the new.” See Benjamin Walton, “The Professional Dilettante: Ludovic Vitet and Le Globe ”, in: Roger Parker, Mary Ann Smart, Reading Critics Reading: Opera and Ballet Criticism in France from the Revolution to 1848, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 75. According to Walton, we can find many statements by contemporaries that underline “ Le Globe ’s seriousness and quality […], most famously from the ageing Goethe ,” who told Eckermann that he counted it “among the most interesting periodicals” and that he “could not do without it.” Walton points out that the journal, which was noted widely at the time for “its very fair-mindedness, combined with its eclecticism,” was compelled to remain “officially apolitical until the relaxation of government censorship in July 1828,” but nonetheless it “struck a distinctive political tone” very early on. He adds, “This perceptible stance was in part a consequence of the period, when politics infected every corner of intellectual production.” See Benjamin Walton, ibidem, p. 73.

Goethe : Werke [Weimarer Ausgabe (Weimar edition)], München: dtv, 1987, Vol. 11, p. 8. (In German: An Schuchardt diktirt bezüglich auf französische und Welt-Literatur.)

“Goethe an Cotta ” (26. 1. 1827), in: Goethe: Werke [Weimarer Ausgabe], Vol. 42, p. 27. (In German: Auf die ausländische Literatur muß man besonders jetzt hinweisen, da jene sich um uns zu bekümmern anfangen.)

“Goethe an Streckfuß ” (27. 1. 1827), in: Goethe : Werke [Weimarer Ausgabe], Vol. 42, p. 28. (In German: Ich bin überzeugt daß eine Weltliteratur sich bilde, daß alle Nationen dazu geneigt sind und deshalb freundliche Schritte thun.)

His journal On Art and Antiquity ( Über Kunst und Alterthum ), founded in 1816, was for a period of 16 years an important means of communication which made possible numerous contacts, but which also intended to exert a normative function. It was clearly his publication; two-thirds of the contributions were by him. Goethe saw it as an essential task of all the freshly thriving journals to dedicate themselves to the translation, interpretation and criticism of foreign literatures. In his journal, he did not only inform about foreign poesy, but he told his audience continually how German works were received abroad.

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 12, p. 356. (In German: Die Mittheilungen, die ich aus französischen Zeitblättern gebe, haben nicht etwa allein zur Absicht, an mich und meine Arbeiten zu erinnern, ich bezwecke ein Höheres, worauf ich vorläufig hindeuten will. Überall hört und lies’t man von dem Vorschreiten des Menschengeschlechts, von den weiteren Aussichten der Welt- und Menschenverhältnisse. Wie es auch im ganzen hiemit beschaffen seyn mag […], will ich doch von meiner Seite meine Freunde aufmerksam machen, daß ich überzeugt sei, es bilde sich eine allgemeine Weltliteratur, worin uns Deutschen eine ehrenvolle Rolle vorbehalten ist.)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 12, p. 952. (In German: Ich sehe mich daher gern bei fremden Nationen um und rate jedem, es auch seinerseits zu tun. National-Literatur will jetzt nicht viel sagen, die Epoche der Welt-Literatur ist an der Zeit und jeder muß jetzt dazu wirken, diese Epoche zu beschleunigen.)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 724–725. With regard to the early use of the concept of world literature, cf. Hendrik Birus, “Goethes Idee der Weltliteratur. Eine historische Vergegenwärtigung”, in: Weltliteratur heute. Konzepte und Perspektiven , ed. by Manfred Schmeling, Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 1995, p. 11–12, and the relevant passages in Bernard Franco, “Comparative Literature and World Literature: From Goethe to Globalization,” in this book.

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 13, p. 175. (In German: “Chinesische, Indische, Ägyptische Alterthümer sind immer nur Curiositäten,” notierte er. “Es ist sehr wohlgethan sich und die Welt damit bekannt zu machen; zu sittlicher und ästhetischer Bildung aber werden sie uns wenig fruchten.”)

“Goethe an Riemer” (25. 5. 1816), in: Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 7, p. 594. (In German: Verbleiben Sie in den griechischen Regionen, man hat’s nirgends besser; diese Nation hat verstanden aus tausend Rosen ein Fläschchen Rosenöl auszuziehen.)

Cf. Gauti Kristmannsson, “Die Entdeckung der Weltliteratur”, ibidem, p. 362.

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 12, p. 225. (In German: Aber auch bei solcher Schätzung des Ausländischen dürfen wir nicht bei etwas Besonderem haften bleiben und dieses für musterhaft ansehen wollen. Wir müssen nicht denken, das Chinesische wäre es, oder das Serbische, oder Calderon , oder die Nibelungen; sondern im Bedürfnis von etwas Musterhaftem müssen wir immer zu den alten Griechen zurückgehen, in deren Werken stets der schöne Mensch dargestellt ist. Alles übrige müssen wir nur historisch betrachten und das Gute, so weit es gehen will, uns historisch daraus aneignen.)

Wilhelm von Humboldt an Goethe (15. 5. 1821), in: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Briefwechsel mit Wilhelm und Alexander von Humboldt , ed. by Ludwig Geiger, Berlin: Bondy, 1909, p. 247f. (In German: Ich kann ihr keinen Geschmack abgewinnen, und bleibe immer dabei, daß das Griechische und Römische gerade die Höhe und Tiefe, die Einfachheit und die Mannichfaltigkeit, das Maß und die Haltung besitzt, an die nichts anderes je reichen wird, und über die man nie muß hinausgehen wollen [...].)

Wilhelm von Humboldt an Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker (Anfang 1826), in: Wilhelm von Humboldt, Briefe an F. G. Welcker , ed. by Rudolf Haym, Berlin: Gärtner, 1859, p. 134. (In German: ich hoffe Gelegenheit zu finden, es einmal recht ordentlich zu sagen, daß die Griechische Sprache und das Griechische Alterthum das Vorzüglichste bleiben, was je der menschliche Geist hervorgebracht hat. Was man vom Sanskrit rühmen mag, das Griechische erreicht es nicht, auch ganz einfach, als Sprache, nicht. Das wird immer mein Glaubensbekenntniss sein [...].)

Regarding the ways this concept is used in comparative literature, see Landrin, “La semantique historique de la Weltliteratur: Genèse conceptuelle et usages savants”, ibidem, pp. 79–95.

Cf. Joseph Jurt, “Das Konzept der Weltliteratur - ein erster Entwurf eines internationalen literarischen Feldes?”, ibidem, p. 43–44.

Cf. René Étiemble, Essais de littérature (vraiment) générale , Paris: Gallimard, 1974, p. 15.

See Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 938.

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 427. (In German: […] hoffnungsreiches Wort: das bey der gegenwärtigen höchst bewegten Epoche und durchaus erleichterter Communication eine Weltliteratur baldigst zu hoffen sey […].)

“Goethe an Zelter ” (4. 3. 1829), in: Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 11, p. 99.

The other term that he employs in such a context is communication, in the dual sense of material (economic) and intellectual exchange.

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 12, p. 866. (In German: Wenn nun aber eine solche Weltliteratur, wie bey der sich immer vermehrenden Schnelligkeit des Verkehrs unausbleiblich ist, sich nächstens bildet, so dürfen wir nur nicht mehr und nichts anders von ihr erwarten als was sie leisten kann und leistet.) Goethe went on by saying: was der Menge zusagt, wird sich grenzenlos ausbreiten und wie wir jetzt schon sehen sich in allen Zonen und Gegenden empfehlen; dies wird aber dem Ernsten und eigentlich Tüchtigen weniger gelingen.

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 12, p. 866–867. (In German: Die Ernsten müssen deshalb eine stille, fast gedrückte Kirche bilden, da es vergebens wäre der breiten Tagesfluth sich entgegen zu setzen; standhaft aber muß man seine Stellung zu behaupten suchen bis die Strömung vorüber gegangen ist.)

Karl Marx und Friedrich Engels, Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei , in: Marx -Engels -Werke, Vol. 4, Berlin: Dietz, 1974, p. 466. I quote the relevant passage from the English-language edition: “The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, […] has resolved personal worth into exchange value […] [F]or exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation. […] It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science , into its paid wage labourers. The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation . […] The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country. […] [I]t has drawn from under the feet of industry the national ground on which it stood. […] In place of the old wants, satisfied by the production of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes. In place of the old local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal inter-dependence of nations. And as in material, so also in intellectual production. The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. National one-sidedness and narrow-mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures, there arises a world literature. The bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all, even the most barbarian, nations into civilisation. […] It compels all nations, on pain of extinction, to adopt the bourgeois mode of production; it compels them to introduce what it calls civilisation into their midst, i.e., to become bourgeois themselves. In one word, it creates a world after its own image.” Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848), URL https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm , accessed Aug. 30, 2016. Emphasis by me.

Cf. Gauti Kristmannsson, “Die Entdeckung der Weltliteratur”, ibidem, p. 356–357.

David Damrosch, What is World Literature? , ibidem, p. 4.

Cf. Gauti Kristmannsson, “Die Entdeckung der Weltliteratur”, ibidem, p. 357.

Cf. Erich Auerbach, “Philologie der Weltliteratur”, in: Weltliteratur: Festgabe für Fritz Strich zum 70. Geburtstag , ed. by Walter Muschg and Emil Staiger, Bern: Francke, 1952, p. 39–50.

Hendrik Birus, “Goethes Idee der Weltliteratur. Eine historische Vergegenwärtigung”, ibidem, p. 11. This “communicative dimension of the term world literature as used by Goethe ” has been emphasized especially by Peter Weber, “Anmerkungen zum aktuellen Gebrauch von ‘Weltliteratur’”, in: Günther Klotz, Winfried Schröder and Peter Weber (eds.), Literatur im Epochenumbruch. Funktionen europäischer Literaturen im 18. und beginnenden 19. Jahrhundert , Berlin, Weimar 1977, p. 533–542, especially p. 536–539.

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 957. When Goethe spoke of such a “mehr oder weniger freyen geistigen Handelsverkehr,” this echoes in a way the free trade debate in England (where “most remnants of old dirigisme were gradually removed from the 1820s,” see Lars Gustafson, Nation, State and the Industrial Revolution: The Invisible Hand. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2009, p. 86). And it anticipates the connection that Marx and Engels established in 1848 between a bourgeoisie that “got the upper hand,” free trade, Western bourgeois commercial penetration of the world market, and world literature.

Cf. Hans-Joachim Schrimpf, Goethes Begriff der Weltliteratur , Stuttgart: Metzler, 1968, p. 45–47.

Cf. Conrad Wiedemann, “Deutsche Klassik und nationale Identität. Eine Revision der Sonderwegs-Frage”, in: Klassik im Vergleich. Normativität und Historizität europäischer Klassiken , ed. by Wilhelm Vosskamp, Stuttgart: Metzler, 1993, p. 562.

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 491. (In German: Diese Zeitschriften, wie sie nach und nach ein größeres Publikum gewinnen, werden zu einer gehofften allgemeinen Weltliteratur aufs Wirksamste beitragen. Goethe added, daß nicht die Rede sein könne, die Nationen sollen überein denken, sondern sie sollen nur einander gewahr werden, sich begreifen und, wenn sie sich wechselseitig nicht lieben mögen, sich einander wenigstens dulden lernen.)

Dieter Borchmeyer, “Welthandel - Weltfrömmigkeit - Weltliteratur. Goethes Alters-Futurismus” (Festvortrag zur Eröffnung des Goethezeitportals in der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München am 19.01.2004). p. 3; see Goethezeitportal. URL: http://www.goethezeitportal.de/db/wiss/goethe/borchmeyer_weltliteratur.pdf , accessed Aug. 31, 2016.

Dieter Borchmeyer, “Welthandel – Weltfrömmigkeit – Weltliteratur. Goethes Alters-Futurismus,” ibidem, p. 3. (In German: Deutlich ist hier wie immer, daß Weltliteratur für Goethe noch nichts Erreichtes ist, daß sie nicht nur die Vertrautheit des Gebildeten mit der Tradition fremdsprachiger Poesie meint - sie gab es schon seit Jahrhunderten -, also weder die Gesamtheit noch den kanonischen Höhenkamm der Nationalliteraturen bezeichnet, in welchem Sinne Goethes Begriff oft mißverstanden wird. Seine „Statuierung der Weltliteratur“ ist weder eine kumulative noch qualitative Bestandsaufnahme, sondern Ankündigung eines „Gehofften“, die Utopie einer erst in Ansätzen vorhandenen, noch zu „bildenden“ gemeinsamen nationenübergreifenden Literatur – die modern gesagt aus der Interaktion der Literaturproduzenten hervorgeht und ein neues Ethos weltweiten gesellschaftlichen Zusammenwirkens fördert.)

In his essay “Die Entdeckung der Weltliteratur” (p. 350), Gauti Kristmannsson has criticized the fact that most recently published research has failed to deal in more detail “with the immense theoretical works of translation science produced during the last decades.” He added, “It does not suffice to point, here and there, to Walter Benjamin and George Steiner, before speaking extensively about world literature and translation.”

In: Wolfgang Runkel, “Im Wort stehen”, in: Die Zeit , No. 43, 10/1997, p. 14.

David Damrosch, “Frames for World Literature,” in this book, p. 95.

William Franke, “World Literature and the Encounter with the Other: A Means or a Menace?” in this book, p. 139.

Regarding the following, cf. Joseph Jurt, “Das Konzept der Weltliteratur - ein erster Entwurf eines internationalen literarischen Feldes?”, ibidem, p. 37.

“Goethe an Carlyle ” (20. Juli 1827), in: Goethe Werke (Weimarer Ausgabe), Vol. 42, p. 270. (In German: Und so ist jeder Übersetzer anzusehen, daß er sich als Vermittler dieses allgemein geistigen Handels bemüht, und den Wechseltausch zu befördern sich zum Geschäft macht. Denn, was man auch von der Unzulänglichkeit des Übersetzens sagen mag, so ist und bleibt es doch eins der wichtigsten und würdigsten Geschäfte in dem allgemeinen Weltwesen.)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 428. (In German: Goethe betont aber nicht nur den Gewinn, den die Übersetzung für die Kultur bringt, in die übersetzt wird, sondern auch den Gewinn, den der neue Blick der Übersetzung für die Kultur bringt, aus der übersetzt wird. Diese fremde Perspektive bringt eine Auffrischung der eigenen Texte, die einem zu vertraut sind: „Eine jede Literatur ennüyirt sich zuletzt in sich selbst, wenn sie nicht durch fremde Theilnahme wieder aufgefrischt wird. Theilnahme can be understood in the sense of Anteilnahme (emotional and intellectual involvement) and in the sense of participation .)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 949. (In German: In England hat […] Soane meinen Faust bewunderungswürdig verstanden und dessen Eigenthümlichkeiten mit den Eigenthümlichkeiten seiner Sprache und den Forderungen seiner Nation in Harmonie zu bringen gewusst.)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 490. (In German: Nun aber trat es mir auf einmal in der Sprache Shakespeare’s entgegen, die große Analogie zweyer vorzüglicher Dichterseelen ging mir lebhaft auf; es war das erste frischer wieder, dasselbe in einem andern, und so neu, dass es mich wieder mit seiner völligen Kraft ergriff und die innerlichste Rührung hervorbrachte.) This may help to elucidate Franke’s view: “There is a necessary letting go of one’s own culture in order to let great works operate as world literature. Only when we receive our own literature back from others has it truly become world literature for us, too. But then it comes back to us radically changed in its fundamental significance.” (William Franke, “World Literature and the Encounter with the Other: A Means or a Menace?” in this book, p. 139.)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 935. (In German: denn eben diese Bezüge vom Originale zur Übersetzung sind es ja, welche die Verhältnisse von Nation zu Nation am allerdeutlichsten aussprechen und die man zu Förderung der vor- und obwaltenden Weltliteratur vorzüglich zu kennen und beurtheilen hat.)

Cf. Fawzi Boubia, “Goethes Theorie der Alterität und die Idee der Weltliteratur. Ein Beitrag zur neueren Kulturdebatte”, in: Gegenwart als kulturelles Erbe , ed. by Bernd Thum, München: Iudicium, 1985, p. 272.

Fritz Strich, Goethe und die Weltliteratur , ibidem, p. 11. (In German: die Erkenntnis der allgemeinen, ewigen Menschlichkeit als des Bandes der Völker […].)

Fritz Strich, Goethe und die Weltliteratur , ibidem, p. 51. (In German: Es ist der allgemeinen Menschlichkeit, in der die reine Quelle der Weltliteratur zu finden ist, eine allgemein menschliche Kunst und Wissenschaft […].)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 12, p. 223. (In German, he said that the Chinese […] denken, handeln und empfinden fast ebenso wie wir, und man fühlt sich sehr bald als ihresgleichen […].)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 433. (In German: durch Nationalität und Persönlichkeit hin jenes Allgemeine immer mehr durchleuchten und durchscheinen sehen.)

Goethe , Sämtliche Werke. Briefe, Tagebücher und Gespräche [Frankfurter Ausgabe], Vol. 22, p. 964. (In German he said that poetry is: weltbürgerlich und um so mehr interessant als sie sich national zeige.)

David Damrosch, “Frames for World Literature,” in this book, p. 94.

See Fawzi Boubia, “Goethes Theorie der Alterität und die Idee der Weltliteratur: Ein Beitrag zur neueren Kulturdebatte”, ibidem, p. 279–296.

Martin Kern, on “Ends and Beginnings of World Literature,” ibidem.

Erich Auerbach, “Philologie der Weltliteratur,” ibidem, p. 39. (In German: damit wäre der Gedanke der Weltliteratur zugleich verwirklicht und zerstört.)

Martin Kern, “Ends and Beginnings of World Literature,” ibidem.

Fritz Strich, Goethe und die Weltliteratur , ibidem, p. 14.

Focused on this theme, a conference took place on Nov. 13 and 14, 2014 at the Justus Liebig University in Gießen. It was entitled “Slavische Literaturen der Gegenwart als Weltliteratur. Hybride Konstellationen.” On the recent development of Slavic literatures, see Die slavischen Literaturen heute , ed. by Reinhard Lauer, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2000 (Opera Slavica NF 36).

Cf. Marián Gálik, “Some Remarks on the Concept of World Literature after 2000,” in this book, p. 164, footnote 9; cf. also Ivo Pospíšil and Miloš Zelenka (eds.), Centrisme interlittéraire des littératures de l’Europe centrale , Brno: Masarykova universita, 1999; Dionýz Ďurišin and Armando Gnisci (eds.), Il Mediterraneo. Una rete interletteria , Roma: Bulzoni Editore, 2000. See also: Armando Gnisci, Studi europei e mediterranei , Roma: Bulzoni, 2008.

Hugo Dyserinck, Komparatistik. Eine Einführung (1977), Bonn: Bouvier, 1981, p. 70. (In German, Dyserick’s text referred to Ďurišin’s hypothesis of a Synthese der sozialistischen Literatur, in order to then speak of a Modell der multinationalen Einheit von einzelliterarischen Entitäten in einem supranationalen Rahmen […].)

Matthias Freise, “Four Perspectives on World Literature: Reader, Producer, Text and System,” in this book, p. 191.

Gnisci writes that it is necessary to oppose “the universal circulating of injustice, discrimination and oppression that is called ‘global market & unified thought’” (“la circolare universale dell’ingiustizia, della discriminazione e dell’oppressione che si chiama ‘mercato globale & pensiero unico’”). Armando Gnisci, Una storia diversa . Roma: Meltemi, 2001, p. 8.

See Armando Gnisci, Una storia diversa . Ibid., p. 8.

“La letteratura delle migrazione e un fenomeno che interessa i mondi e i rapporti tra i mondi del mondo della fine del XX secolo dell’era cristiana e dell’inizio del XXI. […] Un fenomeno che si puo cogliere e studiare, scorgere e definire, assecondare e concorrerne la corsa, solo se si possiede e si pratica una poetica interculturale.” (“Literature of migration is a phenomenon that concerns the worlds and relations between worlds of the late twentieth century of the Christian era and of the early twenty-first century. […] A phenomenon that one can only get hold of and study, decipher and define, support and accompany in its course if one possesses and practices an intercultural poetics.”) Armando Gnisci, Creolizzare l’Europa: Letteratura e migrazione . Roma: Meltemi editore, 2003, p. 8. Such an intercultural poetics also implies that we must tackle “the theme of identity or rather, deconstruction of identity.” Franca Sinopoli, “Migrazione/letteratura: due proposte di indagine critica”, in: http://ww3.comune.fe.it/vocidalsilenzio/sinopoli.htm . Accessed Jan. 12, 2017. Franca Sinipoli collaborated with Armando Snisci on several books on migrant literature and also on the literature of the world/world literature, thus La letteratura del mondo nel XXI secolo , Milano: Mondadori, 2010.

Armando Gnisci, Creolizzare l’Europa: Letteratura e migrazione . Roma: Meltemi editore, 2003. Gnisci has tackled the “literature of migration” and of migrants in a number of books. See also: Armando Gnisci, Nora Moll, Diaspore europee & lettere migranti: Primo Festival Europeo degli Scrittori Migranti, Roma, giugno 2002 . Roma: Edizioni Interculturali, 2002; Armando Gnisci, Nuovo planetario italiano: geografia e antología della letteratura della migrazione in Italia e in Europa . Troina: Città Aperta Ed., 2006. His book La letteratura italiana della migrazione (Roma, 1998) was perhaps the first one in Europe on this subject of literature of migrants living in (at least) two “worlds.”

Cf. the “Conference Manual” of the above-mentioned conference on “Slavische Literaturen der Gegenwart als Weltliteratur. Hybride Konstellationen,” and Reinhard Lauer (ed.), Die slavischen Literaturen heute . Ibidem.

Cf. David Damrosch, What is World Literature?, ibidem; Ottmar Ette, Über Lebenswissen. Die Aufgabe der Philologie , Berlin: Kadmos, 2004; Mads Rosendahl Thomsen, Mapping World Literature: International Canonization and Transnational Literatures . London: Continuum, 2008.

Dieter Lamping, Die Idee der Weltliteratur. Ein Konzept Goethes und seine Karriere , ibidem, p. 66. (In German, the author speaks of the rückwärtsgewandten “altdeutsch patriotischen” Kunst.)

Peter Goßens, Weltliteratur. Modelle transnationaler Literaturwahrnehmung im 19. Jahrhundert , ibidem, p. 24. (In German: Dieser Ruhm, der auf handwerklichem Können und dem unterhaltenden Wert eines literarischen Werkes beruht, ist vergänglich und für den Gedanken der Weltpoesie nicht weiter von Bedeutung. Entscheidend ist hier vielmehr die Frage, ob es dem Dichter und seinem Werk gelingt, die nationalkulturellen Grenzen, von denen seine literarische wie künstlerische Praxis geprägt ist, zu überwinden.)

Peter Goßens, Weltliteratur. Modelle transnationaler Literaturwahrnehmung im 19. Jahrhundert , ibidem, p. 24. (In German: Nur mit dem frühzeitigen Blick auf seine transnationale Rolle hat der Dichter schon bei der Entstehung des Werkes die Möglichkeit, dieses zu einem Bestandteil der Weltliteratur zu machen.)

Cf. Bernard Franco, “Comparative Literature and World Literature: From Goethe to Globalization,” in this book, p. 68.

Cf. Gesine Müller, “Einleitung: Die Debatte Weltliteratur  – Literaturen der Welt ”, ibidem, pp. 10–11.

Marián Gálik, “Some Remarks on the Concept of World Literature after 2000,” in this book, p. 158.

Marián Gálik, “Some Remarks on the Concept of World Literature after 2000,” ibidem, p. 159.

Marián Gálik, “Some Remarks on the Concept of World Literature after 2000,” ibidem, p. 160.

Wang Ning , “For Whom Did the Bell Toll? – The Nationality and Worldliness of Comparative Literature,” in: Exploration and Free Views , 2016, No. 7, p. 38. (Original:王宁:《丧钟为谁而鸣——比较文学的民族性与世界性》,载《探索与争鸣》2016年第7期.)

Wang Ning , “For Whom Did the Bell Toll? – The Nationality and Worldliness of Comparative Literature,” ibidem, p. 37.

Liu Hongtao , “How to Become World Literature? Chinese Literature’s Aspiration and Way to ‘Step into the World’,” in this book, p. 291.

Liu Hongtao , “How to Become World Literature? Chinese Literature’s Aspiration and Way to ‘Step into the World’,” ibidem, pp. 291f.

On resentment in modern Chinese history, see Fang Weigui , “Nach der Verletzung des nationalistischen Prinzips – 150 Jahre Ressentiment in China,” in Minima Sinica. Zeitschrift zum chinesischen Geist , 2/2002, pp. 1–27. Also: Fang Weigui , “After the Nationalism Principle Has Been Humiliated: 150 Years of Chinese Resentment,” in: Journal of Social Sciences (05/2006), pp. 18–31.(Originally published in Chinese: 方维规:《民族主义原则损伤之后:中国一百五十年羡憎情结》,载《社会科学》2006年第5期,第18–31页.)

Lu Jiande , “The Interactions between the Local and the Universal,” in this book, p. 328.

Wang Ning , “For Whom Did the Bell Toll? – The Nationality and Worldliness of Comparative Literature,” ibidem, p. 38.

Wolfgang Kubin, “World Literature from and in China,” in this book, p. 302.

Wolfgang Kubin, “World Literature from and in China,” ibidem, p. 304.

William Franke, “World Literature and the Encounter with the Other: A Means or a Menace?,” in this book, p. 132.

William Franke, “World Literature and the Encounter with the Other: A Means or a Menace?,” ibidem, pp. 138f.

William Franke, “World Literature and the Encounter with the Other: A Means or a Menace?,” ibidem, p. 139.

Wolfgang Kubin, “World Literature from and in China,” ibidem, p. 305.

Fang Weigui , “The Tide of Literature,” in: Chinese Literary Criticism , 3/2016, p. 105.(Original:方维规:《文学的潮汐》,载《中国文学批评》2016年第3期.)

Martin Kern, “Who Decides the ‘United Nations of Great Books’,” in this book, p. 350.

Martin Kern, “Who Decides the ‘United Nations of Great Books’,” ibidem, pp. 350f.

Martin Kern, “Who Decides the ‘United Nations of Great Books’,” ibidem, p. 353.

Fang Weigui , “Einführung des Übersetzers”, in: Hugo Dyserinck, Komparatistik. Eine Einführung [Comparative Literature: An Introduction], translated to Chinese by Fang Weigui , Beijing Normal University Publishing Group, 2009, p. 13. (方维规“译序”, 狄泽林克:《比较文学导论》, 方维规译, 北京师范大学出版社, 2009年.)

Marián Gálik, “Some Remarks on the Concept of World Literature After 2000”, in this book, p. 148.

Liu Hongtao, “How to Become World Literature? Chinese Literature’s Aspiration and Way to ‘Step into the World’,” in this book, p. 291.

Zhang Longxi , “World Literature: Significance, Challenge, and Future”, in this book, p. 338.

Theo D’haen, “World Literature, Postcolonial Politics, French-Caribbean Literature”, in: Jean Bessière (ed.), Littératures francophones et politiques , Paris : Éditions Karthala, 2009, p. 65. As editor, Theo D’haen has come back to the problem of a possibly very different empirical importance of the world’s languages in the book Major versus Minor? Languages and literatures in a globalized world , edited by Theo D’haen, Iannis Goerlandt and Roger D. Sell. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2015.

Theo D’haen, “World Literature, Postcolonial Politics, French-Caribbean Literature”, ibid, p. 66.

Theo D’haen, “World Literature, Postcolonial Politics, French-Caribbean Literature”, ibid, p. 65.

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Fang, W. (2018). Introduction: What Is World Literature?. In: Fang, W. (eds) Tensions in World Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0635-8_1

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Joe Biden says he’s “outraged and heartbroken” after Israeli strike kills World Central Kitchen team

The president also reached out to chef josé andrés "to convey my deepest condolences for the deaths", by joy saha.

President Joe Biden said he is “outraged and heartbroken” after an Israeli airstrike reportedly  killed seven World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers in Gaza early Tuesday morning. In a statement made Tuesday , Biden hailed the workers as “brave and selfless” and called their deaths “a tragedy.”

The president continued, stating that Israel “has pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into why the aid workers’ vehicles were hit by airstrikes.” The workers were reportedly traveling in a “deconflicted zone” in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft skin vehicle when they were struck, WCK explained in a separate statement. The workers were from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine. 

“Even more tragically, this is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,” Biden added. “This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult — because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. 

“Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians. The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties.”

The United States, Biden said, is “pushing hard” for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. Back in March, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire after the US declined to use its veto power. The vote prompted Israeli officials and top advisers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a planned visit to Washington, widening the rift between two longtime allies amid Israel’s military operations in the Gaza strip.    

Elsewhere in his statement, Biden said he spoke with chef José Andrés to convey his deepest condolences and continued support for Andrés and “his team’s relentless and heroic efforts to get food to hungry people around the globe.” Andrés is the founder of WCK, the not-for-profit organization that provides fresh meals in response to humanitarian, climate and community crises, per its official website. Following the attack, Andrés wrote on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) that he is “heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family.”

Want more great food writing and recipes? Subscribe to Salon Food's newsletter , The Bite.

“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing,” his post continued. “It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.”

Andrés reiterated his sentiments in a New York Times guest essay published Wednesday. Specifically, he said the deaths of the seven aid workers were the “direct result” of Israeli policy in its conflict with Palestine.

“The seven people killed on a World Central Kitchen mission in Gaza on Monday were the best of humanity,” Andrés wrote, adding that Israel should “open more land routes for food and medicine” to Gaza. He also dismissed Netanyahu's apology for the strike, instead calling it a “direct attack” on aid workers who coordinated movements with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). "It was also the direct result of a policy that squeezed humanitarian aid to desperate levels,” Andrés said. 

“You cannot save the hostages by bombing every building in Gaza. You cannot win this war by starving an entire population,” he wrote.

about José Andrés:

• In a delectable turn, chef José Andrés bests Trump after lengthy feud
• Top chefs share their advice for cooking better meals at home in 2020
• José Andrés has no beef with Impossible Burgers, he just wants you to roast a whole cauliflower, too

Joy Saha is a staff writer at Salon. She writes about food news and trends and their intersection with culture. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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