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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!

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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 Writing

Literary Analysis Essay Topics

Interesting Literary Analysis Essay Topics & Ideas

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Good Literary Analysis Essay Topic Ideas

How to choose a literary analysis essay topic , tips to write a compelling literary analysis essay.

You’re a literature student, and you’ve been assigned to work on a literature analysis essay, but you’re not sure which topic to go for. It’s a tricky situation!

We understand that choosing a worthy topic for a literary analysis essay is never an easy task. But don’t you worry!

For literature students, we know the importance of drafting an excellent literary analysis essay . And for an exceptional essay, one needs a standout topic.

That’s why in this blog, we have gathered more than 200 exciting and interesting literary analysis essay ideas for you to get started. 

Read on! 

If you are a high school or a college student, and you’re having difficulty coming up with a good topic for your essay, choose from the topic list below.  

Literary Analysis Essay Topics Middle School

• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane 
• Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie
• Harry Potter’s powers in the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling 
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 
• Allegory in Lord Byron’s Vision of Judgement 
• Impact of Henry Miller and Gordon Byron’s life on their legacy 
• Comparative analysis of Dickens VS Thackeray 
• Canterbury Tales VS Decameron 
• The irony in Jerome’s stories
• Mood expressions in Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for High School

• The representation of justice in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
• Analyze the theme of friendship in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
• Explore the theme of identity in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
• The role of nature in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights
• Discuss the concept of heroism in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
• The use of foreshadowing in George Orwell's Animal Farm
• The representation of mental health in Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar
• The impact of war on individuals in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried
• The use of symbolism and allegory in Lois Lowry's The Giver
• Discuss the role of cultural identity in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club

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Literary Analysis Essay Topics For College

• Literary devices used in The Night by Elie Wiesel 
• The portrayal of the escape theme in Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer 
• The evolution of Celie's character in 'The Color Purple' by Alice Walker
• Jane Austen's critique of social class and marriage in Pride and Prejudice
• Shed light on the theme of chaos in Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Examine the historical events of World War II and their significance in Elie Wiesel's “Night.”
• The power of love in The Princess Bride by William Goldman 
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 
• Presentation of dreams in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 
• The Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence 

Literary Analysis Essay Prompts in Classics

• The portrayal of fate in Romeo and Juliet 
• The portrayal of love in Romeo and Juliet 
• Concept of mortality in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet 
• Misogyny in Hamlet 
• Witchcraft in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth 
• The tragic flaws and character development of King Lear in William Shakespeare's play
• The philosophical underpinnings of justice and governance in Plato's 'The Republic
• Exploring the theme of civil disobedience and consequences in Sophocles' 'Antigone’
• Exploring the conflict between illusion and reality in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
• The complex character relationships and moral dilemmas in 'Montana' by Larry Watson

Social Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Social injustice in Oliver Twist 
• Ethnicity in Burmese Days by Orwell
• Torture and injustice in Night by Elie Wiesel
• Vanity Fair - the culture of the 19th century according to Thackeray 
• The portrayal of the Civil Western Society in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
• The role of women in society in the 18th Century according to Jane Austen 
• Escape from society and its rules in Into the Wild by John Krakauer 
• The place of women in the society in Hamlet 
• Social status of women in the 17th century portrayed by Jane Austen in Emma 
• The wrongs of the modern society in Fight Club by Palahniuk 

War and Peace Topics for Literary Analysis Essay

• The portrayal of war and violence in the poems of Stephen Crane
• Literary works during WWI
• War setting in Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• The depiction of war in Homer’s plays
• Toni Morrison’s views on the civil war
• The war between demons and angels in Paradise Lost
• War in the Mother Courage and Her Child by Bertolt Brecht
• The portrayal of war and peace by George Orwell
• Concept of war in A Fable by Faulkner
• Steinbeck’s presentation of injustice in The Grapes of Wrath

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for Movies

• Comparison between the book and film “Sense and Sensibility.” 
• The portrayal of women in the “Little Women.” 
• Imitation of society and class in “The Great Gatsby.”
• The ideas of love and trust in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” 
• The good and evil in “A Wrinkle in Time.” 
• Feminity in Sense and Sensibility 
• The role of Saruman and Gandalf 
• Spirituality and religion in “Lord of the Flies.” 
• Oskar’s struggle to find a sense of home in “The Tin Drum.”
• Jealousy and male pride in “The Dead.” 

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for the Subject of Race

• “Waiting for the Barbarians” by J.M. Coetzee
• Race and Injustice in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird
• Race and fellowship in Melville’s Moby Dick
• “Under The Feet Of Jesus”
• Description of culture and tradition in “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid
• Interracial relationship in Back to Life by Wendy Coakley
• Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by McMorris
• The Art Of Love by Hong Ying
• Multiculturalism in the Captain Underpants series by Dev Pilkey
• Imitation of slavery in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

General Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Focalization techniques in When I Lay Dying
• Historical background of Duma’s Novels
• The use of imagery in Walt Whitman’s works
• Male and female characters in Beowulf
• Character analysis of Emmy in Vanity Fair
• Character analysis of Rebeca in Vanity Fair
• The complicated relationship between mother and daughter in Beloved
• Beauty standards in The Bluest Eye
• Comparison in the portrayal of death by Keats and Blake
• The idea of death in Renaissance literature

1984 Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Roles of genders in the novel
• What role does the Ministry of Truth play in the story?
• The theme of subversion of love in 1984
• The importance of memory in 1984
• Totalitarian society in George Orwell's 1984
• Analyze the role O'Brien plays in Winston's life
• An in-depth analysis of the novel 1984 by George Orwell
• How is the historical background reflected in 1984?
• Lack of privacy in 1984
• Propaganda and totalitarianism in Orwell’s “1984”

Hamlet Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• A theme of revenge in Hamlet
• Explore Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia
• Explore Hamlet’s mental state
• Discuss Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude
• Ghost in Hamlet
• Was Hamlet truly mad?
• Is Hamlet a villain or a hero?
• How does Shakespeare present the idea of madness in Hamlet?
• Is Hamlet’s love for Ophelia genuine?
• Tragedies in Hamlet VS Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Discuss the development of characters during the play
• Examine the role of women in Romeo and Juliet.
• What is the role of history in Romeo and Juliet?
• Analyze the Romeo and Juliet play
• Romeo and Juliet: Fate or Free Will?
• Why did Juliet warn of danger?
• Rosaline in Romeo and Juliet
• The love language of Romeo and Juliet
• A fate analysis essay on Romeo and Juliet
• The death of Romeo and Juliet

Macbeth Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Macbeth’s mental state
• The role of morality in the play “Macbeth”
• Describe the use of figurative language in Macbeth
• The symbolism of blood in Macbeth
• Applying imagery in Macbeth to advance the story
• Lady Macbeth character analysis
• What role did social hierarchies play in the play?
• Analysis of gender roles in Macbeth
• Role of women in Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• Is Lady Macbeth a dominant heroine?

Beowulf Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Why is Beowulf a work of Christian propaganda?
• What is the main idea of the story?
• The meaning of rings in Beowulf
• Which of Beowulf's fights was most heroic?
• How do Beowulf’s heroic qualities affect the story?
• Discuss the digression's role in Beowulf
• Analyze the significance of the mead hall in Beowulf.
• The difference between Beowulf and Modern-Day Heroes
• Beowulf’s personality traits in the epic story
• Analysis of Beowulf's symbols and their importance

Frankenstein Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Analyze what fire is trying to symbolize.
• Frankenstein: The theme of guilt
• Discuss any romantic elements in “Frankenstein”
• The family relationship in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Who is more human, Frankenstein or the monster?
• Romantic and gothic Frankenstein elements
• Sacrifices for ambitions in the novel Frankenstein
• Relationship between Victor and Frankenstein
• Romanticism in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
• Family Values and Frankenstein

The Great Gatsby Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Discuss the novel as a cautionary tale
• The meaning of wealth in the novel
• What is the novel’s title meaning?
• Explain how the novel demonstrates the characteristics of modernism
• Explore the symbolism of the “green light” in “The Great Gatsby”
• Discuss the role of women in the 1920s society as portrayed in “The Great Gatsby”
• Dreams are the main theme in “The Great Gatsby”
• What makes The Great Gatsby great?
• The Great Gatsby: Winter Thoughts
• What role does money play in Fitzgerald’s novel?

The Crucible Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Relate the Crucible to modern society
• Analyze the most important theme of 'The Crucible.'
• What are the dynamics of puritanism?
• Examine the importance of religion in 1953 in work
• The use of fear tactics in “The Crucible”
• John Hale in The Crucible
• Morality and The Crucible
• The Crucible Critical Lens
• The sinful confessions in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

Fahrenheit 451 Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• History of the Fireman in Fahrenheit 451
• Discuss the roles of both nature and technology play in Fahrenheit 451
• The use of Parallelism in Fahrenheit 451
• Analyze the three parts of Fahrenheit 451
• Discuss the dual image of fire in the novel
• How relevant is Fahrenheit 451 today?
• The role of Clarisse McClellan in “Fahrenheit 451”
• Analyze Mildred Montag
• Discuss the usage of literary quotes in Fahrenheit 451
• Examine the novel's main title

Literary Analysis Essay Topics For Othello

• Examine the portrayal of women in ‘Othello’
• A true reason for Othello's demise
• Consider Othello’s suicide
• The real motives of Iago in Othello
• Women's roles in Shakespeare’s Othello and Hamlet
• Gender roles and racism in “Othello”
• Discuss Othello's relationship
• Analysis of The Film “Othello” By Oliver Parker
• Explore themes of love and betrayal within Shakespeare's work of literature, “Othello”
• How was Emilia treated by the men in the play “Othello”?

Lord of The Flies Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• The symbolism of the conch shell and its significance in the novel
• Analyze the themes of civilization versus savagery in “Lord of the Flies”
• Explore the character development of Ralph and Jack in the story
• Discuss the role of fear and the “beast” in the boys' descent into chaos
• The portrayal of innate human nature and its consequences on the deserted island
• Analyze the role of Piggy and his glasses as symbols of knowledge and reason
• Analyze the use of irony in the story and its implications for the characters
• Discuss the themes of power and leadership in the struggle for dominance
• Examine the relationship between the boys' names and their personalities
• The role of the island's setting in shaping the events and characters of the story

Literary Analysis Essay Topics For The Catcher In The Rye

• Analyze the novel from the perspective of Bildungsroman
• Analyze literary devices used in “The Catcher in the Rye”
• Discuss the theme of death in the novel
• Analyze the theme of self-discovery from the novel
• Describe the story's topic of loneliness
• Analyze growing up in the novel
• Why does Holden love the Museum of Natural History?
• The Role of Dialogue in The Catcher in the Rye
• Describe the novel's portrayal of phoniness and naivety
• Describe the character of Holden

Interesting Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• War, existentialism, and love in “A Farewell to Arms”
• Sense of Sin in The Scarlet Letter 
• Analyze the use of biblical allusions and religious symbolism in William Golding's novels
• Analyze the symbolism of the “white whale” in Melville's work of literature, “Moby-Dick”
• Lies and deceit in “The Godfather” 
• Analyze the portrayal of fear and the human psyche in William Golding's novels
• The symbols used to describe nature by William Wordsworth
• Comparison between urban and rural settings of nature in the dystopia of Huxley
• Decay and revival in post-apocalyptic novels
• A religious and spiritual journey in “Jude the Obscure”

Now that you have the liberty to choose from a wide range of literary analysis example topics, you could use some help on how to opt for a good topic. 

To select a good and worthy topic for your literary analysis essay, follow the tips provided below:

• Always go for an interesting topic for an engaging piece of paper
• Look for an idea with available research material to support your analysis
• Ensure your topic allows for an in-depth analysis rather than a surface-level summary
• Choose an idea that challenges you to think critically and make meaningful connections
• Avoid overly broad topics; instead, focus on a specific aspect or element of the work.
• Choose an idea that best reflects your stance on the chosen work.
• Analyze the topic deeply before you start writing about it
• Balance personal interest with the potential appeal to your target audience
• Make sure that the theme of the work is visible in your essay topic 

Here are some tips for you to pen down a compelling literary analysis essay!

Essay writing is an essential part of academics. Students always require some tips and tricks to draft perfect essays and score good grades.

To make your literary analysis essay impeccable, follow the tips provided below:

• Thoroughly read the chosen literary work
• Identify the main themes, settings, and characters
• Understand the purpose of the work 
• Pay attention to the tools and techniques used by the author to deliver the message
• Pick an interesting literary analytical essay topic for your essay.
• To write an analytical essay effectively, draft a perfect literary analysis essay outline
• Develop a strong thesis statement 
• Craft strong topic sentences to guide and structure your analysis effectively
• Prove and support all your statements using phrases and quotes from work
• Write your literary essay from the third-person perspective
• Write in the present tense
• Avoid writing a plot summary of the work
• Use multiple literary terms to write your essay professionally
• Always cite properly

Literary Analysis Essay Example

To sum it up , writing a literary analysis essay can be extremely daunting if your analyzing abilities are weak. From selecting the right literary analysis topic to writing a conclusion for your essay, the process is lengthy.

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Literature courses are about two things: reading and writing about what you’ve read. For most students, it’s hard enough to understand great pieces of literature, never mind analyzing them. And with so many books and stories out there, choosing one to write about can be a chore.

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This article by our Custom Writing service experts presents a list of the most interesting and creative literary analysis topics. Additionally, you will find here:

• helpful essay prompts;
• a writing guide with simple tips;
• a literary analysis example.

This comprehensive article can be helpful not only for university or college students but also to students of high and middle school.

• 🔝 Top 10 Literature Topics for High School
• 🔮 Top 10 Literary Topics for College
• 📜 Topics from Different Eras
• 🖋️ Poetry Analysis Topics
• 🎭 Shakespeare Essay Topics
• 📚 English Literature Topics: Different Authors
• 💡 Non-Fiction Literature Topics
• ⭐ Other Ideas
• 🖊️ Literary Analysis Prompts
• ✍️ Writing Guide
• 📃 Essay Example

🔗 References

🔝 top 10 literature essay topics for high school.

• The role of religion in King Lear  
• Milk symbolism in Beloved  
• Is there gender inequality in Iliad ? 
• Social issues of The Little Match Girl  
• Gender roles in The Great Gatsby  
• Frankenstein : historical background 
• How is loyalty presented in Beowulf ?
• Flower symbolism in A Rose for Emily
• Politics in Titus Andronicus  
• The presentation of power in Ozymandias   

🔮 Top 10 Literary Analysis Essay Topics for College

• Nature symbolism in Young Goodman Brown  
• Childhood trauma in God Help the Child  
• The consequences of Macbeth’s ambition 
• The historical context of The Scarlet Letter  
• Presentation of misery in The Chimney Sweeper
• The supernatural in The Fall of the House of Usher  
• What does Dorian Gray’s portrait represent? 
• How is the true inner self discovered in Demian ? 
• Natural beauty in I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud  
• Endurance as a theme of The Old Man and the Sea  

📜 Literary Analysis Essay Topics: Different Eras

Topics in ancient greek & roman literature.

Works of literature from Ancient Greece have a timeless quality. This is why they are still taught in schools centuries later. After thousands of years, there is little that hasn’t already been written about these works. That’s why we’ve gathered the only most outstanding topics that you will definitely find interesting:

• Justice in Plato’s The Republic . Plato is perhaps the most influential thinker in the Western World. Accordingly, writing about his powerful philosophical dialogs is a challenging task. Most teachers will assign only portions of The Republic . We suggest you write about the theme of justice, but you can choose to focus on any other aspect of the dialog.
• Determination in Sophocles’ Antigone . Antigone is one of the masterworks of the Greek playwright Sophocles. In this tale of royal succession, key themes include civil disobedience, natural and human law, and faithfulness.
• Odysseus as an atypical hero in The Odyssey . The Odyssey by Homer is considered one of the most important poems in Classic literature. Odysseus is a unique epic hero facing an unusual challenge: his goal is not to win battles but to reconnect with his family. He has to rely on his wit rather than sheer power to achieve it. In your essay, explain how Odysseus differs from other heroes in Greek mythology .
• Ethical principles in Aesop’s Fables . Aesop’s Fables represent a unique example of Ancient Greek literature. The stories written by a slave have become a cultural phenomenon centuries later. Even today, the morals of his works stay relevant.
• The influence of Greek tragedy on modern theater. Sophocles’ and Aeschylus ‘ plays can still be found in the repertoire of many theaters. Moreover, their works often serve as inspiration for contemporary playwrights.
• The tragedy of Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex . Oedipus is one of the best-known classic tragic heroes. In killing his father and marrying his mother, he fulfilled the prophecy of the Oracle. Through this play, Sophocles explores the themes of destiny and human flaws.
• The variety of genres in the Metamorphoses. Millennia after Ovid’s Metamorphoses were written, scholars still argue about the genre of this work. Ovid blended historical events with fiction and experimented with the tone and themes of the poem.
• The role of gods in Homer’s epic poems. In Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey , gods often determine the outcomes of major events and change heroes’ destinies. They can become powerful allies or dangerous enemies of humans. Explore how divine interventions change the course of the story in both poems. Focus on Athene, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hera, and Poseidon.
• Cicero’s legacy in Western politics and philosophy. Cicero’s letters are widely recognized as some of the most influential works of Latin literature. John Locke , Voltaire, and Martin Luther are among the figures inspired by him. Cicero’s philosophy teaching also influenced revolutionary movements in France and America in the 17 th century.

Literary Essay Topics: 19th and 20th Century

Many great literary works in the English language were written in the golden era of the 19 th and 20 th centuries. These works, ranging from epic novels to short poems, provide insight into the themes that define the Anglophone world’s spirit.

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• The conflict between good and evil in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes . Sherlock Holmes—a character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—is considered the most famous fictional detective of all time. The Adventure of the Speckled Band is the favorite Holmes story of both the author and readers. Accordingly, many students choose to analyze this short story, which explores the themes of chaos.
• Lord of the Flies as an allegory of modern society. Students of all ages have read Lord of the Flies , the classic novella by William Golding that explores the dangers of groupthink, the conflicts between rationality and irrationality, and morality and immorality., the classic novella by William Golding that explores the dangers of groupthink, the conflicts between rationality and irrationality, and morality and immorality.
• The arbitrary nature of time and history in The Princess Bride . William Goldman’s The Princess Bride is such an entertaining story that it was adapted into an even more popular film. The key theme explored in this book is the power of love to conquer all.
• The theme of money and greed in The Rocking Horse Winner . D. H. Lawrence is one of the masters of 20 th -century English literature, and his short story The Rocking Horse Winner clearly demonstrates his skill. In this tale of a struggling family, the themes of money and greed are thoroughly explored as a young boy uses clairvoyance gained on a rocking horse to predict race outcomes.
• Is Of Mice and Men a classic tale of struggle? The American writer John Steinbeck captured the hardships faced by ordinary people during the Great Depression . The main recurring theme among Of Mice and Men characters is striving after dreams, often futilely, as demonstrated by them all: from George and Lennie to Candy and Curley’s wife.
• The themes of reality and fantasy in A Streetcar Named Desire . Tennessee Williams’s masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire is perhaps the most famous American dramatic play of all time. The central theme explored in this provocative play is the contemporary dependence of women on men.
• Comparison of Ivan and Alexei in The Brothers Karamazov. The conflict between faith and doubt is arguably the central topic of Dostoevsky’s work, and The Brothers Karamazov is a perfect example of it. Alexei is a devout Orthodox Christian who believes in miracles. His brother, Ivan, rejects the concept of divine transcendence and embraces atheism.
• Charles Dickens’ ambivalent attitude towards the poor. Dickens is widely considered an advocate of the poor’s rights and social change. Indeed, many of his impoverished characters are likable. However, Dickens also believes that the poor can be dangerous to society. Some of the works you can discuss are Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities , and Barnaby Rudge .
• Magic realism in One Hundred Years of Solitude . Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude, is written in the genre of magical realism. Marquez tells a fictional story of the Buendia family, blending daily routine with extraordinary events, effectively blurring the line between reality and fiction.
• The differences between dystopian worlds in 1984 and A Brave New World . George Orwell and Aldous Huxley wrote the two most famous dystopian novels of the 20 th century. In both of them, the government has complete control over society, which is obtained through different strategies. In your essay, you may compare the policies in 1984 and A Brave New World .
• On the Road as the landmark novel of the Beat Generation. Jack Kerouac and other members of the Beat movement challenged the typical American middle-class lifestyle in their works. On the Road embodies the main principles of their philosophy. Some of the topics to explore are freedom, spontaneity, and nonconformity.
• The role of the changing narrative in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury . The Sound and the Fury is often praised for its experimental form. Four narrators tell the story from different perspectives and in contrasting tones. Explore how the changing narrative affects the overall perception of the novel.
• Folklore, religion, and myth in Toni Morrison’s works. Toni Morrison is widely recognized as one of the most influential contemporary Black American writers. Her works are inspired mainly by her African heritage and Western mythology. Some of the novels to explore are Beloved and Song of Solo mon .
• Expression of war experiences in American fiction. Wars in the 20 th century had a significant impact on American literature. Many writers participated in armed conflicts. Hemingway , Vonnegut, Salinger, and O’Brien are some of the authors who reflect on their war experiences in semi-autobiographic novels and short stories.

Contemporary Literature Essay Topics

Excellent books are still being written! Once in a while, your instructor may ask you to analyze a more recent work. Here are a few great books to consider for your next essay.

• The theme of overcoming obstacles and poverty in Reservation Blues . Sherman Alexie’s novel Reservation Blues tells the story of a group of young men from the Spokane Indian reservation. They obtain the enchanted guitar of a legendary bluesman. Aside from overcoming obstacles, this book explores many other themes of Native American life.
• Family obligations in Montana 1948 by Larry Watson . This novella is set in the Western American state of Montana, where a young man’s family struggles to survive. You may explore the theme of family obligations in conjunction with loyalty and justice.
• The presentation of grief in The Lovely Bones . In Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones , the protagonist Susie dies violently. And then, her spirit proceeds to watch over the investigation of her disappearance and her family members’ lives.
• Self-sacrifice as one of the central themes of Harry Potter . You may also want to write about any other theme of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. But remember: when you write about a book that was turned into a movie, make sure to actually read the book!
• Cultural and religious references in Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo. One of the most acclaimed novels in recent years, Lincoln in the Bardo deals with the themes of death and the afterlife. A Tibetan concept of bardo inspires Saunders’ work, but the author also borrows ideas from other cultures and religions.
• The theme of cultural assimilation in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. In her third novel, Adichie draws upon her personal experiences to tackle the issues African immigrants face when they move to the US. Explore the effects of immigration on the protagonist’s personality, views, and behavior.
• Hypocrisy as the central theme of Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam. In Amsterdam , McEwan explores the contrast between public figures’ statements and their personal lives. None of the major characters in the novel act in accordance with their ethical standards. We suggest you focus on the figures of Clive, Vernon, and Julian.
• Paul Beatty’s The Sellout : Satire on racial stereotypes. Beatty employs satire and irony to tackle some of the most pressing current issues in American society. The Sellout can be used as an encyclopedia of stereotypes associated with African Americans. Explore how the author uses literary devices to highlight their absurdity.
• Cloning ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go . In the dystopian world of Never Let Me Go , cloning is a common practice. However, clones are used only as organ donors; they are not perceived as human beings. Explain how Ishiguro uses the narrative to challenge this social norm. For example, his characters can make art and fall in love.
• Comparison of the New and Old Gods in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. In American Gods , the narrative is based on the idea that humans created deities. The Old Gods in mythology represent the forces of nature, and The New Gods represent technologies that shape modern society. Discuss the similarities and differences between these two groups.

🖋️ Literary Analysis Essay Topics: Poetry

Many of the great works of literature are poems. Writing about them requires a special approach. Here’s a tip: don’t be afraid to quote the poem heavily and give several alternative interpretations. But first, check out this list of excellent topics:

• A real-life war experience in Crane’s War is Kind . An American poet and writer Stephen Crane wrote the acclaimed American Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage . But not everyone knows that he also wrote a collection of poems entitled War is Kind . Through these poems, he delved deep into the themes of war and violence based on his experience in the Spanish–American and Greco–Turkish Wars.
• The theme of religion in John Donne’s sonnets. At the opposite end of the poetry spectrum, you can find the Elizabethan-era Englishman, John Donne . His works were written mainly in the form of sonnets focused on the themes of love, social criticism, death, and religion.
• Mysticism in William Butler Yeats’s poetry . The occult, spiritualism, and Irish mythology profoundly influenced Yeats’ work. Many of his poems are preoccupied with the Apocalypse, immortality of the human soul, and the spirit world. Start your research with The Second Coming and Sailing to Byzantium.
• Allusions in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven . The Raven is widely recognized as one of the most famous poems of all time. It contains numerous references and allusions to the Bible, folklore, and other literary works. Examine and quote Poe’s sources of inspiration.
• The meaning of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost . Robert Frost’s poetry is often praised for his rich metaphorical language. The Road Not Taken is a quintessential piece that’s often misunderstood. In your essay, you may explore its alternative interpretations.
• The evolution of blank verse in English poetry. Blank verse emerged in English poetry in the 16 th century and has been used by some of the most influential poets since then. While its main features have remained largely unchanged, many prominent authors experimented with its form. For example, you can analyze the use of blank verse in the poetry of Shakespeare , Milton, and Wordsworth.
• Main themes and features of Beat poetry. The Beat movement played a pivotal role in the cultural processes in the post-war US. Beat poetry is characterized by rebellion, transgression, and experiments with form. Some of the authors to check out are Allen Ginsberg , Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti , and Gary Snyder.
• The narrator in Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself . Unlike many poets of his time, Whitman rejected the dichotomy of body and soul. In Song of Myself , the narrator represents the union of the “temporary” human body with the immortal soul. Consider exploring Whitman’s philosophy behind the notion of “self” in the poem.
• William Blake’s influence on British and American poetry and culture. Blake’s contemporaries largely disregarded his poetry. However, his influence on the later generations is hard to overestimate. His values and ideas inspired the Pre-Raphaelites, the Beat Generation, and some of the prominent figures of the American music scene, including Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison. and Jim Morrison.

🎭 Literary Analysis: Shakespeare Essay Topics

Romeo and juliet essay topics.

How many Romeo and Juliet personal responses and analysis essays have already been written? There are too many of them to count, but there’s still room for more. Romeo and Juliet essay examples can help you find a unique topic for an essay about the play. Another option is to check out top Romeo and Juliet themes below:

• How does fate affect the love plot in Romeo and Juliet ?
• Concept of contrasts in the language of the play.
• The significance of time in Romeo and Juliet
• The tragic love theme of Romeo and Juliet as a cliché for romantic fatalism
• Mercutio as a representation of loyalty
• Montagues and Capulets: the conflict between generations
• How is irony used in the play?
• The role of the family in Romeo and Juliet
• The social and historical context of the play
• Nurse’s role in the death of Romeo and Juliet

Hamlet Essay Topics

Shakespeare’s Hamlet may be the most widely assigned play in the English courses. Here are the top Hamlet essay topics worth exploring.

• The theme of disillusionment in Hamlet
• Mistreatment of women in Hamlet as a representation of misogyny in Shakespeare’s times
• How has the tragedy’s theme of madness affected modern literature?
• What role does melancholy play in Hamlet ?
• The connection between friendship and betrayal in the character of Laertes
• Comedic elements in Hamlet
• The impact of Gertrude and Claudius’ marriage on Hamlet’s revenge
• What is the symbolism of The Mousetrap play?
• The impact of introspection on Hamlet’s revenge
• Analysis of the Denmark setting in Hamlet

Macbeth Essay Topics

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the last (and shortest) of the three big Shakespearean plays every high school student reads before graduation. Like the rest of William Shakespeare’s tragedies, it is full of meaningful themes that can serve as topics for literary analysis essays.

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• The corrupting influence of ambition in Macbeth
• Supernatural elements in Macbeth
• The impact of loyalty and betrayal on the plot
• What does sleep symbolize in the play?
• Why is Macbeth a victim of fate?
• The role of darkness as a setting in Macbeth
• Is blood a symbol of guilt in Macbeth ?
• The causes of Macbeth’s mental deterioration
• The impact of Macbeth’s hallucinations on his character development
• Minor characters’ contributions to the play’s action

Shakespeare wrote many more plays beyond the big three listed above. Here are a few more topics and works that show the range of the Bard.

• The theme of madness in King Lear . Shakespeare’s King Lear is one of the longest works by the Bard. Many actors feel that the title role is one of the most challenging available for an actor because of the character’s gradual descent into madness. Accordingly, “madness” is perhaps the best topic related to this play.
• The presentation of love and adoration in Sonnet 18 . Shakespeare’s sonnets make excellent essay topics because they are so concise but rich in meaning. Love and devotion, which are expressed in Sonnet 18 and throughout his other sonnets, serve as great critical analysis essay topics.
• The theme of the crown in Shakespeare’s Henry IV
• Sexuality, sensuality, and spirituality in William Shakespeare’s sonnets
• Ambition in Hamlet and Macbeth : choices of men and women characters
• The use of disguise in The Twelfth Night
• Different faces of love in Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays
• Appearance as the most potent disguise in Shakespeare’s plays
• The use of satire in William Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies
• The line between acting and real life in Hamlet
• Parallels between Shakespeare’s King Lear and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex
• The use of allusion in The Tempest
• The complexity of the female character in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra
• Archetypal female characters in Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets
• William Shakespeare’s authorship: style, vocabulary, themes, and dates
• The role of Shakespeare in the world of literature
• How does William Shakespeare use the meter in his plays?
• The depiction of the supernatural in Macbeth , The Tempest , and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• The theme of race and ethnicity in Othello
• Personal identity in Hamlet and Henry IV

By the way, you can find all of Shakespeare’s works on our website for free.

📚 English Literature Essay Topics: Different Authors

Some can find it easier to focus on particular authors and their works. Are you one of them? Here are possible topics for those who like traditional approaches.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics: Geoffrey Chaucer

• Chaucer’s works of the French and Italian periods
• Primary themes and motifs in Troilus and Criseyde
• Women’s virtues, as seen by Chaucer and his contemporaries
• Gender: conventions and innovations in Geoffrey Chaucer’s works
• Chaucer’s role in the development of a heroic couplet
• Chaucer’s use of the vernacular language: nobility and nation
• Religious morals in The Canterbury Tales
• The roots of class conflict in The Canterbury Tales
• Chaucer’s influence on modern English dialects
• The critique of clergy in The Canterbury Tales
• The influence of medieval Italian poetry on Chaucer’s work
• Central themes in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Book of the Duchess
• The comparison of Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida
• Elements of comedy in The Canterbury Tales
• Chaucer as a pioneer of rhyme royal in English poetry
• Chaucer’s primary sources of inspiration in Roman poetry: Ovid and Virgil
• The depiction of the middle class in The Canterbury Tales

Literary Essay Topics on John Keats

• Different shapes of death in John Keats’s works
• What was wrong with Keats’s Otho the Great ?
• Byron’s influence on Keats’s style and themes
• The uniqueness of John Keats’ imagery
• Keats’s letters and their influence on the English literature
• Greek classics as a source of inspiration for Keats
• Keats’ stance on social and political issues of his time
• The importance of nature in Keats’ odes
• The themes of melancholy and isolation in Keats’ poetry
• Keats’ perception of art and its role in Ode on a Grecian Urn
• The polemics on Keats’ statement “Beauty is truth”
• The values of Romanticism in Keats’ poetry
• Keats’ concept of negative capability and its examples in his poetry
• The differences between the Romantic poetry of Keats and Coleridge
• Keats’ attitude towards Christianity and pagan mythology

Literature Essay Topics on Oscar Wilde

• A perfect wife as depicted in An Ideal Husband
• The Picture of Dorian Gray as the aesthete’s manifesto
• Wilde’s essential inspirations and the development of his views
• The Picture of Dorian Gray : will beauty save the world?
• Oscar Wilde’s personal traits in his characters
• The Picture of Dorian Gray : Lord Henry’s morality or immorality
• Irony, sarcasm, and satire in Oscar Wilde’s works
• The use of metaphors in The Ballad of Reading Gaol
• The Picture of Dorian Gray : was the young man innocent?
• Conventions and innovations in Oscar Wilde’s fairy stories
• Oscar Wilde as the most celebrated master of paradox
• Play on words in Oscar Wilde’s major works
• Christian theme in De Profundis
• The Importance of Being Earnest as the critique of Victorian society
• The role of the Dance of the Seven Veils in Wilde’s Salome
• Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy in his essay The Critic as Artist
• The Soul of Man under Socialism : an expression of Wilde’s political views
• Wilde as one of the key figures of the Decadent movement
• Women characters in Oscar Wilde’s comedies
• The theme of sacrifice in Wilde’s short stories
• The dichotomy of body and soul in The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Fisherman and His Soul
• The recurring motifs in Oscar Wilde’s comedies

George Orwell Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Orwell’s imagery in the depiction of totalitarian regimes
• George Orwell’s background: inspirations for themes and symbols
• Orwell’s views on the English language and literature
• The historical context of 1984 and Animal Farm
• The role of the media in Orwell’s characters’ lives
• The character of the Big Brother in 1984
• Naturalism and imagery in The Road to Wigan Pier
• Why was Animal Farm regarded as controversial in the 1950s?
• Orwell’s religious views in Lear, Tolstoy, and the Fool
• Winston Smith’s journey to freedom in 1984

💡 Literary Analysis Topics in Non-Fiction

The world of literature goes far beyond William Shakespeare and fiction in general. Here is a bunch of more literary analysis paper topics for other great works of literature that deal with real-life events.

• Religious faith and dehumanization in Night . Elie Wiesel’s classic memoir of the Holocaust is a difficult book for many students to read. And yet, you may need to write a Night by Elie Wiesel essay at some point. Religion and dehumanization are prominent themes that can serve as great topics.
• The power of nature in Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild . The story chronicles the journey of 22-year-old Christopher McCandless from modern society into a 2-year trip in the wilderness of the western United States. This work of non-fiction explores the themes of escape, community, and the power of nature. (Warning: things do not end well for McCandless along the Stampede Trail of Alaska.)
• Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King as a source of inspiration for modern politicians and activists. Based on his Letter from Birmingham Jail , MLK’s Why We Can’t Wait is a study of the origins of the civil rights movement in the US. Analyze how activists and politicians can use ideas from this book in the 21 st century.
• The themes of religion and technological progress in The Education of Henry Adams. In his autobiography, Henry Adams explores the influence of religion and technological progress on society. In the industrial world, technology has become a new religion. You may contrast and compare technological and religious societies in Adams’ work.
• The banality of evil in Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem. Hannah Arendt offers an original perspective on the nature of war crimes. According to her, ordinary people are capable of the most terrible deeds under specific circumstances. In your essay, explore Arendt’s concept of “the banality of evil.”
• The role of photography in modern society, according to Susan Sontag. In her book On Photography , Susan Sontag explores how the role of this medium has been changing throughout the 20 th century. Analyze her arguments to establish the relationship between photography and political and social processes.
• A Room of One’s Own as a manifesto of women’s literature. A Room of One’s Own reflects the women’s position in the literary scene. Woolf concludes that women’s writing capabilities match those of men. However, they often fail to reach their full potential because of the flawed structure of a male-dominated society.
• Haruki Murakami’s Underground: a study of Japanese society. For Underground , Murakami conducted a series of interviews after the terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway. Rather than focusing on the act itself, the author uses this opportunity to explore the social issues that plague Japanese society.
• T. S. Eliot’s literary criticism and views on poetry. T. S. Eliot is one of the most important literary critics and theorists of the early 20 th century. His theories and arguments have largely shaped the New Criticism movement in literature. Analyze the ideas expressed in Tradition and the Individual Talent and Hamlet and His Problems .

⭐ Literary Analysis Topics: Other Ideas

Literary essays don’t have to be devoted to analyzing a particular work. They may also include textual analysis essays, literary interpretations, critical response essays, and topic analyses. Here are some excellent options for you to consider:

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• Character development of various protagonists. You may write an analytical essay describing and interpreting changes in the central characters of different novels. Try to be precise, provide examples, and prove the significance of these changes. You can consider the development of Soames in The Forsyte Saga or the title character in David Copperfield .
• Context analysis of a historical period. Your analysis paper can be devoted to the settings of the short story, play, poem, or novel. Make emphasis on the role of the context in explaining the characters and the key ideas. For example, you can explore the wartime setting in Gone with the Wind .
• Analysis of genre conventions. Another good choice is to dwell upon the practices used by various authors belonging to the same literary genre. You can write a critical essay about a realistic, romantic, gothic , or any other kind of novel and the author’s ability to meet or challenge genre expectations.
• The impact of an author’s life on their legacy. The background of a novelist, short-story writer, poet, or playwright may also be of great interest to the reader. However, it is not enough to narrate the author’s life: you must be able to connect it with their style and themes. The most demonstrative analysis examples may include Henry Miller, Ernest Hemingway , and Lord Byron.
• Comparative analysis of two authors . It is also a good idea to compare several authors. A critical evaluation essay may estimate their impact on the development of their genre. If these authors come from different backgrounds, it is also possible to evaluate how the culture they belonged to made a difference. For example, write about Dickens vs. Thackeray or Joyce vs. Woolf.
• Comparative analysis of two texts . If you don’t want to compare authors, you may try comparing two literary works on the same topic or belonging to the same epoch or genre. For example, try analyzing the similarities and differences between Canterbury Tales and Decameron .
• Analysis of a literary work’s structure. Analysis topics may include the stream-of-consciousness technique, theater of the absurd, etc. The idea is to show how new expressive means transformed the traditional approach to plot building and character development.
• The role of irony in short stories. If you are to analyze a short story, you may describe how the author uses irony to communicate their message. Show how it creates meaning and what underlies it. Numerous authors employ irony as the major tool in their short stories, including Jerome K. Jerome and Salinger.
• Analyzing the climax in a novel. Describing how the author builds the plot to reach the culmination is a good option for a novel critical analysis essay. Track how the tension is created and how it is released when the climax is reached. For example, you can try analyzing the climax in To Kill a Mockingbird .
• Mood expression in a novel of your choice. Your essay may investigate how the vocabulary and grammar chosen by an author contribute to the text’s atmosphere. You can consider analyzing Lolita or Sons and Lovers .
• The role of dialogue in plays. Your critical paper may highlight what means the playwright uses to make the characters’ speech expressive. For example, examine Oscar Wilde’s plays or Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot .
• Stage directions in plays. You may also want to pay attention to the importance of the author’s notes and scene directions in a play. They are particularly crucial in modern drama. Consider analyzing Beckett’s Waiting for Godot or Shaw’s Heartbreak House.
• The use of allegory in poems. It’s an excellent topic for poem analysis. You can suggest your own literary interpretation of an allegory or consider why the author opted for this device. For example, consider analyzing the allegories in Vision of Judgement .
• An open ending in a novel. Suppose the work under analysis doesn’t have a conflict resolution. In that case, your critical evaluation essay can give arguments for the author’s choice and interpret its meaning and possible continuation scenarios. For example, you may analyze an open ending in Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.
• Comparison of critical opinions on a novel. If the piece you have read ranks among the best-known works in the world, it would be a good idea to compare literary criticism examples related to this work. You may select two different critics and juxtapose their views. For example, try comparing critical opinions on Mrs. Dalloway .
• Analyzing side characters in literary works. If your task is to analyze a character, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should write about a protagonist. A more creative approach would be to pick a static character that doesn’t go through any transformations throughout the book and suggest why the author made them this way. One option is to write about side characters in Vanity Fair .
• The narrative voice in novels. It can be challenging yet enjoyable to describe the narrative voice and focalization techniques that help the reader see the events in a certain way. It is especially complicated when a text has several points of view. For example, you may choose to analyze the narrative voice in Faulkner’s Absalom! Absalom! or As I Lay Dying .
• The narrators in literature. The previous topic can be narrowed: you can take a work written from a first-person point of view and draw parallels between the author and the main character. For example, you can consider writing about the narrator in Moby Dick .
• The cultural background of Dumas’ novels. In the case of historical novels, an analytical paragraph may be devoted to the historical and cultural background. Any of Alexandre Dumas’ novels, such as The Three Musketeers , may serve as perfect literature examples to write about.
• Imagery used by various poets. You can analyze specific images that poets use in their works. For example, try analyzing how Walt Whitman uses industrial imagery in his works.

Profound Literary Analysis Topics in Women’s Literature

Literary analysis on the topics of gender and women in society is critical to understanding the modern world. Here are a few powerful essay topics in this area.

• The disruption of traditional gender roles in The Color Purple . According to New Republic, this National Book Award-winning work is considered a cultural touchstone for African American women . It features many heavy themes, such as sexism and racism. Keep in mind that this book is not for the faint of heart.
• The themes of family and generational differences in Alice Walker’s short story Everyday Use . The short story is about heirloom possessions passed down from one generation of women to another.
• Social standing and wealth as the two key themes in Pride and Prejudice . The protagonist of this book, Elizabeth Bennet, must choose between two suitors. One is an amiable man. The other is better established in society but has a colder personality.
• Marriage and social status in Emma . Emma is the tale of a young woman less interested in securing her own marriage than her sisters. You can analyze the constraints placed upon women in 17 th -century society as reflected in this book.
• Women’s role in society and gender roles according to The Great Lawsuit . The Great Lawsuit is often considered one of the most important early feminist works. The author, Margaret Fuller, argues that gender equality is a crucial aspect of a progressive society. She describes an ideal relationship between a man and a woman as an intellectual companionship.
• Dystopia and feminism in A Handmaid’s Tale . In A Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood describes a world where women’s societal role is reduced to producing children. This work largely follows the traditions of classic dystopian novels written by Orwell and Huxley. Explore how the presence of the feminist discourse makes Atwood’s work stand out.
• Gertrude Stein’s experiments with form and style. Gertrude Stein’s work is notable for her distinctive avant-garde style. Stein was an avid art collector, and trends in visual arts influenced her writings. Her narratives are characterized by the original use of tenses, repetitions, and archaisms.
• The stream of consciousness in Virginia Woolf’s work . Virginia Woolf was one of the first writers to systematically use the stream of consciousness in her works. The narratives of her novels, such as Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, are rooted in the descriptions of characters’ emotions and thoughts.
• Political writings of Mercy Otis Warren. Mercy Otis Warren is famous for her political poems and plays written during the American Revolution. Explain how she used political satire to criticize the British rule. Start your research with the plays The Adulateur, The Defeat, and The Group .
• Gender inequality in Jane Eyre . Widely recognized as one of the most successful works of women’s literature, Jane Eyre was a revolutionary novel for its time. It depicts the struggles of women in their fight for independence and equality in patriarchal Victorian society .
• The blend of fiction and reality in The Yellow Wallpaper. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper to document the trauma and stress she had experienced due to “rest therapy” prescribed to her by a psychiatrist. Back then, women suffering from depression were discouraged from any intellectual activity, as it was thought that “domestic life” would benefit them. In Gilman’s story, this treatment ultimately drives the protagonist to insanity.
• Cleopatra in literature: from Geoffrey Chaucer to Margaret George
• The depiction of Eve in Milton’s Paradise Lost
• Archetypical female and male characters in Beowulf
• Emmy’s submissiveness and Rebecca’s quick-wittedness in Vanity Fair
• William Makepeace Thackeray’s Becky Sharp as an antihero
• Becky Sharp as seen by Thackeray’s contemporaries and modern readers
• Women empowerment and independence in Jane Austen’s novels
• Women’s love and death: Shakespeare’s Ophelia and Wilde’s Sibyl
• A Room of One’s Own : a woman’s manifesto still relevant now
• First female voices in the Middle Ages: Aelia Eudocia Augusta
• The Brontë sisters: Lady writers who broke the rules
• Gender roles as depicted by Maugham in Theatre
• This is the woman’s world: feminist utopias and dystopias
• Female writers: themes explored in the 1910s vs. 2010s
• Women characters’ virtues and vices in the 19th century
• Women of color: themes of violence, discrimination, and empowerment
• A Doll’s House as seen by Ibsen’s contemporaries
• Is Ibsen’s A Doll’s House still relevant today?
• Beauty standards as women’s oppression in The Bluest Eye
• The complexity of the mother-daughter relationship in Tony Morrison’s Beloved
• The evolvement of masculinity from medieval to postmodern literature
• Masculinity in The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway
• Masculinity, identity, and queerness in Tennessee Williams’s works
• Gender roles in utopias and dystopias: More and Huxley
• Sexuality and gender stereotypes in Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire
• Charles Dickens’s depiction of aging men and women
• Fairy tales as sources of gender stereotypes

Powerful Literary Analysis Topics within the Subject of Race

• Colonialism in J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians . A short Waiting for the Barbarians summary should capture the narrative of the escalation of tensions between a fictional colonial town and its surrounding indigenous population. When the protagonist helps a native woman, he begins to doubt the humanity of colonialism.
• The portrayal of racism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness . Heart of Darkness is the chilling tale of young Marlow’s voyage up the Congo River. There he meets the wicked ivory trader Kurtz. The book explores the themes of imperialism and racism. It also questions the civility of Western society over supposedly “savage” indigenous people.
• The conflict between man and nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . Mark Twain is one of the greatest American writers and satirists. But his masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn delved into themes that would make some of the most serious literary analysis essay topics, such as the theme of freedom vs. slavery.
• The theme of prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird . Harper Lee’s novel was an instant classic upon release. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the American South, and, like many books by Southern authors, it explores the themes of race and justice.
• Anti-slavery narrative and racist stereotypes in Uncle Tom’s Cabin . Uncle Tom’s Cabin was one of the first universally acclaimed novels to tackle slavery. However, it is often criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of Black characters. Hence, it remains one of the most controversial pieces of American literature.
• De Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk as the precursor of the Civil Rights movement. De Bois’ essays have largely laid the groundwork for the campaigns for racial equality in the 20 th century. He argued that African Americans deserved fundamental rights the White population had: voting, getting a higher education, and being treated fairly according to the law.
• The notion of Black pride in A Raisin in the Sun . Lorraine Hansberry’s famous play touches upon topics of racial identity and pride inspired by real events. A Black family wants to purchase a house in a White neighborhood, but they are dissuaded from buying it. Eventually, they refuse to accept the buyout offer and move to their new place as planned.
• Jefferson as a folk hero in A Lesson Before Dying . In A Lesson Before Dying , Ernest J. Gaines tells a story of a young Black man wrongfully accused of murder. Treated by White people as a sub-human, Jefferson completely loses his self-esteem at some point. However, with the help of a local Black teacher, he regains his pride and meets death with dignity. Explain how Jefferson’s transformation makes him a folk hero.
• The impact of discriminatory laws on the life of African Americans in Fences. August Wilson’s Fences explores how discriminatory laws and attitudes defined the life of African Americans before the Civil Rights Movement. The protagonist, Troy Maxson, is a talented baseball player whose life is ruined because he didn’t get a chance to play in the professional league due to racial restrictions.
• Internalized racism in Morrison’s Song of Solomon . In her book Song of Solomon , Toni Morrison explores the issue of internalized racism. Hagar and Macon Dead are the characters to study. Macon Dead, a Black entrepreneur, hates people of color and wants to leave his community. Hagar envies women with a lighter skin tone, as she sees them as superior to her.
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings : A story of hatred and trauma. Maya Angelou is renowned for her autobiographical novels dealing with challenging topics like racism, trauma, and violence. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings addresses the issues she faced growing up as a Black child in a White neighborhood.

Death-Related Literature Essay Topics

• Death in works of dying writers: Keats and Blake
• Death in Milton’s poetry: imagery and symbols
• Emily Dickinson’s fascination with decay, degradation, and death
• John Keats’s and William Shakespeare’s depictions of death
• Views on death in the Renaissance literature
• Murder and suicide in Shakespeare’s tragedies Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet
• Depictions of death in Postmodernist literature
• Aging as seen in medieval , Renaissance, and Postmodernist literature
• Death and decay in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Love, life, and death in Huxley’s dystopian society
• Murder in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men
• Herman Melville’s Moby Dick : The concepts of life and death
• Simon’s death in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
• Kate Chopin’s ironic take on death in The Story of an Hour
• Seneca’s life and philosophy: Death as liberation
• The role of death in existentialism
• The theme of death in Ernest Hemingway’s works
• The depiction of heaven and hell in Richard Matheson’s What Dreams May Come
• The concept of free death in Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy
• Gothic writers’ fascination with death
• Hades : The realm of the dead in Greek mythology

Literary Analysis Essay Topics: Man and Nature

• Dehumanizing nature: Robinson Crusoe and Lord of the Flies
• Struggles with nature: Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Paulsen’s Hatchet
• Nature’s wonders and dangers in Emily Dickenson’s works
• Natural forces: from Homer to H. G. Wells
• Power of natural forces in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest
• The depiction of nature in Fears in Solitude by Coleridge
• William Wordsworth’s poetic language and symbols used to describe nature
• Nature in Brave New World : urban and rural settings
• Nature in post-apocalyptic novels: decay and revival
• The role of nature in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
• The conflict between man and nature in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea
• Post-apocalyptic fiction as the critique of industrial society
• Environmentalism in Ursula Le Guin’s works
• Personal life and climate change in Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior
• The role of nature in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden
• The emergence of eco-fiction—a new genre in world literature
• Nature in Romanticism: Comparison of Shelley’s, Wordsworth’s, and Keats’ poetry
• Natty Bumppo’s and Judge Temple’s conflicting views on nature in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pioneers
• The impact of country life on the character development in Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses

Literary Essay Topics on Religion

• Religious influences: biblical themes and allusions in Beowulf
• Religion as another burden in The Bluest Eye
• Views on religious conventions in Milton’s Paradise Lost
• Jonathan Swift’s satirical view of religions in Gulliver’s Travels
• The role of religion in Charles Dickens’s works
• The evolvement of religious beliefs in John Dryden’s works
• Religious controversies as depicted in John Milton’s Paradise Lost
• A spiritual journey in Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure
• Biblical references in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick
• Alternative narrative of the Biblical events in Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita
• The meaning of Friedrich Nietzsche’s statement “God is Dead”
• Billy’s Christian values in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five
• The figure of Moses in Biblical and Quranic narratives
• Influence of The Pilgrim’s Progress on British and American literature
• Buddhist and Hindu motives in Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha
• Immanuel Kant’s critique of the arguments for the existence of God and his discussion of morality
• Søren Kierkegaard’s critique of Christianity
• Christian narratives and metaphors in C.S. Lewis’ works

Literary Analysis Topics: Justice and Judgment

• The Hunchback of Notre Dame : who was the monster?
• Justice and judgment in To Kill a Mockingbird
• The role of judgment in Jane Austen’s novels
• Judgment in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child
• A view of justice in John Milton’s Paradise Lost
• Justice in dystopian novels: works of Orwell and Huxley
• Judgment and guilt in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
• The difference between justice and revenge in Aeschylus Oresteia
• The genre of legal thriller in American literature
• The themes of guilt, responsibility, and punishment in Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader
• Justice and judgment in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment
• Courtroom drama in American and British literature
• Behavior modification experiment as an alternative to a prison sentence in Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange
• Jeremy Bentham’s concept of panopticon prison and its critique in the works of other authors
• Michel Foucault’s critique of the Western penal system
• The role of the judgment of Paris in the Trojan War according to Greek mythology
• Depiction of racial injustice in the works of African American authors

Literature Essay Topics on Good & Evil

• A dichotomy of good and evil in the Middle Ages
• Monsters and heroes in Beowulf : Beowulf, Hrothgar, Grendel
• Wilde’s aesthetics: ugly is worse than evil
• John Milton’s Satan : the good, the bad, and the beautiful
• Victorian literary tradition: societal norms and personal happiness
• Villains in the 19 th – and 20 th -century literary works
• The good and the bad: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Evil forces of death in The Fall of the House of Usher
• Presentation of good and evil in The Tempest characters
• The contrast between Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights
• Young Goodman Brown : a conflict between morality and temptation
• The Creature and the humans in Frankenstein

Literary Analysis Essay Topics on War & Peace

• Depiction of war in Shakespeare’s plays
• The war between archangels and demons in Paradise Lost
• War in Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children
• War and peace in George Orwell’s 1984
• Margaret Mitchell’s and Toni Morrison’s views on the Civil War
• War as a part of human nature in Faulkner’s A Fable
• Steinbeck’s exploration of injustice in The Grapes of Wrath
• Wrongs of the modern society in Palahniuk’s Fight Club
• The themes of war and nationality in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient
• The Civil War as the background for Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women
• Main themes in Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front
• Depiction of war in Alexandre Dumas’ historical novels
• The Cold War in John Le Carre’s novels
• The political context of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible : The Cold War and McCarthyism
• Depiction of war in children’s fiction
• Leo Tolstoy’s views on history in War and Peace
• Anti-militarism in Ernest Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms
• Literature as a tool of cultural influence during the Cold War: The case of Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago

Literary Essay Topics on Vices on the Society

• Thackeray: the culture of the 19th century as Vanity Fair
• Dickens’s perspectives concerning social injustice in Oliver Twist
• Ethnicity, discrimination, and identity in Orwell’s Burmese Days
• Vices of totalitarian societies in George Orwell’s 1984
• Injustice, torture, and dehumanization in Elie Wiesel’s Night
• Vices of society in Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
• J’Accuse: Emile Zola’s letter as critique of antisemitism and corruption
• The emergence of transgressive fiction as a protest against conventional society
• Critique of consumer society in Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World
• Social satire and political commentary in Harold Pinter’s later plays
• Ray Bradbury’s science fiction as a means of social criticism
• The emergence of dystopia: Evgeny Zamyatin’s We
• Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon as a critique of the totalitarian society
• Claudius as an embodiment of human vices in Robert Graves’ I, Claudius
• Geoffrey Chaucer’s critique of the wrongs of society in The Canterbury Tales

Interesting Literature Topics to Analyze: Literary Influences

• Percy Bysshe Shelley’s interpretation of the Prometheus myth
• William Shakespeare’s borrowings from ancient Greek writings and myths
• Myths as a source of inspiration for Byron and Keats
• Virginia Wolf’s fascination with Greek literature and Hellenism
• James Joyce’s interpretation and use of Homer’s The Odyssey
• Salome : Oscar Wilde’s retelling of a biblical story
• John Milton’s exploration and interpretation of a biblical story
• The influence of Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works
• Biblical motifs in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
• Don Quixote as an inspiration for Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot
• Beowulf ’s impact on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit
• Shakespearean myths in Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Literature Essay Topics: Various Genres

• The evolution of horror fiction: from Mary Shelley to Stephen King
• The place of fantasy in the modern literature
• Why have fantasy novels gained such popularity today?
• Fantasy novels by Tolkien and Martin: styles, imagery, themes
• Major elements of modern fantasy novels and stories
• The origins of fantasy fiction: the earliest works
• The evolution of adventure fiction: from Homer to Fleming
• Horror fiction: Stoker’s Dracula vs. Shelley’s Frankenstein
• Theologus Autodidactus as an example of science fiction
• Merging scientific and poetic elements in science fiction poetry
• Comparing tragicomedies of Ancient Greece and 20th-century Europe
• Significant features of a tragicomedy in postmodernist and metamodernist writings
• Primary components of a coming-of-age novel: female and male perspectives
• Elements of the coming-of-age novel in London’s Martin Eden
• Satire in contemporary British and American literature
• Satire or cynical humor: exploring Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary
• Literary devices in naturalistic writing: Emile Zola’s approach
• Elements of an antinovel in Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy
• Early examples of short stories: Charles Dickens’s style
• Timeframes and symbols in Jonathan Nolan’s Memento Mori
• Dystopian fiction in the 20th and 21st centuries
• Coming-of-age novel or American dream novel: The Great Gatsby
• The role of education and the media in dystopias
• Crime fiction: is it pulp reading or high literature?
• The suspense in Agatha Christies’ and Arthur Conan Doyle’s writings
• The vampire in the 19th-century and 21st-century literature

Literary Topics: Uncommon Themes in Literature

• Allegory and choice of animals in Orwell’s Animal Farm
• Allegories in Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily
• Multiculturalism and allusions in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon
• Faulkner’s metaphors in The Sound and the Fury
• Imagery in Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem The Raven
• Music and enigma in The Raven
• The role of personification in William Blake’s poetry
• Comparing Ancient Greek and William Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter
• The function of trochaic meter in Shakespeare’s works
• Symbolism and imagery in William Blake’s poem Ah Sunflower
• Symbols and metaphors in The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Flower symbolism in D.H. Lawrence Odour of Chrysanthemums
• Color as a symbol of Morrison’s God Help the Child
• Symbolism in Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
• Satire in Absalom and Achitophel by John Dryden
• Jane Austen’s personal traits in the narrator of Persuasion
• Early forms of the stream of consciousness: Jane Austen’s style
• Epistolary novels: works of Bram Stocker and Mary Shelley
• Slave’s narrative in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon
• Peculiarities of addressing the reader in Shakespeare’s sonnets
• Virginia Wolf’s stream of consciousness: narration or confession?
• The narrator in Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage
• Authorial intrusion as a way to entice readers

🖊️ Literary Analysis Prompts: Top 21

We’ve gathered a total of 21 excellent literary analysis prompts for you. They cover a wide variety of genres and epochs, so you’ll surely find something that suits your needs. Check them out to gain inspiration for your assignment or project!

The Cask of Amontillado Literary Analysis Prompt

• The central theme of The Cask of Amontillado is revenge. In your essay, you can analyze how suspense contributes to the revenge plot.
• You may also explore the story’s tone and how it helps to build tension.
• Alternatively, you can focus on the Gothic elements and their impact on the story’s atmosphere.

A Rose for Emily Literary Analysis Prompt

• There are several important symbols in A Rose for Emily , such as a strand of hair, Emily’s house, or the ticking watch. You can dive deeper into their meaning and significance.
• You may also focus on the story’s themes. They include death and conflict between generations.
• Try analyzing literary devices Faulkner uses, including metaphors, irony, and personification. How do they contribute to the story’s mood?

The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis Prompt

• One of the central themes featured in The Story of an Hour is freedom. Analyze what kind of freedom is discussed and how free the main character really is.
• You may also explore Kate Chopin’s writing style. For example, focus on how irony complements the story’s plot and tone.
• Another aspect that you can focus on is symbolism . Notable examples include time, death, and heart trouble.

Tell-Tale Heart Literary Analysis Prompt

• Analyze why Edgar Allan Poe chose to tell the story in the first person. How does it contribute to the gloomy tone?
• Or, you may focus on the story’s themes : guilt, confinement, and mental health. How are they represented?
• Finally, you can examine the symbols in Tell-Tale Heart , such as the house, the bed, the bedroom, and the eye. Try to find out the meaning behind them.

Fahrenheit 451 Literary Analysis Prompt

• Explore the use of animal imagery and the lack of nature descriptions in the novel.
• You can also focus on the harmful effect of technology and its contribution to the dystopian world of Fahrenheit 451 .
• The story’s central theme is censorship vs. freedom of speech. You may explore this conflict in your essay.

Prompt for a Literary Analysis of The Canterbury Tales

• Analyze the themes of The Canterbury Tales . These include deceit, the church’s corruption, and the importance of company.
• Focus on examining the writing style. Try to find out how it contributes to the tales’ tone and atmosphere.
• You may also explore the symbols, such as clothing, appearance, and spring. If you’re curious about this literary work, check out our article on the symbols in The Canterbury Tales .

Prompt for a Literary Analysis of Barn Burning

• Consider examining the conflict between loyalty to one’s family and obedience to the law.
• Focus on analyzing the symbols of Barn Burning , such as the soiled egg and fire.
• You can also explore the role of darkness in the story. Dive deeper into its contribution to the tone of Barn Burning .

Make sure to check out our Barn Burning study guide to learn more facts about the story.

Death of a Salesman Literary Analysis Prompt

• Examine how the author covers the American dream theme in Death of a Salesman . What is the characters’ interpretation of the American dream?
• You can also try analyzing the symbols in the play, such as diamonds, seeds, the rubber hose, and Linda’s stockings.
• You may also focus on exploring the mythological figures connected with the story. Dive deeper into the comparisons to the Greek gods, such as Hercules and Adonis.

Want to know more? Check out our Death of a Salesman study guide .

Frankenstein Literary Analysis Essay Prompt

• In your essay, you can focus on the symbols of Frankenstein , such as darkness and fire. Why are they important?
• Another aspect you can concentrate on is the point of view. Mary Shelley writes from the perspective of 3 different characters. What does it help to achieve?
• You can also explore the novel’s themes: sublime nature, family, creation, and dangerous knowledge. Check out our article on the themes in Frankenstein to learn more about them.

Hamlet Literary Analysis Essay Prompt

• There are numerous themes in Hamlet that you can examine in your essay, including revenge, the supernatural, death, corruption, and politics.
• You can also focus on the symbols of the story and their significance. They include Hamlet’s dark clothes, the skull , and the weather.
• One of the motifs in Hamlet is misogyny. You can analyze its representation in the play.

To understand the play better, check out our Hamlet study guide .

Prompt for a Literary Analysis of Night by Elie Wiesel

• One of the themes of Night is silence. You can explore why it is important and what it represents.
• You can also focus on the symbolism of night and fire . Try to find out the meaning behind them.
• Consider analyzing the characters in the novel and their actions in dramatic situations. Check out our article on characters in Night to learn more.

Othello Literary Analysis Prompt

• One of the central themes of Othello is isolation and its dangers. Examine how it is portrayed.
• Another theme you can analyze is that of justice. Try focusing on how the characters are driven by the desire to do always the right thing.
• Consider exploring the famous metaphors from the play, such as jealousy being a “green-eyed monster.”

If you want to understand this literary work better, make sure to check out our Othello study guide .

Pride and Prejudice Literary Analysis Prompt

• When it comes to the themes in Pride and Prejudice , you can focus on integrity, love, family, gender, class, and reputation.
• Another central theme of the novel is marriage. Discuss the importance of marriage and its connection to social status and money.
• In your essay, you can elaborate on the symbolism of dancing and its significance.

Don’t forget to check out our study guide on Pride and Prejudice to learn more about the novel’s elements.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Literary Analysis Prompt

• Consider analyzing the motifs of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight : games, the color green, and the seasons.
• Apart from the motifs, you can also examine the themes of nature, chivalry, Christianity, courtesy, and truth. To learn more about them, check out our article on the themes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight .
• Finally, you may explore the symbolism of the green girdle. It’s an essential element of the poem and deserves special attention.

The Great Gatsby Literary Analysis Essay Prompt

• One of the most popular symbols of The Great Gatsby is the green light. You can focus on exploring its iconic status in world literature.
• One of the central themes of The Great Gatsby is the American dream . Analyze how it is portrayed and the author’s attitude to it.
• Another idea for an essay is to write about the novel’s characters: Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, the Buchanans, and others. Make sure to read our article on The Great Gatsby characters to understand them better.

The Lottery Literary Analysis Prompt

• What role do family ties play in The Lottery ? You can dive deeper into this motif and analyze its meaning and importance.
• Another central theme of The Lottery is tradition. Your essay can focus on how dangerous it is to follow conventional practices blindly.
• There are several symbols in the story, but the lottery itself is the key one. You can explore what it represents. And don’t forget to check out our analysis of The Lottery to learn more.

Kafka’s Metamorphosis Literary Analysis Prompt

• One of the major themes of Metamorphosis is psychological distance. You can analyze how the main character’s transformation leads to his alienation.
• Explore the story’s recurring symbols, such as food, the father’s uniform , and the portrait of a woman wearing furs.
• Another point that you can focus on is the motifs of the story. They include transformation and sleep.

You’re welcome to read our The Metamorphosis study guide to learn more about the story.

The Necklace Literary Analysis Prompt

• Consider analyzing the story’s themes. Some examples are greed, the deceptiveness of appearances, and vanity. Check out our article on The Necklace’s themes to learn all about them.
• You can also focus on exploring the symbolism of the necklace . Try to dive deeper into how a piece of jewelry is connected to high status and wealth.
• Explore how the class conflict is presented in The Necklace . You can also analyze the author’s attitude to it.

The Odyssey Literary Analysis Prompt

• In your essay, focus on the epic’s main themes: vengeance, hospitality, and loyalty.
• Homer uses many epithets in The Odyssey to describe the sea, such as “wine-dark.” Look into what they may represent.
• Another good point for discussion is the symbolism. Consider discussing the significance of the wedding bed, the sea, eagles, and food.

To understand the poem better, check out our The Odyssey study guide .

The Yellow Wallpaper Literary Analysis Essay Prompt

• The wallpaper is the central symbol of the story. In your essay, try to uncover its significance and how it affects the main character.
• You can also analyze how Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses different types of irony in the story. Examples include dramatic, verbal, and situational irony.
• You can also focus on The Yellow Wallpaper’s themes. Some of them are self-expression, mental illness, gender roles, miscommunication, and the role of women in marriage.

Don’t forget to check out our study guide if you want to know more.

Wuthering Heights Literary Analysis Prompt

• Explore the symbolism of moors, nature, and ghosts. Emily Bronte uses these symbols to represent not only abstract ideas but also characters’ personalities.
• You can also examine the central themes of Wuthering Heights. Some of them are love and passion, class conflict, revenge, and the supernatural.
• Another point worth writing about is nature imagery and how the author uses it to represent the characters’ personalities. To learn about it, make sure to check out our Wuthering Heights analysis .

✍️ Writing a Literary Analysis: Step by Step

Now, after you’ve decided on your topic, it is time to write your analysis.

Don’t know where to start? Well, we got your back! Here are some steps for you to write a great literary essay.

If you wish to learn more, you can check out our guide on how to write a literary analysis.

Best Tips for Writing a Literary Analysis

There are many things to keep in mind when writing about literature. But there’s no need to worry: we are here to help you. Here are the four components that will help to make sure you get an excellent grade on your essay:

• Make sure you refer to the literature you write about in the proper format. For example, the titles of plays and full-length books should be italicized, while poems and short stories should be in quotation marks. You may consult Purdue University’s excellent citation guides to be on the safe side.
• Ensure that the quotes are properly attributed with the correct page numbers.
• Avoid directly quoting or borrowing arguments from previously published literary analysis samples. Using the same forms of argument and language is a form of plagiarism.
• Remember that you need a brief introduction with a clear thesis statement, distinct body paragraphs, and a cohesive conclusion. If you find it hard to write concisely, feel free to use our essay shortener to save time.

📃 Literary Analysis Example for Free

Looking for a fully-formatted literary analysis example? Look no further! Download our excellent sample in PDF format below.

The Little Match Girl is a short story by Hans Christian Andersen. It’s a touching tale about a poor girl who spends New Year’s Eve working on the streets, dreaming of a better life, and warming herself by lighting matches she failed to sell. Some of the main themes include loneliness, struggle, and cruelty.

We hope that you found some inspiration to take your essay on the next level. Let us know what literary studies topic you like the most and other literary analysis ideas you have!

❓ Literary Analysis Essay FAQs

If you’re writing a literary analysis, make sure you don’t summarize the text you are analyzing. Instead, focus on your thesis and the supporting evidence. You should also avoid using phrases such as “in my opinion.”

A literary analysis should always include information on the text’s components. They include plot, setting, themes, motifs, imagery, tone, and character analysis. Don’t forget to write about the way the author uses these elements and how they contribute to the overall work.

The introductory part of your literary analysis should include a thesis statement that conveys the structure of your essay. Don’t forget to mention the author and provide background information about the text. Remember to start your body paragraphs with a topic sentence.

A literary analysis is usually 5-paragraphs long. The introduction and conclusion consist of one paragraph each, while the main body has three.

A literary analysis is a type of writing assignment containing an analysis of a literary piece. In a literary analysis, you should evaluate and interpret the work by analyzing its plot, setting, motifs, themes, characters, and style.

Further reading:

• Case Study Analysis Example + How-to Guide
• How to Write a Film Analysis Essay
• Short Story Analysis: Step by Step How-to Guide
• How to Write a 5-Paragraph Essay: Outline, Examples, & Writing Steps
• Literature Review Outline: Examples, Approaches, & Templates
• Find a Topic Idea: Questia
• A CS Research Topic Generator: Purdue University
• 50 Critical Analysis Paper Topics: Owlcation
• Variations on a Theme: Common Types of Literary Analysis Papers: UVM Writing Center
• How do I find literary analysis essay topics? Baker Library
• Literary Terms: Purdue O.W.L.
• Literary Terms: Stanford University
• How To Write A Literary Analysis Essay: Bucks College
• Writing Critical Essays about Literature: Gallaudet University
• Literature (Fiction): UNC Writing Center
• Literary criticism: Britannica
• Fiction vs Non-Fiction – English Literature’s Made-Up Divide: The Guardian
• Feminist Literary Criticism: ThoughtCo
• Feminist Criticism: Washington State University
• A Short Guide to Close Reading for Literary Analysis: UW Madison
• William Shakespeare Biography: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
• William Shakespeare: Poets.org
• Hamlet Topic Overview: Gale
• Macbeth – Themes: BBC
• From Plato to Platonism: Cornell University Press
• Sophocles: World History Encyclopedia
• Charles Dickens, 1812-1870: University Of California
• Heroes and the Homeric Iliad: University of Houston
• Historical Context of Song of Solomon: Columbia College
• The Red Badge of Courage: University of South Florida
• William Blake: University of Delaware
• William Butler Yeats: Yale University
• Chaucer’s Influences: University of Glasgow
• John Keats: King’s College London
• UVA Commemoration Looks at King’s ‘Why We Can’t Wait’ in Light of Today’s Issues: University of Virginia
• Alice Walker: National Museum of African American History & Culture
• Virginia Woolf: University of London
• Harper Lee: Encyclopedia of Alabama
• A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner: Baruch College
• Death of a Salesman and Death of a Salesman: The Swollen Legacy of Arthur Miller: Columbia University
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Ohio State University
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Boston College
• Themes In Wuthering Heights: Brooklyn College
• The Metamorphosis: Grossman School of Medicine
• Gothic and the Female Voice: Examining Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”: Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute
• The Literature Review: University of Southern California
• Cicero (106—43 BCE): Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Analyzing Novels & Short Stories: TAMU Writing Center
• Literature Analysis: PLU Writing Center
• What Is Analysis?: Austin Community College
• Writing Your Literary Analysis: University of Hawaii
• Literary Analysis Paper: Western Michigan University
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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

414 Proposal Essay Topics for Projects, Research, & Proposal Arguments

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Literary Analysis Essay

Literary Analysis Essay Topics

Interesting Literary Analysis Essay Topics & Ideas

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Published on: Aug 28, 2020

Last updated on: Jan 29, 2024

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Many students struggle to find interesting and engaging literary analysis essay topics. This hinders their ability to excel in literary analysis and interpretation.

Frustrated with the lack of compelling topics, students often feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to start their analytical journey. 

But there’s no need to worry because we’ve got you covered!

Our blog provides a diverse selection of thought-provoking literary analysis essay topics. 

With our comprehensive guide, you can unlock their potential and approach literature with newfound excitement and confidence.

So let’s dive into it! 

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Literary Analysis Essay Topics For Students

In a literary analysis essay, you need to explore the power of words in shaping meaning and conveying emotions. Here are some literary analysis essay topic examples.

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Literary Analysis Essay Topics for Middle School Students 

• Satire in Absalom and Achitophel by John Dryden
• Discuss the main character of ‘The Crucible.’
• Analyzing the message in the Life of Pi
• Importance of the theme of hope in literature
• Focus on what the novel reveals about the 1920s.
• The class conflict in Barn Burning
• Romeo and Juliet are the true rebels- what do you think?
• The use of allegory in Animal Farm.
• Describe the struggle for good and evil in Shakespeare’s Macbeth
• How to deal with a rude teen?

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for College Students 

Check out our list of literature essay topics for college students here:

• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
• The reasons why youngsters are becoming criminals
• The depiction of Eve in Milton’s Paradise Lost
• Children’s vaccination: why it is important.
• Examine the portrayal of women in ‘Othello.’
• The Hunger Games vs. The Lottery
• What does the ending of “The Great Gatsby” mean?
• What role does money play in Fitzgerald’s novel?
• Literary analysis of a streetcar named desire
• The irony in Jerome’s stories

Good Literary Analysis Essay Topics   

An essay topic is considered good if it is understandable for the audience and easy for you to explain. 

We can help you if you are a high school student looking for some good topics for a literary analysis essay. Below, you will find many different yet attractive topics for your literary analysis paper. 

Literary Analysis Topics for Othello

• Analyze the role of Bianca in the play “Othello” and also analyze how her class influences the ways people treated her.
• Analyze the behavior of men toward Emilia in the play “Othello”?
• Analyze the idea of jealousy and love in the play “Othello.”
• Analyze the type of relationship does Othello have with Cassio?
• Analyze how women are portrayed in “Othello”?
• To what extent are males dominant in “Othello”? Analyze.
• To what extent are women depicted differently in “Othello” than they are today?
• To what extent do women show their empowerment throughout the theme of the “Othello”?
• What message did “Othello” have for society?
• Try to analyze the purpose of the play.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for Catcher in the Rye

• Analyze the character of Holden, as seen in the “Catcher in the Rye.”
• Analyze and explain why Catcher in the Rye is considered one of the American classics.
• Describe phoniness and innocence, as displayed in the novel.
• Analyze the scenarios that show hypocrisy in the play “Catcher in the Rye.”
• Analyze the theme of self-discovery from the novel.
• Analyze the most influential element of the novel.
• Describe the theme of loneliness in the story.
• Analyze the aspects of human nature exposed by the novel.
• Identify some of the aspects that show that Holden contradicts himself.
• Try to analyze whether Holden is considered a dynamic or a static character.

1984 Literary Analysis Paper Topics

• How can the book “1984” be compared with the books of today?
• Analyze the theme, setting, and characters of the novel.
• Analyze the turning point in the novel.
• Analyze the novel “1984” in the context of racial discrimination.
• Analyze the concept of “party” in the novel “1984”.
• Analyze how “dystopia” has been highlighted in the book “1984” By George Orwell.
• Analyze how oppression and fear became the reason for rebellion in “1984”.
• Analyze “1984” in the context of Carl Jung’s analytical psychology.
• What do you think about the purpose of the book?
• Analyze the book from the “Sci-Fi” aspect.

“Hamlet” Literary Analysis Essay Topic Ideas

• Analyze how Shakespeare uses the imagery in act three of “Hamlet”?
• Analyze how Hamlet’s speech moved from active to passive.
• List the names of Hamlet’s various foils. What role do they play, and how much are they important?
• Analyze how Hamlet’s character and the plot of the play develop along with his ideas of sin and salvation.
• Analyze how Hamlet perceives death. Support your analysis with at least three quotes from credible sources.
• Analyze how Hamlet relates to King Lear.
• Analyze the mood swings of Hamlet throughout the play. What influences his mood?
• Analyze the character of Hamlet from the perspective of a hero and a villain.
• Analyze the relationship between hamlet and Ophelia.
• How “suicide” is the main theme of hamlet?

Macbeth Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Analyze which among Banquo, Macduff, and Macbeth was the real villain?
• What does the blood symbolize in the play “Macbeth”?
• Talk about Macbeth’s hallucinations and visions. Also, analyze its effects on the overall character?
• Analyze King Duncan’s personality and state his contributions to the play.
• Discuss Macbeth’s insanity as a result of greedy and dishonest nature.
• Analyze how figurative language is used in “Macbeth.”
• Analyze how imagery will help in understanding “Macbeth” easily.
• Discuss what would happen if the gender roles of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth were switched.
• The supernatural plays an important role in Macbeth. Analyze.
• Analyze the minor characters of the play.

“The Crucible” Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Analyze the roles of Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams.
• What role did sex, and sexual repression, play in The Crucible?
• Why are Danforth, Hathorne, and the others did not believe that Abigail and the other girls were liars?
• Analyze the type of government Salem was running.
• Analyze Reverend Parris and his motivations in support of the witch trials.
• Discuss the way Miller has presented the ideas about freedom in The Crucible?
• How would you analyze Miller’s presentation of Abigail in The Crucible?
• How do Miller present ideas about witch-hunts in The Crucible?
• Discuss the changes that Reverend Hale undergoes in the course of the play.
• What kind of governmental rule is shown in the play?

Romeo and Juliet Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Discuss the character of Romeo and his passion for Rosaline. Does this weaken the intensity of the love he feels for Juliet?
• Examine and analyze the dramatic role Friar Laurence serves in the play “Romeo and Juliet.”
• Analyze what makes Mercutio so memorable a character in the story of Romeo and Juliet?
• Examine the role of women that William Shakespeare describes.
• Why are Romeo and Juliet referred to as "star-crossed lovers.” Discuss the concept of the destiny that has been predetermined for them.
• Discuss Act 3, Scene 2 of the play, and pay particular attention to its poetic merits.
• Discuss the passage of time throughout Romeo and Juliet.
• Examine carefully the similarities and differences between the two young men who love Juliet.
• Why is this play a favorite of all?
• Why is the story of Romeo and Juliet still remembered?

The Great Gatsby Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Analyze the metaphorical meaning of color that the writer has tried to present in the novel?
• Analyze the modernism depicted in The Great Gatsby.
• Conduct analysis in the symbolic meaning of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
• What is the metaphorical meaning of the Valley of Ashes?
• What is the meaning of time in the novel?
• Analyze the mindset of Fitzgerald in “the great Gatsby” and Mark Twain in “A Tramp Abroad.”
• How do secondary characters add up to the storyline?
• What are the central themes in The Great Gatsby?
• Analyze the end of the play.
• What message does society get from “The Great Gatsby”.

“Fahrenheit 451” Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Analyze the steps that make Montag decide to preserve books instead of destroying them.
• Consider the idea of conformity instead of individuality presented in this novel.
• Analyze the main title of the novel.
• Explain the messages or ideas the author is trying to share with his readers. Analyze the aspects of society that he has targeted.
• Conduct a literary analysis of the book and the movie “Fahrenheit 451”. Keep into consideration the bibliography.
• Analyze the significant ideological problems involved in censorship.
• Concentrate on the dual image that the fire has in this novel. What is it indicating?
• Evaluate the psychological complexity of your favorite character from the novel.
• Discuss the use of quotations from literature in Fahrenheit 451.
• Discuss the theme of the book.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics on “To Kill a Mockingbird”

• Analyze the childhood world of Jem, Scout, and Dill.
• Analyze the relationship of Jem with Boo Radley.
• Analyze the role Jem and Scout played throughout the novel.
• What is Atticus’s relationship to the rest of Maycomb?
• Analyze the role of Maycomb in the community shown in the novel.
• Discuss the role of family in To Kill a Mockingbird.
• What vibes did you get from the character of Aunt Alexandra.
• Examine Miss Maudie’s relationship to the Finches.
• Discuss the way the author has described Maycomb.
• Analyze the author’s intention towards Boo Radley.

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for The Animal Farm

• Discuss the most important theme of the novel.
• Analyze the main characters of the novel.
• The novel, Animal Farm is a symbolism for human civilization. How?
• Analyze the use of persuasive language in the novel.
• Examine the Orwellian tone. How did it contribute to making the novel humorous?
• What is the symbolism of the windmill in the novel?
• Discuss the plot of the novel “The Animal Farm".
• How is a farm house the main setting of the novel?
• What is the inherent irony in “The Animal Farm”.
• Discuss the use of fables in the novel.

Beowulf Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Role of Women in the Poem Beowulf
• What is the main idea of the story?
• The Meaning of Rings in Beowulf
• Literary analysis on Burton Raffels’ translation of “Beowulf.”
• Who are the most developed characters in this story?
• The women in Beowulf
• Analyze the essence of one symbol in Beowulf
• Christian and Pagan Elements in “Beowulf”
• What is Grendel’s claw?
• Beowulf’s opinions on the story

Frankenstein Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Who is the real monster in Frankenstein?
• Frankenstein and the Human Mind
• Analyze what fire is trying to symbolize.
• An Analysis of Grendel and Frankenstein
• Evil is created, not born, in Frankenstein
• Frankenstein: Romantic or Tragic Hero?
• Analyze philosophy in “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
• Shelley Mary‘s Frankenstein rejection
• The main role of society in the novel.
• Why Is Frankenstein a Gothic novel?

Interesting Literary Analysis Essay Topics for Movies 

• Analyze the theme of ‘Pursuit of Happiness.’
• Enslavement in the “Moby Dick”
• Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter film analysis
• "Bridget Jones’s Diary" movie review
• How did the story develop in ‘Midway’?
• Sense of sin in The Scarlet Letter
• Red Tails by George Lucas film analysis
• Analysis of The Film Beasts of No Nation
• Music of modern non-fiction films.
• Male pride and Jealousy in The Dead

Social Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• The role of Shakespeare in world literature
• The impact of technology on kids' minds
• The main causes behind rapid climate change.
• How does bullying affects schooling children?
• Does alcohol always create problems?
• How is our society dealing with poverty?
• Migration of polar bears: the reasons.
• How to stop the sale of drugs?
• The cultural impact of literature
• How to prevent cybercrime?

Literary Review Essay Topics

• The Works of William Shakespeare: A Review of his Plays and Sonnets
• Feminist Themes in Jane Austen's Novels: A Critical Analysis
• The Role of Magical Realism in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Works
• The Modernist Movement in Literature: A Review of Key Authors and Works
• The Influence of the Harlem Renaissance on African American Literature
• The Gothic Genre in Literature: A Review of Classic and Contemporary Works
• Postcolonial Literature: A Review of the Works of Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Use of Satire in Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels"
• The Works of Edgar Allan Poe: A Review of his Short Stories and Poetry
• Contemporary American Literature: A Review of the Works of Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, and Cormac McCarthy

How to Choose a Literary Analysis Essay Topic?    

Choosing a topic may not be as simple as it looks. One must have sufficient time to search for the topic, analyze it, and see if it fits the requirements. 

While you are searching for the topic, make sure to look for something interesting and eye-catching. To grab the reader’s attention , you must ensure that you write your essay on an interesting and unique topic. 

You can also look for different literary analysis title examples to get an idea.

No matter what type of essay you are writing, you must come up with a strong and interesting topic. It will help you attain the reader’s attention and allow you to write in detail. 

While looking for good analytical essay topics for a literary work, you must keep the following things in mind. 

• Thoroughly read the literary work. 
• Try to identify the main objectives of the work. 
• Identify and understand the purpose of the work. 
• Choose a topic that is directly related to your chosen work. 
• Analyze the topic in detail with different literary devices before you start writing on it.
• Focus on your target audience and write according to their caliper.
• Stick to the theme of the literary work while writing your essay. 

Check out this video for detailed information about how to choose a literary analysis topic.

Tips to Write an Effective Literary Analysis Essay

Being a student, you must be ready all the time to write any type of essay. Remember that essay writing is not as difficult as it may seem to many students. There are some very simple things that you need to ensure.

Some quick tips for writing a literary analysis essay easily are as follows.

• Focus on the topic you have selected and collected sufficient data related to it.
• Collect relevant evidence from authentic sources.
• Create a strong  literary analysis essay outline  for your essay.
• Develop your main thesis statement in such a way that it supports your essay.
• Once you are done with the writing process, make sure that you revise it at least once. This will help you write a high-quality and error-free essay.

You can also check out our literary analysis essay guide to learn how to write your analysis!

Despite having a good topic, all the guidance, and the required information, many students can still not write an essay themself. The reason may not be the incompetence of a student. Sometimes students lack time as they have many other assignments to take care of.

If you are also in this situation, opting for a professional essay writing service is the best option. At CollegeEssay.org , we provide the custom essay writing service. Our team of professional writers is just a message away from assisting you.

Get in touch with our customer service at any time of the day and let us know all your queries. Moreover, you can give our AI essay generator a try and let all your stress of assignment completion go away.

Barbara P (Literature, Marketing)

Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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644 Literary Analysis Essay Topics & Good Ideas

18 January 2024

last updated

Literary analysis essay topics include a diverse landscape of genres, time periods, authors, and themes. They can explore the subtle nuances of symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” the treatment of femininity in Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre,” or the depiction of dystopia in George Orwell’s “1984.” Various themes may dissect the function of soliloquy in Shakespeare’s plays or delve into the role of realism and magic in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” Discussions on contemporary works might question the societal implications found in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Analysis can also touch on broader aspects, such as the influence of historical context on literary development or the intersectionality of race, class, and gender in literature. Hence, literary analysis essay topics facilitate a profound exploration of literature’s multi-faceted nature.

Best Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Exploring Symbolism and Other Themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Decoding Gothic Elements in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”
• Interpreting Allegorical Meanings in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
• Investigating Feminist Themes in Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre”
• Scrutinizing Social Constructs in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”
• Unveiling Cultural Commentary in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”
• Revealing Dystopian Elements in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”
• Examining Existentialism in Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”
• Analyzing Satire in Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”
• Highlighting Racial Prejudice in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”
• Assessing Immigrant Experiences in Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Namesake”
• Dissecting Historical Context in Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
• Pondering on the Paradox of Freedom in Anthony Burgess’ “A Clockwork Orange”
• Surveying Eco-Criticism in Barbara Kingsolver’s “The Poisonwood Bible”
• Detailing Magic Realism in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude”
• Probing the Clash of Ideologies in Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”
• Delineating Human Nature in William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”
• Comparing the Past and Present in George Eliot’s “Middlemarch”
• Contrasting Class and Gender in Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”
• Understanding the Subversion of Gender Roles in Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando”
• Decoding Satirical Portrayal of American Society in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”
• Evaluating the Concept of Heroism in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”

Easy Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Unraveling the Psychology of Fear in Stephen King’s “It”
• Comprehending Trauma and Healing in Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner”
• Investigating Environmental Ethics in Rick Bass’s “The Watch”
• Clarifying Absurdism in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”
• Appraising Romanticism in Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”
• Gauging the Effects of Colonialism in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• Judging War’s Consequences in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five”
• Differentiating Reality and Fantasy in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
• Parsing Faith and Doubt in Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi”
• Scrutinizing the Concept of Time in Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time”
• Inspecting Self-Identity in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”
• Delving Into the Power of Language in George Orwell’s “1984”
• Analyzing Love and Sacrifice in Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”
• Extrapolating Class Conflict in Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”
• Measuring Human Connection in Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway”
• Studying the Influence of Cultural Heritage in Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club”
• Surveying the Pursuit of Happiness in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• Deciphering the Intricacies of Memory in Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”
• Contemplating Maturation in Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Disentangling Illusion and Reality in Tennessee Williams’s “A Streetcar Named Desire”
• Decoding the Dilemma of Choice in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”
• Analyzing Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter”
• Discussing Themes of the Human Spirit in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”
• Probing Into the Conflict of Science and Religion in Ian McEwan’s “Enduring Love”

Interesting Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Probing Into Ethical Ambiguity in Herman Melville’s “Billy Budd”
• Grasping Loss and Acceptance in Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go”
• Decoding Southern Identity in William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury”
• Tracing the Evolution of Feminine Independence in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Dissecting Political Machinations in Robert Penn Warren’s “All the King’s Men”
• Understanding Postmodernism in Thomas Pynchon’s “The Crying of Lot 49”
• Interpreting the Influence of Tradition in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “Love in the Time of Cholera”
• Deconstructing the Dystopian Society in Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Appreciating Nature and Transcendentalism in Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”
• Evaluating the Role of Innocence in J.D. Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey”
• Probing the Concept of Morality in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”
• Assessing the Impact of Alienation in Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”
• Investigating the Clash of Cultures in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Americanah”
• Analyzing the Absurdity of War in Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22”
• Scrutinizing the Power of Ambition in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Critiquing Gender Stereotypes in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”
• Interpreting the Notion of Justice in Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman”
• Dissecting Existentialist Themes in Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Nausea”
• Exploring Rebirth and Redemption in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov”
• Examining Racial Identity in Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man”
• Disentangling the Theme of Prejudice in Mark Twain’s “Pudd’nhead Wilson”
• Investigating Power Dynamics in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for High School

• Exploration of Heroism in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”
• The Portrayal of Society in Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Symbolic Themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Understanding Gender Roles in Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women”
• Romanticism vs. Realism in Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”
• Dystopian Themes in George Orwell’s “1984”
• The Power of Fate in Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”
• Fear of the Unknown in William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”
• The Influence of Setting in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter”
• Love and Betrayal in William Shakespeare’s “Othello”
• The Struggle for Identity in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”
• The Interplay of Power and Corruption in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
• Evolution of Characters in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• Roles of Dreams in John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”
• Unveiling Racism Through Narrative in Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”
• Contrasting Morality in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”
• Death as a Motif in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry
• The Psychology of the Characters in Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
• Irony and Satire in Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”
• The Dilemma of Choice in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”
• Class and Social Conflict in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for Middle School

• Disillusionment in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”
• Ambition and Its Consequences in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Concept of Time in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude”
• Reflection of Society in Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations”
• The Role of Prophecy in Homer’s “The Iliad”
• Humanity’s Inherent Goodness in Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl”
• Illusion vs. Reality in Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire”
• Examination of Nihilism in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Notes From Underground”
• Survival and Hope in Elie Wiesel’s “Night”
• Nature and Self-Discovery in Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”
• Exploration of Mental Health in Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar”
• Tragedy and Redemption in John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars”
• Individual vs. Society in Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
• Parenting and Childhood in Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman”
• Unveiling Gender Stereotypes in Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando”
• The Impact of Isolation in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”
• Quest for Immortality in Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
• Depicting Class Struggle in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”
• The Paradox of Freedom in Anthony Burgess’ “A Clockwork Orange”
• The Weight of Guilt in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The House of the Seven Gables”

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for College Students

• Postcolonial Perspectives in Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children”
• Gothic Elements in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”
• Feminist Critique of Virginia Woolf’s “To The Lighthouse”
• Satirical Devices in Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”
• Existential Themes in Albert Camus’s “The Stranger”
• Racism and Identity in Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”
• Narrative Structure in “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte
• Exploration of Consciousness in James Joyce’s “Ulysses”
• Religious Allegory in John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”
• Examining Sexuality in E. M. Forster’s “Maurice”
• Romanticism in Wordsworth’s “The Prelude”
• Imperialism Critique in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• Roles of Nature in Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”
• Impact of Industrial Revolution on Dickens’s “Hard Times”
• Commentary on Social Class in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”
• Nihilism in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Notes from Underground”
• Exploration of Southern Gothic in Flannery O’Connor’s Stories
• Influence of the American Dream on Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Power Dynamics in George Orwell’s “1984”
• War Commentary in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five”
• The Concept of Time in Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway”

Literary Analysis Essay Topics for University

• Commentary on Materialism in Theodore Dreiser’s “Sister Carrie”
• Rebellion against Victorian Norms in Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”
• Individualism in Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”
• Struggles of the Immigrant Experience in Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club”
• Reflections on War in Wilfred Owen’s Poems
• Cultural Clash in “White Teeth” by Zadie Smith
• Exploration of Adolescence in Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”
• Examination of Insanity in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”
• Postmodernism in Thomas Pynchon’s “The Crying of Lot 49”
• Examination of Loss and Grief in Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking”
• Isolation and Loneliness in Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”
• Exploration of Self-Discovery in Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist”
• Dystopian Themes in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”
• Examination of Childhood Trauma in Stephen King’s “IT”
• Influence of Religion in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov”
• Exploration of Feminine Mystique in Betty Friedan’s Work
• Roles of Faith in Elie Wiesel’s “Night”
• Significance of Social Status in Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence”
• Modernism in T. S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”
• Influence of Culture and Tradition in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”
• Destruction of Innocence in J. D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye”
• Examination of Hubris in Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”

Classics Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• The Symbolic Role of Water in Homer’s “The Odyssey”
• The Tragic Hero’s Journey in Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”
• Gender Dynamics in Euripides’ “Medea”
• Foreshadowing in Virgil’s “The Aeneid”
• Portrayal of Power and Corruption in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”
• Fate in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”
• Theme of Justice in Aeschylus’ “Oresteia”
• Exploration of Identity in Dante’s “Inferno”
• Concept of Love in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Conflict Between Individuality and Society in Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”
• Representation of War and Heroism in Homer’s “Iliad”
• Nature of Gods and Mortals in Milton’s “Paradise Lost”
• Revenge in Euripides’ “The Bacchae”
• Examination of Madness in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• Symbolism of the River in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Irony in Voltaire’s “Candide”
• Exploration of Fate and Free Will in Sophocles’ “Antigone”
• Theme of Transformation in Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”
• Loyalty and Betrayal in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Pride and Hubris in Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex”

George Orwell’s “1984” Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Totalitarianism and Surveillance in George Orwell’s “1984”
• Language and Control in Orwell’s “1984”
• Rebellion and Resistance in “1984”
• Power and Manipulation in Orwell’s “1984”
• The Role of Technology in “1984”
• Symbolism of Big Brother in Orwell’s “1984”
• Love and Intimacy in a Dystopian Society in “1984”
• Identity and Individuality in “1984”
• Propaganda and Indoctrination in Orwell’s “1984”
• The Theme of Doublethink in “1984”
• Psychological Manipulation in Orwell’s “1984”
• The Significance of Newspeak in “1984”
• Rebellion through Art and Literature in “1984”
• The Loss of Freedom and Privacy in Orwell’s “1984”
• Roles of Memory and History in “1984”
• Gender Roles and Sexual Repression in “1984”
• The Critique of Totalitarianism in Orwell’s “1984”
• Language as a Form of Control in “1984”
• The Destruction of Love and Relationships in “1984”
• Themes of Fear in Orwell’s “1984”
• The Role of the Proles in “1984”

Literary Analysis Essay Topics on Coming-of-Age Novels

• The Transformative Journey of Self-Discovery in “To Kill a Mockingbird”
• Identity Formation and Racial Prejudice in “The Catcher in the Rye”
• Rebellion and Independence in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
• Gender Roles and Societal Expectations in “Jane Eyre”
• Moral Development and Ethical Dilemmas in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Maturation and Loss of Innocence in “Lord of the Flies”
• Cultural Assimilation and Individuality in “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”
• Exploration of Sexuality and Personal Growth in “Call Me by Your Name”
• Class Divide and Social Hierarchy in “Great Expectations”
• Acceptance and Belonging in “The Outsiders”
• Coming-of-Age and the Pursuit of Freedom in “The Scarlet Letter”
• Family Dynamics and Emotional Resilience in “To Kill a Mockingbird”
• The Search for Identity and Heritage in “The Color Purple”
• Friendship and Loyalty in “The Kite Runner”
• Loss and Healing in “The Secret Life of Bees”
• Discovering Personal Values and Morality in “The Book Thief”
• Coming-of-Age in the Face of War in “All Quiet on the Western Front”
• Self-Reflection and Self-Discovery in “The Bell Jar”
• Rebellion Against Societal Norms in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
• Race and Prejudice in “Invisible Man”

Analysis Essay Topics on Gothic Literature

• Supernatural Elements in Gothic Literature: Exploring the Role of Ghosts and Hauntings
• The Sublime and the Gothic: Analyzing the Concepts of Terror and Awe
• Female Characters in Gothic Literature: A Study of Their Roles and Representations
• Madness and Insanity in Gothic Fiction: Portrayals and Symbolism
• The Role of Setting in Gothic Literature: Examining the Haunted Houses and Dark Landscapes
• The Power of Secrets in Gothic Novels: Unraveling Hidden Truths and Consequences
• The Use of Symbolism in Gothic Literature: Decoding Cryptic Messages and Meanings
• Psychological Horror in Gothic Fiction: Analyzing the Inner Turmoil of Characters
• Duality and Doubling in Gothic Novels: Exploring the Split Identities and Shadows
• Death and Decay in Gothic Literature: The Ephemeral Nature of Life and Beauty
• The Portrayal of Villains in Gothic Fiction: From Monsters to Manipulative Minds
• The Role of Women Writers in Gothic Literature: Examining Their Contributions and Challenges
• The Influence of Gothic Architecture in Literature: Analyzing the Aesthetic and Atmosphere
• Supernatural vs. Rational in Gothic Fiction: Clash of Beliefs and Realities
• The Grotesque in Gothic Literature: Disfigured Bodies and Distorted Characters
• Gothic Literature and the Exploration of Fear: Unveiling Human Anxieties and Phobias
• The Subjugation of Women in Gothic Novels: Analyzing Power Imbalances and Patriarchy
• Dreams and Nightmares in Gothic Literature: Unconscious Desires and Fears
• The Evolution of Gothic Literature: Tracing its Development from Horace Walpole to the Present
• The Role of Religion in Gothic Fiction: Exploring the Themes of Sin, Redemption, and Damnation
• Love and Desire in Gothic Novels: Unconventional Relationships and Obsessions

Literary Analysis Topics on Historical Fiction

• The Role of Power and Corruption in Historical Fiction
• Exploring the Effects of War on Historical Fiction
• Love and Betrayal in Historical Fiction Novels
• The Portrayal of Gender Roles in Historical Fiction Literature
• Analyzing the Theme of Identity in Historical Fiction
• The Significance of Historical Settings in Fictional Narratives
• Rebellion and Revolution in Historical Fiction
• The Impact of Historical Events on Fictional Characters
• Examining Historical Accuracy in Fictional Works
• Social Class and Its Representation in Historical Fiction
• Analyzing the Role of Historical Figures in Fictional Narratives
• The Use of Symbolism in Historical Fiction Novels
• Examining the Role of Religion in Historical Fiction
• Exploring the Theme of Freedom in Historical Fiction Works
• The Influence of Culture and Customs on Historical Fiction
• The Representation of Historical Trauma in Fictional Narratives
• Roles of Secrets and Hidden Histories in Historical Fiction
• Analyzing the Power Dynamics in Historical Fiction Novels
• The Portrayal of Race and Ethnicity in Historical Fiction Literature
• Effects of Colonialism and Imperialism in Historical Fiction

Literary Analysis Topics About Magical Realism

• Love and Transformation in Isabel Allende’s “The House of the Spirits”
• Symbolism and Metaphor in Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children”
• Magical Realism as a Vehicle for Social Critique in Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”
• The Intersection of Reality and Fantasy in Laura Esquivel’s “Like Water for Chocolate”
• Magical Realism as a Tool for Cultural Identity in Jorge Luis Borges’ “Ficciones”
• The Exploration of Time and Memory in Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle”
• Feminine Power and Magical Realism in Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber”
• The Use of Magical Realism in Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
• Myth and Legend in Alejo Carpentier’s “The Kingdom of This World”
• The Theme of Supernatural in Octavia Butler’s “Wild Seed”
• Magical Realism and Postcolonialism in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Half of a Yellow Sun”
• The Concept of Dream and Reality in Milan Kundera’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”
• The Role of Magical Realism in José Saramago’s “Blindness”
• Dreams and Visions in Gabriel García Márquez’s “Love in the Time of Cholera”
• Magical Realism and the Power of Imagination in Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities”
• The Influence of Magical Realism in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
• Symbolism and Allegory in Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi”
• Magical Realism and Political Satire in Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses”
• The Theme of Destiny and Fate in Laura Esquivel’s “The Law of Love”
• The Role of Magical Realism in Ben Okri’s “The Famished Road”
• Nature and the Supernatural in Isabel Allende’s “Eva Luna”

Modernist Literature Analysis Topics

• The Evolution of Cultural Identity in Modernist Novels
• Exploring Fragmentation and Streamlining Consciousness in Modernist Literature
• The Influence of World War I on Modernist Poetic Expression
• Reimagining Gender Roles in Contemporary Modernist Fiction
• Deconstructing Traditional Narrative Structures in Avant-Garde Novels
• The Role of Urbanization in Shaping Modernist Literary Movements
• Capturing the Essence of Modernity in Revolutionary Modernist Poetry
• The Representation of Time and Memory in Innovative Modernist Prose
• Modernist Literature and the Crisis of Faith in a Changing World
• Experimentation with Language and Form in Cutting-Edge Modernist Poetry
• The Impact of Psychology and Psychoanalysis on Bold Modernist Fiction
• Social Critique and Satire in Provocative Modernist Novels
• Rediscovering Mythology and Folklore in Transgressive Modernist Poetry
• Modernist Literature and the Quest for Genuine Personal Expression
• Examining Alienation and Isolation in Revolutionary Modernist Works
• The Transformation of the Heroic Ideal in Groundbreaking Modernist Prose
• Modernist Literature and the Exploration of Fluid Identity Constructs
• The Representation of Modernist Sensibility in Abstract Poetry
• Challenging Established Values and Morality in Defiant Modernist Novels
• The Modernist Aesthetic: The Influence of Visual Arts on Literary Innovations

Literary Analysis Essay Topics on Movies

• Cultural Identity in “Inception”: Exploring the Layers of Selfhood
• The Power of Redemption in “The Shawshank Redemption”
• Love and Sacrifice in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
• Gender Roles and Stereotypes in “Mad Max: Fury Road”
• Loss and Grief in “Manchester by the Sea”
• Betrayal and Loyalty in “The Departed”
• Technology and Humanity in “Ex Machina”
• Social Class and Inequality in “Parasite”
• Freedom and Rebellion in “V for Vendetta”
• Existentialism and Absurdism in “Fight Club”
• Coming-of-Age in “Moonlight”
• Morality and Ethics in “No Country for Old Men”
• Symbolism and Allegory in “Pan’s Labyrinth”
• War and Its Consequences in “Apocalypse Now”
• Identity and Belonging in “Lost in Translation”
• Power and Corruption in “Citizen Kane”
• Colonialism and Post-Colonialism in “The Last Emperor”
• Individualism vs. Conformity in “The Truman Show”
• Nostalgia and Memory in “The Great Gatsby”
• The Hero’s Journey in “Star Wars: A New Hope”
• Environmentalism and Nature in “WALL-E”

Postcolonial Literature Analysis Topics

• Colonialism’s Impacts on Identity Formation in Postcolonial Literary Analysis
• Decolonizing Language and Literature: Strategies Within Postcolonial Textual Analysis
• Gendered Power Dynamics in Postcolonial Literary Works
• Resistance and Rebellion Explored in Postcolonial Fiction
• Subverting Colonial Narratives: Reimagining History in Postcolonial Literature
• Hybridity and Cultural Identity Formation in Postcolonial Text Analysis
• The Politics of Representing the Postcolonial in Fiction
• Postcolonial Eco-Criticism: Nature and the Environment in Literary Analysis
• Indigenous Perspectives and Voices in Postcolonial Literature
• Exploring Postcolonial Diasporas: Migration and Exile in Literary Works
• Examining the Language of Colonization in Postcolonial Texts
• Rewriting and Reimagining Canonical Texts in the Postcolonial Context
• Nationalism and Anti-Colonial Movements Explored in Postcolonial Literature
• Globalization and Its Impact on Postcolonial Literary Spaces
• Postcolonial Feminist Theory and Women’s Agency in Literature
• Negotiating Identity in Postcolonial Autobiographies
• Resistance through Oral Tradition: Folklore and Mythology in Postcolonial Texts
• Slavery’s Legacy Explored in Postcolonial Literary Analysis
• Revisiting the Past: Historical Fiction in the Postcolonial Context
• Postcolonial Perspectives on Language and Translation in Literature

Literary Analysis Topics About Satire and Social Criticism

• The Use of Irony in Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” as a Social Critique
• Satirical Depiction of Political Corruption in Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
• The Subversive Power of Satire in Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Analyzing Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”
• A Critical Examination of Society’s Obsession With Wealth in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Satirical Commentary on War and Nationalism in Heller’s “Catch-22”
• Critiquing the American Dream in Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”
• The Use of Satire to Challenge Gender Inequality in Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”
• Social Criticism and Satire in Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five”
• Analyzing the Satirical Portrayal of Religion in Voltaire’s “Candide”
• The Critique of Victorian Society in Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”
• Satirical Exploration of Consumerism in Palahniuk’s “Fight Club”
• Examining Satire as a Vehicle for Criticizing Colonialism in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”
• Social Commentary on Racism and Prejudice in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”
• Analyzing the Satirical Attack on Totalitarianism in Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• Critiquing Class Inequity through Satire in Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”
• The Use of Satire to Highlight the Absurdity of War in Vonnegut’s “Mother Night”
• Social Criticism of Victorian Morality in Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
• Satirical Portrayal of Bureaucracy in Kafka’s “The Trial”
• Analyzing the Satirical Critique of Education in Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper”
• Critiquing the Hypocrisy of Society in Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility”

Social Literary Analysis Essay Topics

• Gender Inequality in Literature: Analyzing the Portrayal of Women in Classic Novels
• Racial Discrimination in Contemporary Fiction: Examining the Representation of People of Color
• Environmental Crisis in Literature: Depicting the Devastating Consequences of Climate Change
• Social Class Struggles in Victorian Novels: Unveiling the Disparity Between the Rich and the Poor
• The Role of Literature in Promoting Social Justice: Investigating the Power of Words in Activism
• Immigration and Identity in Literature: Exploring the Experience of Cultural Assimilation
• The Stigma of Mental Illness in Literary Works: Challenging Societal Misconceptions
• Dystopian Societies in Science Fiction: Reflecting on Contemporary Social Issues
• LGBTQ+ Representation in Contemporary Young Adult Literature: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion
• Substance Abuse and Addiction in Literature: Examining the Portrayal of Dependency
• Political Corruption in Novels: Critiquing Power Structures and Governance
• Bullying and Peer Pressure in Coming-of-Age Novels: Analyzing the Impact on Adolescent Characters
• Aging and Ageism in Literature: Exploring the Challenges Faced by Older Characters
• Homelessness in Urban Fiction: Shedding Light on Socioeconomic Marginalization
• Mental Health Stigma in Historical Literature: Revealing the Cultural Attitudes of the Past
• Disability Representation in Contemporary Fiction: Examining the Portrayal of Disabled Characters
• War and Trauma in Literature: Investigating the Psychological Effects of Conflict
• Cultural Appropriation in Literary Works: Addressing Issues of Identity and Authenticity
• Human Rights Violations in Historical Fiction: Uncovering Social Injustices of the Past
• Poverty and Social Inequality in Classic Literature: Reflecting on the Lives of the Impoverished

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About a Subject of Race

• Societal Constructs of Race in Postcolonial Fiction
• Cultural Identity and Racial Stereotypes Within Contemporary Narratives
• Power Dynamics and Racial Divisions in Historical Literary Works
• Racism and Resistance Explored in Afrofuturistic Novels
• Language’s Roles in Shaping Racial Narratives and Identity
• Intersectionality: Examining Race and Gender in Women’s Literature
• Symbolic Representations of Race in Poetry From the Symbolist Movement
• Racial Inequality and Pursuit of Social Justice in Young Adult Novels
• The Representation of Biracial Characters in Literary Works
• Racial Assimilation and Identity Crisis Explored in Immigrant Fiction
• Racial Discrimination and Community Dynamics in Urban Novels
• Race as Performance: Deconstructing Racial Expectations in Postmodern Literature
• Formation of Racial Identity in Coming-of-Age Stories
• Racial Injustices and Class Struggles in Southern Gothic Fiction
• The Portrayal of Native Americans in American Literary Works
• Racial Otherness and Exoticism in Colonial-Era Literature
• Exploring Racial Violence and Trauma Through Literary Memoirs
• Racial Reconciliation and Healing Themes in Contemporary Poetry
• Race and Memory: Unpacking Historical Fiction’s Depiction of the Past
• Satire and Social Critique: Analyzing Racial Themes in Satirical Novels
• Racial Utopias and Dystopias in Speculative Fiction

Literary Analysis Essay Topics About Symbolism and Allegory

• The Profound Symbolism of Nature in Romantic Poetry
• Allegorical Representations of Good and Evil in Classic Literature
• Symbolic Interpretations of Metamorphosis in Kafka’s Work
• Shakespearean Tragedies: Unveiling Symbolic Layers
• Allegorical Themes in George Orwell’s Satirical Works
• Edgar Allan Poe: Unraveling Symbolism and Allegory
• The Green Light’s Symbolic Significance in “The Great Gatsby”
• Unveiling Symbolism: The Conch Shell in “Lord of the Flies”
• Dante’s “Divine Comedy”: Journey Through Allegory
• Symbolism and Allegory in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Masterpiece
• The Symbolic River in Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”
• Allegorical Elements in Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha”
• Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”: Uncovering Symbolic Layers
• Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”: Allegorical Reflections of Society
• Colors as Symbols in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Symbolism and Allegory in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter”
• J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”: A Tale of Symbolic Depth
• Symbolism in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”
• Allegorical Representations of Death in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry
• Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”: The Symbolic Mockingbird

Literary Analysis of War and Peace Topics

• Impacts of Conflict on Individual Identity and Sense of Self
• Consequences of Diplomatic Negotiations in Historical Fiction
• Societal Transformation: The Influence of Warfare and Peacemaking
• Nonviolent Resistance as a Literary Expression
• Familial Dynamics in the Context of Armed Conflicts in Literature
• Exploring the Psychological Toll of Combat Through Literary Works
• Symbolism of Serene Landscapes in Anti-War Novels
• Women’s Roles in Wartime and Peace in Literary Texts
• Analyzing the Metaphorical Language of Conflict and Harmony
• Interplay of Love and Strife in Literary Depictions
• Representation of War Heroes in Literature: Impact on Societies
• The Use of Irony in Writings About War and Peace
• Evolution of War Narratives from Classical to Contemporary Works
• Theme of Reconciliation in Literary Works on War and Peace
• Propaganda’s Influence on Public Perception of Armed Conflicts
• Power Dynamics in Politics: War’s Influence in Literary Texts
• Contrasting the Brutality of Warfare With the Ideal of Harmony
• Exploring Loss and Grief in Literary Works on War
• War Poetry: Representation and Emotional Resonance
• Healing the Wounds of War: Role of Music and Art in Literature
• Honor and Sacrifice: Conceptualization in War Novels

Women’s Literature Analysis Essay Topics

• Exploring Female Identity in Contemporary Fiction
• Unveiling the Subversive Power of Women’s Memoirs
• Empowering Female Characters in Historical Novels
• Examining Gender Roles in Science Fiction Literature
• Deconstructing Patriarchy in Feminist Poetry
• Resilience and Resistance: Women’s Stories of Survival
• Challenging Stereotypes in Women’s Crime Fiction
• Motherhood and Maternal Bonds in Literature
• Reimagining Fairy Tales From a Feminist Perspective
• Female Sexuality in the Works of Women Authors
• Intersections of Race and Gender in Women’s Literature
• Feminist Dystopias: Questioning Gender Norms
• Women’s Coming-of-Age Stories: Identity and Self-Discovery
• Subverting Male Gaze: Reclaiming Female Narratives
• Exploring Sisterhood and Female Friendships in Literature
• Women’s Roles in War and Conflict: Narratives of Courage
• Portrayals of Mental Health in Women’s Literature
• Resistance and Activism in Women’s Poetry
• Breaking Boundaries: Female Protagonists in Historical Fiction
• The Politics of Body and Beauty in Women’s Writing

William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” Literary Analysis Topics

• The Tragic Hero’s Soliloquies in “Hamlet”: Analyzing the Role of Self-Reflection
• Deception and Betrayal: Unraveling Motives of Characters in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• Exploring the Complex Relationship Between Hamlet and Ophelia: Analyzing Love and Madness
• Revenge as a Central Theme in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: Examining the Consequences of Vengeance
• Supernatural Intrigue: The Influence of the Ghost in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• Analyzing the Role of Women in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: Gertrude and Ophelia’s Impact
• Duty vs. Conscience: Hamlet’s Moral Dilemma and Its Ramifications
• Sanity vs. Madness: Unraveling Hamlet’s Mental State
• The Power of Language in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: Analyzing Rhetoric and Wordplay
• Unmasking Deceptions: The Theme of Appearance vs. Reality in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• Fatal Flaw: Analyzing Hamlet’s Tragic Downfall
• Mortality and Existentialism: Exploring the Theme of Death in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• Analyzing the Symbolism of “The Mousetrap” in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• Fate and Destiny: Examining the Tragic Elements in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• The Significance of Hamlet’s Delay: Investigating the Protagonist’s Inaction
• Unveiling Corruption: Analyzing Political Intrigues in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• Comparing and Contrasting Hamlet’s Relationships With His Father and Uncle
• Family Dynamics: Exploring the Theme of Family in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• The Inner Conflict of Hamlet: Analyzing the Struggle Between Passion and Reason
• Foils: Examining Contrasting Traits of Characters in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
• The Consequences of Indecision in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” Literary Analysis Topics

• Fate and Destiny in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Tragic Love in “Romeo and Juliet”
• Gender Roles and Expectations in “Romeo and Juliet”
• Youth and Impulsivity in the Tragedy of “Romeo and Juliet”
• Contrasts Between Love and Hate in “Romeo and Juliet”
• The Role of Mercutio in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Social Class and Conflict in “Romeo and Juliet”
• Parental Influence in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Language and Wordplay in “Romeo and Juliet”
• Light and Darkness in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• The Role of Nurse in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Themes of Loyalty and Betrayal in “Romeo and Juliet”
• Revenge in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Death and Suicide in “Romeo and Juliet”
• Individual vs. Society in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Time and Hastiness in the Tragedy of “Romeo and Juliet”
• Passion and Lust in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Use of Foreshadowing in “Romeo and Juliet”
• Friendship in the Play “Romeo and Juliet”
• Music in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”

William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” Literary Analysis Topics

• Ambition: A Catalyst for Destruction in “Macbeth”
• Guilt and Conscience in Shakespeare’s Tragedy, “Macbeth”
• Power and Corruption: Exploring “Macbeth”
• The Tragic Hero’s Downfall: Analyzing “Macbeth”
• Supernatural Elements in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Gender Roles and Stereotypes in “Macbeth”
• Fate vs. Free Will in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Manipulation and Deception: Themes in “Macbeth”
• Appearance vs. Reality: Unveiling “Macbeth”
• Lady Macbeth’s Influence on Macbeth’s Tragedy
• Blood Imagery: Symbolism in “Macbeth”
• Ambiguity in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Loyalty and Betrayal: Unraveling “Macbeth”
• The Witches’ Role in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Soliloquies: Insight into Characters in “Macbeth”
• Madness and Mental Decline in “Macbeth”
• Violence: Themes in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• Sleep and Dreams: Symbolism in “Macbeth”
• Disruption of Natural Order in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
• The Concept of Time in “Macbeth”
• Honor and Macbeth’s Tragic Flaw: A Character Analysis

“Beowulf” Literary Analysis Topics

• Heroic Archetypes in “Beowulf”: Exploring the Role of the Hero in the Epic Poem
• Symbolism in “Beowulf”: Analyzing the Significance of Grendel’s Lair
• Women in “Beowulf”: An Examination of Gender Roles and Femininity
• The Concept of Loyalty in “Beowulf”: Unraveling the Threads of Trust
• Fate and Destiny in “Beowulf”: A Journey of Predestined Heroes
• Beowulf’s Moral Code: An Exploration of Honor and Virtue
• The Theme of Good vs. Evil in “Beowulf”: The Battle of Light and Darkness
• Christian Influences in “Beowulf”: The Clash of Paganism and Christianity
• The Role of Kingship in “Beowulf”: Leadership and Power
• The Importance of Boasting in “Beowulf”: Pride and Bravery
• Revenge and Retribution in “Beowulf”: Examining the Cycle of Violence
• The Supernatural Elements in “Beowulf”: Magic and the Otherworldly
• Heroic Sacrifice in “Beowulf”: Analyzing Acts of Selflessness
• The Concept of Time in “Beowulf”: Life, Death, and the Passage of Ages
• Nature and the Environment in “Beowulf”: The Symbolism of Land and Sea
• Beowulf’s Battle With Grendel: An Analysis of Violence and Conquest
• Friendship and Companionship in “Beowulf”: The Bonds of Brotherhood
• Honor and Reputation in “Beowulf”: The Price of Glory
• Monsters and Monstrosity in “Beowulf”: The Line Between Human and Beast
• Wisdom and Knowledge in “Beowulf”: The Importance of Experience

Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” Literary Analysis Topics

• Romanticism in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”: Exploring the Portrayal of Emotions and the Sublime
• The Monster as a Tragic Hero: Analyzing the Character Development and Moral Ambiguity
• Gender Roles in “Frankenstein”: Examining the Portrayal of Masculinity and Femininity
• Nature vs. Nurture: Discussing the Influence of Environment and Upbringing on the Characters
• The Pursuit of Knowledge: Investigating the Consequences of Scientific Ambition and Discovery
• Social Alienation in “Frankenstein”: Analyzing the Theme of Isolation and Its Impact on the Characters
• Responsibility and Accountability: Examining the Ethical Dilemmas Faced by the Characters
• The Doppelgänger Motif: Exploring the Presence of Doubles and Reflections Throughout the Novel
• Monstrosity as a Symbol: Discussing the Metaphorical Representation of the Monster in Society
• Parent-Child Relationships in “Frankenstein”: Analyzing the Dynamics Between Victor and His Creation
• Gothic Elements in the Novel: Examining the Use of Darkness, Horror, and the Supernatural
• The Role of Fate in “Frankenstein”: Discussing the Influence of Destiny and Predestination
• The Power of Language: Analyzing the Importance of Communication and Rhetoric in the Novel
• The Subversion of Gender Stereotypes: Examining the Unconventional Female Characters in the Story
• Revenge and Retribution: Discussing the Motives and Consequences of Seeking Vengeance
• The Prometheus Myth: Analyzing the Allusions to the Greek Myth and Its Significance
• The Role of Science in Society: Discussing the Ethical Implications of Scientific Progress
• The Theme of Ambition: Analyzing the Characters’ Pursuit of Power, Success, and Recognition
• Guilt and Remorse in “Frankenstein”: Examining the Characters’ Moral Struggles and Regrets
• The Role of Nature in the Novel: Discussing the Symbolic Significance of Natural Elements
• The Sublime in “Frankenstein”: Analyzing the Awe-Inspiring and Terrifying Aspects of the Sublime

Literary Analysis Topics on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

• Influence of Wealth and Materialism in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Symbolism of the Green Light in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Examining the American Dream in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• The Role of Social Class in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• The Significance of Gatsby’s Extravagant Parties in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Exploring the Decline of the American Dream in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Examining Nick Carraway as the Narrator in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• The Symbolic Role of the Valley of Ashes in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Analyzing the Theme of Time in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• The Role of Morality and Ethics in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Betrayal and Deception in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Foreshadowing in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Examining the Motif of Eyes and Vision in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Religion and Spirituality in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Analyzing the Theme of Isolation in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Fate and Destiny in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Nick Carraway’s Midwest Background in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Hope and Despair in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Dreams and Aspirations in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
• Examining the Theme of Identity in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” Literary Analysis Topics

• Individualism vs. Conformity in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• Power and Authority: A Critical Analysis of “The Crucible”
• Betrayal and Loyalty: Exploring Motives in “The Crucible”
• Hysteria and Mass Psychology: An Analysis of “The Crucible”
• Reputation’s Impacts on Social Standing in “The Crucible”
• Justice and Injustice: A Closer Look at “The Crucible”
• Truth and Deception: Unveiling Hidden Agendas in “The Crucible”
• Guilt vs. Innocence: A Moral Examination of “The Crucible”
• Religion and Morality in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• Fear and Paranoia: Examining the Motifs in “The Crucible”
• Gender Roles and Patriarchy: A Feminist Perspective on “The Crucible”
• Integrity and Moral Courage in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• Social Class and Inequality: The Struggle in “The Crucible”
• Manipulation and Control: Unveiling the Tactics in “The Crucible”
• The Power of Accusation in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• Conflict and Resolution: Analyzing Dynamics in “The Crucible”
• Redemption and Forgiveness: Themes in “The Crucible”
• The Proctor Family: Examining the Role in “The Crucible”
• Symbolism and Allegory in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
• The Significance of the Salem Witch Trials in “The Crucible”
• The Destructive Power of Rumors in “The Crucible”

Literary Analysis Topics on Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”

• Censorship and Its Influence on Society in Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Symbolic Imagery in Ray Bradbury’s Novel “Fahrenheit 451”
• Character Development and Transformations in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• The Role of Technology in Bradbury’s Literary Work “Fahrenheit 451”
• Conflict Between Conformity and Individuality in “Fahrenheit 451”
• The Power of Literature in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Social Criticism in Ray Bradbury’s Famous Novel “Fahrenheit 451”
• The Dystopian Society Portrayed in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Loss of Human Connection and Relationships in “Fahrenheit 451”
• Rebellion and Its Significance in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Fire as a Symbolic Element in Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Psychological Themes Explored in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Intellectual Freedom and Its Importance in “Fahrenheit 451”
• Alienation and Isolation in Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• The Role of Education in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Memory and Identity Exploration in “Fahrenheit 451”
• The Importance of History in Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Gender Roles and Stereotypes Addressed in “Fahrenheit 451”
• The Influence of Mass Media in Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”
• Dehumanization of Society in Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”

William Shakespeare’s “Othello” Literary Analysis Topics

• Identity and Self-Deception in Shakespeare’s “Othello”
• Manipulation and Envy in “Othello”
• The Power of Language in the Tragedy of Othello
• The Role of Women: Subversion and Agency in “Othello”
• Love and Treachery in Shakespeare’s “Othello”
• The Tragic Hero’s Downfall: Othello’s Demise
• Deception and Illusion in “Othello”
• The Destructive Nature of Revenge: Themes in “Othello”
• Racism and Prejudice in the Play “Othello”
• Influence of Social Hierarchies: Shakespeare’s “Othello”
• The Burden of Guilt and Conscience in “Othello”
• Friendship and Loyalty Explored in “Othello”
• Hubris: The Fatal Flaw in Othello’s Character
• The Consequences of Iago’s Machinations in Shakespeare’s “Othello”
• Loss of Innocence: Themes in “Othello”
• The Role of Fate and Destiny in Othello’s Tragedy
• Othello and Desdemona: A Tragic Love Affair
• Symbolism of the Handkerchief in Shakespeare’s “Othello”
• Honor and Reputation in the Play “Othello”
• Themes of Illusion and Reality in “Othello”
• Power Dynamics and Control in Shakespeare’s “Othello”

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12.14: Sample Student Literary Analysis Essays

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• Page ID 40514

• Heather Ringo & Athena Kashyap
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

The following examples are essays where student writers focused on close-reading a literary work.

While reading these examples, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the essay's thesis statement, and how do you know it is the thesis statement?
• What is the main idea or topic sentence of each body paragraph, and how does it relate back to the thesis statement?
• Where and how does each essay use evidence (quotes or paraphrase from the literature)?
• What are some of the literary devices or structures the essays analyze or discuss?
• How does each author structure their conclusion, and how does their conclusion differ from their introduction?

Example 1: Poetry

Victoria Morillo

Instructor Heather Ringo

3 August 2022

How Nguyen’s Structure Solidifies the Impact of Sexual Violence in “The Study”

Stripped of innocence, your body taken from you. No matter how much you try to block out the instance in which these two things occurred, memories surface and come back to haunt you. How does a person, a young boy , cope with an event that forever changes his life? Hieu Minh Nguyen deconstructs this very way in which an act of sexual violence affects a survivor. In his poem, “The Study,” the poem's speaker recounts the year in which his molestation took place, describing how his memory filters in and out. Throughout the poem, Nguyen writes in free verse, permitting a structural liberation to become the foundation for his message to shine through. While he moves the readers with this poignant narrative, Nguyen effectively conveys the resulting internal struggles of feeling alone and unseen.

The speaker recalls his experience with such painful memory through the use of specific punctuation choices. Just by looking at the poem, we see that the first period doesn’t appear until line 14. It finally comes after the speaker reveals to his readers the possible, central purpose for writing this poem: the speaker's molestation. In the first half, the poem makes use of commas, em dashes, and colons, which lends itself to the idea of the speaker stringing along all of these details to make sense of this time in his life. If reading the poem following the conventions of punctuation, a sense of urgency is present here, as well. This is exemplified by the lack of periods to finalize a thought; and instead, Nguyen uses other punctuation marks to connect them. Serving as another connector of thoughts, the two em dashes give emphasis to the role memory plays when the speaker discusses how “no one [had] a face” during that time (Nguyen 9-11). He speaks in this urgent manner until the 14th line, and when he finally gets it off his chest, the pace of the poem changes, as does the more frequent use of the period. This stream-of-consciousness-like section when juxtaposed with the latter half of the poem, causes readers to slow down and pay attention to the details. It also splits the poem in two: a section that talks of the fogginess of memory then transitions into one that remembers it all.

In tandem with the fluctuating nature of memory, the utilization of line breaks and word choice help reflect the damage the molestation has had. Within the first couple of lines of the poem, the poem demands the readers’ attention when the line breaks from “floating” to “dead” as the speaker describes his memory of Little Billy (Nguyen 1-4). This line break averts the readers’ expectation of the direction of the narrative and immediately shifts the tone of the poem. The break also speaks to the effect his trauma has ingrained in him and how “[f]or the longest time,” his only memory of that year revolves around an image of a boy’s death. In a way, the speaker sees himself in Little Billy; or perhaps, he’s representative of the tragic death of his boyhood, how the speaker felt so “dead” after enduring such a traumatic experience, even referring to himself as a “ghost” that he tries to evict from his conscience (Nguyen 24). The feeling that a part of him has died is solidified at the very end of the poem when the speaker describes himself as a nine-year-old boy who’s been “fossilized,” forever changed by this act (Nguyen 29). By choosing words associated with permanence and death, the speaker tries to recreate the atmosphere (for which he felt trapped in) in order for readers to understand the loneliness that came as a result of his trauma. With the assistance of line breaks, more attention is drawn to the speaker's words, intensifying their importance, and demanding to be felt by the readers.

Most importantly, the speaker expresses eloquently, and so heartbreakingly, about the effect sexual violence has on a person. Perhaps what seems to be the most frustrating are the people who fail to believe survivors of these types of crimes. This is evident when he describes “how angry” the tenants were when they filled the pool with cement (Nguyen 4). They seem to represent how people in the speaker's life were dismissive of his assault and who viewed his tragedy as a nuisance of some sorts. This sentiment is bookended when he says, “They say, give us details , so I give them my body. / They say, give us proof , so I give them my body,” (Nguyen 25-26). The repetition of these two lines reinforces the feeling many feel in these scenarios, as they’re often left to deal with trying to make people believe them, or to even see them.

It’s important to recognize how the structure of this poem gives the speaker space to express the pain he’s had to carry for so long. As a characteristic of free verse, the poem doesn’t follow any structured rhyme scheme or meter; which in turn, allows him to not have any constraints in telling his story the way he wants to. The speaker has the freedom to display his experience in a way that evades predictability and engenders authenticity of a story very personal to him. As readers, we abandon anticipating the next rhyme, and instead focus our attention to the other ways, like his punctuation or word choice, in which he effectively tells his story. The speaker recognizes that some part of him no longer belongs to himself, but by writing “The Study,” he shows other survivors that they’re not alone and encourages hope that eventually, they will be freed from the shackles of sexual violence.

Works Cited

Nguyen, Hieu Minh. “The Study” Poets.Org. Academy of American Poets, Coffee House Press, 2018, https://poets.org/poem/study-0 .

Example 2: Fiction

Todd Goodwin

Professor Stan Matyshak

Advanced Expository Writing

Sept. 17, 20—

Poe’s “Usher”: A Mirror of the Fall of the House of Humanity

Right from the outset of the grim story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Edgar Allan Poe enmeshes us in a dark, gloomy, hopeless world, alienating his characters and the reader from any sort of physical or psychological norm where such values as hope and happiness could possibly exist. He fatalistically tells the story of how a man (the narrator) comes from the outside world of hope, religion, and everyday society and tries to bring some kind of redeeming happiness to his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, who not only has physically and psychologically wasted away but is entrapped in a dilapidated house of ever-looming terror with an emaciated and deranged twin sister. Roderick Usher embodies the wasting away of what once was vibrant and alive, and his house of “insufferable gloom” (273), which contains his morbid sister, seems to mirror or reflect this fear of death and annihilation that he most horribly endures. A close reading of the story reveals that Poe uses mirror images, or reflections, to contribute to the fatalistic theme of “Usher”: each reflection serves to intensify an already prevalent tone of hopelessness, darkness, and fatalism.

It could be argued that the house of Roderick Usher is a “house of mirrors,” whose unpleasant and grim reflections create a dark and hopeless setting. For example, the narrator first approaches “the melancholy house of Usher on a dark and soundless day,” and finds a building which causes him a “sense of insufferable gloom,” which “pervades his spirit and causes an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an undiscerned dreariness of thought” (273). The narrator then optimistically states: “I reflected that a mere different arrangement of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression” (274). But the narrator then sees the reflection of the house in the tarn and experiences a “shudder even more thrilling than before” (274). Thus the reader begins to realize that the narrator cannot change or stop the impending doom that will befall the house of Usher, and maybe humanity. The story cleverly plays with the word reflection : the narrator sees a physical reflection that leads him to a mental reflection about Usher’s surroundings.

The narrator’s disillusionment by such grim reflection continues in the story. For example, he describes Roderick Usher’s face as distinct with signs of old strength but lost vigor: the remains of what used to be. He describes the house as a once happy and vibrant place, which, like Roderick, lost its vitality. Also, the narrator describes Usher’s hair as growing wild on his rather obtrusive head, which directly mirrors the eerie moss and straw covering the outside of the house. The narrator continually longs to see these bleak reflections as a dream, for he states: “Shaking off from my spirit what must have been a dream, I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building” (276). He does not want to face the reality that Usher and his home are doomed to fall, regardless of what he does.

Although there are almost countless examples of these mirror images, two others stand out as important. First, Roderick and his sister, Madeline, are twins. The narrator aptly states just as he and Roderick are entombing Madeline that there is “a striking similitude between brother and sister” (288). Indeed, they are mirror images of each other. Madeline is fading away psychologically and physically, and Roderick is not too far behind! The reflection of “doom” that these two share helps intensify and symbolize the hopelessness of the entire situation; thus, they further develop the fatalistic theme. Second, in the climactic scene where Madeline has been mistakenly entombed alive, there is a pairing of images and sounds as the narrator tries to calm Roderick by reading him a romance story. Events in the story simultaneously unfold with events of the sister escaping her tomb. In the story, the hero breaks out of the coffin. Then, in the story, the dragon’s shriek as he is slain parallels Madeline’s shriek. Finally, the story tells of the clangor of a shield, matched by the sister’s clanging along a metal passageway. As the suspense reaches its climax, Roderick shrieks his last words to his “friend,” the narrator: “Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door” (296).

Roderick, who slowly falls into insanity, ironically calls the narrator the “Madman.” We are left to reflect on what Poe means by this ironic twist. Poe’s bleak and dark imagery, and his use of mirror reflections, seem only to intensify the hopelessness of “Usher.” We can plausibly conclude that, indeed, the narrator is the “Madman,” for he comes from everyday society, which is a place where hope and faith exist. Poe would probably argue that such a place is opposite to the world of Usher because a world where death is inevitable could not possibly hold such positive values. Therefore, just as Roderick mirrors his sister, the reflection in the tarn mirrors the dilapidation of the house, and the story mirrors the final actions before the death of Usher. “The Fall of the House of Usher” reflects Poe’s view that humanity is hopelessly doomed.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” 1839. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library . 1995. Web. 1 July 2012. < http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PoeFall.html >.

Example 3: Poetry

Amy Chisnell

Professor Laura Neary

Writing and Literature

April 17, 20—

Don’t Listen to the Egg!: A Close Reading of Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”

“You seem very clever at explaining words, Sir,” said Alice. “Would you kindly tell me the meaning of the poem called ‘Jabberwocky’?”

“Let’s hear it,” said Humpty Dumpty. “I can explain all the poems that ever were invented—and a good many that haven’t been invented just yet.” (Carroll 164)

In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass , Humpty Dumpty confidently translates (to a not so confident Alice) the complicated language of the poem “Jabberwocky.” The words of the poem, though nonsense, aptly tell the story of the slaying of the Jabberwock. Upon finding “Jabberwocky” on a table in the looking-glass room, Alice is confused by the strange words. She is quite certain that “ somebody killed something ,” but she does not understand much more than that. When later she encounters Humpty Dumpty, she seizes the opportunity at having the knowledgeable egg interpret—or translate—the poem. Since Humpty Dumpty professes to be able to “make a word work” for him, he is quick to agree. Thus he acts like a New Critic who interprets the poem by performing a close reading of it. Through Humpty’s interpretation of the first stanza, however, we see the poem’s deeper comment concerning the practice of interpreting poetry and literature in general—that strict analytical translation destroys the beauty of a poem. In fact, Humpty Dumpty commits the “heresy of paraphrase,” for he fails to understand that meaning cannot be separated from the form or structure of the literary work.

Of the 71 words found in “Jabberwocky,” 43 have no known meaning. They are simply nonsense. Yet through this nonsensical language, the poem manages not only to tell a story but also gives the reader a sense of setting and characterization. One feels, rather than concretely knows, that the setting is dark, wooded, and frightening. The characters, such as the Jubjub bird, the Bandersnatch, and the doomed Jabberwock, also appear in the reader’s head, even though they will not be found in the local zoo. Even though most of the words are not real, the reader is able to understand what goes on because he or she is given free license to imagine what the words denote and connote. Simply, the poem’s nonsense words are the meaning.

Therefore, when Humpty interprets “Jabberwocky” for Alice, he is not doing her any favors, for he actually misreads the poem. Although the poem in its original is constructed from nonsense words, by the time Humpty is done interpreting it, it truly does not make any sense. The first stanza of the original poem is as follows:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogroves,

An the mome raths outgrabe. (Carroll 164)

If we replace, however, the nonsense words of “Jabberwocky” with Humpty’s translated words, the effect would be something like this:

’Twas four o’clock in the afternoon, and the lithe and slimy badger-lizard-corkscrew creatures

Did go round and round and make holes in the grass-plot round the sun-dial:

All flimsy and miserable were the shabby-looking birds

with mop feathers,

And the lost green pigs bellowed-sneezed-whistled.

By translating the poem in such a way, Humpty removes the charm or essence—and the beauty, grace, and rhythm—from the poem. The poetry is sacrificed for meaning. Humpty Dumpty commits the heresy of paraphrase. As Cleanth Brooks argues, “The structure of a poem resembles that of a ballet or musical composition. It is a pattern of resolutions and balances and harmonizations” (203). When the poem is left as nonsense, the reader can easily imagine what a “slithy tove” might be, but when Humpty tells us what it is, he takes that imaginative license away from the reader. The beauty (if that is the proper word) of “Jabberwocky” is in not knowing what the words mean, and yet understanding. By translating the poem, Humpty takes that privilege from the reader. In addition, Humpty fails to recognize that meaning cannot be separated from the structure itself: the nonsense poem reflects this literally—it means “nothing” and achieves this meaning by using “nonsense” words.

Furthermore, the nonsense words Carroll chooses to use in “Jabberwocky” have a magical effect upon the reader; the shadowy sound of the words create the atmosphere, which may be described as a trance-like mood. When Alice first reads the poem, she says it seems to fill her head “with ideas.” The strange-sounding words in the original poem do give one ideas. Why is this? Even though the reader has never heard these words before, he or she is instantly aware of the murky, mysterious mood they set. In other words, diction operates not on the denotative level (the dictionary meaning) but on the connotative level (the emotion(s) they evoke). Thus “Jabberwocky” creates a shadowy mood, and the nonsense words are instrumental in creating this mood. Carroll could not have simply used any nonsense words.

For example, let us change the “dark,” “ominous” words of the first stanza to “lighter,” more “comic” words:

’Twas mearly, and the churly pells

Did bimble and ringle in the tink;

All timpy were the brimbledimps,

And the bip plips outlink.

Shifting the sounds of the words from dark to light merely takes a shift in thought. To create a specific mood using nonsense words, one must create new words from old words that convey the desired mood. In “Jabberwocky,” Carroll mixes “slimy,” a grim idea, “lithe,” a pliable image, to get a new adjective: “slithy” (a portmanteau word). In this translation, brighter words were used to get a lighter effect. “Mearly” is a combination of “morning” and “early,” and “ringle” is a blend of “ring” and "dingle.” The point is that “Jabberwocky’s” nonsense words are created specifically to convey this shadowy or mysterious mood and are integral to the “meaning.”

Consequently, Humpty’s rendering of the poem leaves the reader with a completely different feeling than does the original poem, which provided us with a sense of ethereal mystery, of a dark and foreign land with exotic creatures and fantastic settings. The mysteriousness is destroyed by Humpty’s literal paraphrase of the creatures and the setting; by doing so, he has taken the beauty away from the poem in his attempt to understand it. He has committed the heresy of paraphrase: “If we allow ourselves to be misled by it [this heresy], we distort the relation of the poem to its ‘truth’… we split the poem between its ‘form’ and its ‘content’” (Brooks 201). Humpty Dumpty’s ultimate demise might be seen to symbolize the heretical split between form and content: as a literary creation, Humpty Dumpty is an egg, a well-wrought urn of nonsense. His fall from the wall cracks him and separates the contents from the container, and not even all the King’s men can put the scrambled egg back together again!

Through the odd characters of a little girl and a foolish egg, “Jabberwocky” suggests a bit of sage advice about reading poetry, advice that the New Critics built their theories on. The importance lies not solely within strict analytical translation or interpretation, but in the overall effect of the imagery and word choice that evokes a meaning inseparable from those literary devices. As Archibald MacLeish so aptly writes: “A poem should not mean / But be.” Sometimes it takes a little nonsense to show us the sense in something.

Brooks, Cleanth. The Well-Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry . 1942. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1956. Print.

Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-Glass. Alice in Wonderland . 2nd ed. Ed. Donald J. Gray. New York: Norton, 1992. Print.

MacLeish, Archibald. “Ars Poetica.” The Oxford Book of American Poetry . Ed. David Lehman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. 385–86. Print.

Attribution

• Sample Essay 1 received permission from Victoria Morillo to publish, licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ( CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 )
• Sample Essays 2 and 3 adapted from Cordell, Ryan and John Pennington. "2.5: Student Sample Papers" from Creating Literary Analysis. 2012. Licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported ( CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 )

88 Perfect Essay Topics on The Great Gatsby

Welcome to The Great Gatsby Essay Topics page prepared by our editorial team! Here you’ll find a large collection of essay ideas on the novel! Literary analysis, themes, characters, & more. Get inspired to write your own paper!

• 🔬 Literary Analysis
• 🎭 Characters
• 📊 Compare & Contrast
• 🗺️ Navigation

🎓 References

🔬 literary analysis of the great gatsby: essay topics.

• What are the literary devices used to create the image of Jay Gatsby?
• Analyze how Fitzgerald uses imagery in The Great Gatsby.
• The Great Gatsby: analysis and feminist critique
• What do colors symbolize in The Great Gatsby?
• How does Fitzgerald use geographical setting to show the contrast between social classes in the novel?
• How does Fitzgerald convey a notion of the American Dream through metaphors and symbols?
• What does the green light in Daisy’s window represent in The Great Gatsby?
• What does the Valley of Ashes symbolize in The Great Gatsby?
• What role does Nick Carraway’s narration play in the story? If we got it through an omniscient third-person narrator, what would we gain or lose?
• Could the story have been set in other places, like Chicago or Los Angeles, or were New York City and Long Island absolutely necessary?
• Look at the novel’s opening lines. If we accept Nick’s advice when we read the story, will our views of it change? Or, in other words, does refraining from criticism promote compassion?
• Is there a hidden meaning of the title of The Great Gatsby? What is it?
• How is the color white used within the novel? When does it make a false representation of innocence? When does it truly represent innocence?
• Color symbolism in The Great Gatsby
• What is the role of a New York setting in the novel’s storyline?
• What is the real meaning of ‘great’ in the title of The Great Gatsby?
• What significance do colors have in the party’s descriptions in chapter 3?
• Why is Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby a satire?
• Elaborate on the green light as the symbol of the American dream.
• What is the meaning of the phrase “Can’t repeat the past?.. Why of course you can!” What does Gatsby really want from Daisy?
• What role do the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg play in The Great Gatsby?
• How is The Great Gatsby a satirical representation of the society?
• Are the rich in the novel really so careless as everyone believes them to be?
• Create an alternative ending for The Great Gatsby. Justify your choice.
• What is the relationship between those born rich and those who became rich in the novel?
• Fairy tale traits in The Great Gatsby

🎭 Essay Topics on The Great Gatsby’s Characters

• Discuss female characters and their significance in The Great Gatsby.
• Compare Gatsby and Wilson. In what ways are they similar?
• Gatsby & Nick in The Great Gatsby
• Who is the most responsible for Gatsby’s death? Why is it so?
• Why do Tom and Daisy stay together at the end of the novel?
• Does Gatsby’s money bring him real happiness?
• Can Jay’s feelings for Daisy in The Great Gatsby be considered love?
• How do secondary characters affect the story?
• Daisy Buchanan: quotes analysis
• Who is the real hero in The Great Gatsby?
• Can we call Jay Gatsby a romantic hero or a villain?
• What does Jay Gatsby really live for in the novel: the present or the past?
• Compare Myrtle and Daisy.
• Jay Gatsby & Tom Buchanan: compare & contrast
• What does Tom’s quarrel with Myrtle in chapter 2 tell us about his personality?
• Elaborate on how both Tom and Gatsby want to change not only the future, but the past in chapter 7.
• What was Gatsby’s power of dreaming like? Was Daisy a worth object?
• Is anyone to blame for Gatsby’s death?
• Nick as the narrator in The Great Gatsby
• Are there any moral characters in the novel?
• Can Jordan and Daisy be considered perfect role models for the upper class in America? Why or why not?
• Is Gatsby really great? In what way? How does his greatness evolve as the plot unfolds?
• How does Nick’s character change over the course of The Great Gatsby?
• Does Gatsby deserve the definition of a self-made man? Why or why not?
• What role does Daisy play in the conflict between Gatsby & Tom?

🌻 Essay Topics on The Great Gatsby’s Themes

• What are the central themes in The Great Gatsby?
• What roles do fidelity and infidelity play in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby?
• What importance does sex have in the story?
• What role does alcohol play in The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald?
• Did Fitzgerald really criticize the idea of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby?
• Does love play have any importance in The Great Gatsby?
• What role does the relationship between geography and social values play in the novel?
• Francis Scott Fitzgerald & his American Dream
• What is the meaning of time in The Great Gatsby?
• How do the aristocratic East Eggers, Tom and the Sloanes, regard Gatsby in chapter 6? How is their contempt connected to the theme of social class in the novel?
• Analyze The Great Gatsby through the prism of feminist theory.
• How are the themes of kindness and compassion presented in The Great Gatsby?
• Describe how the theme of ambition is presented in the novel.
• Elaborate on how Fitzgerald contrasts education and experience in The Great Gatsby.

⌛ Essay Topics on the Context of The Great Gatsby

• Describe how F.S. Fitzgerald’s life experiences influenced The Great Gatsby.
• What are the examples of modernism in The Great Gatsby?
• How does Fitzgerald represent the society of his time in the novel? Would you like to live in the Jazz era? Why or why not?
• How is America shown in The Great Gatsby? What values do the East and the West represent?
• How does Fitzgerald provide a critical social history of Prohibition-era America in his novel?
• How is the economic boom of postwar America shown in The Great Gatsby?
• Why did The Great Gatsby was neither a critical nor commercial success just after its publication? Why did its popularity grow exponentially several decades after?
• How are racial anxieties of the time shown in the novel?

📊 The Great Gatsby: Compare & Contrast Essay Topics

• Make a critical comparison of the novel with the 2013 movie.
• Make a comparison of the novel with the 1949 movie.
• Compare The Great Gatsby movies of 1949 and 2013.
• Compare and contrast two classic American novels: The Great Gatsbyand The Grapes of Wrath.
• Female characters in The Streetcar Named Desire & The Great Gatsby .
• How are Donald Trump and The Great Gatsby’s Tom Buchanan alike?
• Compare Miller’s Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby.
• What other fictional or non-fictional character from a book or movie can Nick Carraway be compared to?
• Jay Gatsby & Eponine from Les Miserables .
• Make a critical comparison of The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby.
• Compare The Great Gatsby with A Farewell to Arms.
• Make a comparison of Daisy from The Great Gatsby with Henrietta Bingham from Irresistible.
• Love in The Great Gatsby & The Catcher in The Rye .
• What pop stars of nowadays Daisy can be compared to?
• Macbeth vs. Jay Gatsby: make a character comparison.
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450 Analysis Essay Topics & Prompt Ideas in 2023

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Looking for the perfect analytical essay topics? You're in the right place! In fact, there are plenty of things to analyze , whether you're writing about literature, history, politics, or science. All you need is the right direction and a bit of creativity.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of great analysis essay topics, titles and ideas to help you get started on your next analytical paper. And that's not all. We've also included some handy tips on picking a topic that suits you best. So grab a pen and paper and get ready to explore top analysis topics in 2023.

Once you know the topic, but unsure how to write your piece, contact our professionals and buy an essay at StudyCrumb .

What Are Analytical Essay Topics?

An analytical essay is a type of essay where the writer analyzes and evaluates an issue, event, concept, or a work of art. Analytical essay topics are intended to analyze, interpret, and dissect a particular subject. 

Topics for analysis essays often focus on critical issues that require in-depth exploration and understanding. These subjects may include:

• Piece of literature
• Historical event
• Scientific phenomenon
• Economic challenge
• Social issue, etc.

Now that you have a better understanding of the vitals, let's learn how to select good topics for analytical essays.

How to Choose an Analytical Essay Topic?

A good analytical essay topic is a guarantee of successful writing. Below we are going to share some helpful tricks on how to pick an excellent analytical essay title:

• Define your objective Understand what you aim to achieve with your analysis paper. Are you trying to scrutinize a complex idea or explore an aggravating issue? Your goal will guide your topic selection.
• Brainstorm possible ideas During the brainstorming process, you can not only come up with fantastic analysis ideas, but also form a thesis. Write down everything that comes to your mind, even if your thoughts seem awkward at first.
• Pre-assess the topic Spend some time understanding the analysis topic. This preliminary analysis will help determine if it's suitable for your assignment.
• Narrow the scope Ensure your analysis essay title is neither too broad to manage nor too narrow to explore in-depth. It should offer sufficient room for a meaningful analysis.
• Check available resources Confirm that there are enough credible sources to support your analysis. Reliable information will strengthen your arguments.
• Pick the best idea Review your list of potential topics to analyze and give a preference to the title that excites you most. After all, it will be you who turns it into a stunning paper.

Top Analytical Essay Topics List

Are you looking for the best analysis paper topics in different domains? Don’t skip this section. Below, we offer you various analytical essay topics worth discussing.

• Influence of technology on interpersonal communication.
• Impact of climate change on global agriculture.
• Social media's role in modern politics.
• Character psychoanalysis: Hamlet.
• Gender stereotypes in advertisements: a close look.
• Capitalism and income inequality.
• Mozart’s influence on the classical period.
• Plastic waste and its effects on marine life.
• Homeschooling: Pros and cons.
• Existential themes in "Fight Club."
• Mental health and its correlation with social media usage.
• Brexit's impact on the UK economy.
• Feminist themes in "Pride and Prejudice."
• Cryptocurrency and the modern economy.
• Artificial intelligence and its effect on job markets.

Good Analytical Essay Topics

Are you looking for good analysis essay topics ideas that will make your paper stand out? Don’t miss out on the following analytical essay prompts. We've gathered captivating title examples meant to inspire critical thinking in students.

• Plato's cave allegory: Interpretations.
• Fast food culture and obesity rates.
• Themes in Orwell's "1984."
• Cryptography in cyber security.
• Color symbolism in "The Great Gatsby."
• Understanding schizophrenia through case studies.
• Examination of bullying in high school.
• Globalization's effects on local cultures.
• Dark matter: A mystery in the universe.
• Dynamics of interracial marriages.
• Depression: A silent epidemic.
• Urban sprawl and its consequences.
• Examination of sleep disorders.
• Evolution of graphic novels.
• Quantum computing: Prospects and challenges.

Unique Topics for Analysis Essays

Are you in search of unique analytical essay ideas that add that extra spark to your paper? Look no further. The list below encompasses a range of intriguing analytical topics you are sure to appreciate:

• Internet memes: A cultural phenomenon.
• Dissecting "Brave New World" dystopia.
• Analysis of human rights in dystopian literature.
• GMOs: Boon or bane?
• Exploring body language in negotiations.
• Quantum mechanics for laypersons.
• Human-Animal relationships in literature.
• Digitization and the future of libraries.
• Artificial satellites and space pollution.
• Surveillance society: Privacy in the 21st century.
• Symbolism in Tarantino's films.
• Biofuels: An alternative energy source.
• Postmodern architecture: Challenging conventions.
• Linguistic diversity and cultural identity.
• Emotional intelligence in leadership.

Interesting Analysis Paper Topics

To make your writing more exciting, pick a creative title from the list of analytical paper topics below. By choosing a prompt from this selection, you're sure to make an interesting point in your upcoming analytical essay.

• Mental imagery in sports performance.
• Exploring introversion through Carl Jung's theory.
• Cryptocurrencies: A new era in finance.
• Satire in Mark Twain's writings.
• Ethical dilemmas in genetic engineering.
• Game theory in economics.
• Characters' evolution in "Pride and Prejudice."
• Postmodernism in contemporary art.
• Space tourism: Prospects and challenges.
• Mindfulness in cognitive therapy.
• Development of jazz in the 20th century.
• Hidden messages in Disney movies.
• Psychological aspects of cult behavior.
• Pioneering women in computer science.
• Conspiracy theories: A sociological perspective.

Easy Analytical Essay Topics

Don’t want to get too complicated? That's all right. We've got some simpler topics for analytical essay that you can tackle without much effort. Let’s explore these analysis essay ideas together:

• Power dynamics in "Animal Farm."
• Climate change awareness campaigns.
• Fad diets and their popularity.
• Stereotypes in modern sitcoms.
• Mobile apps and user behavior.
• Popular themes in country music.
• Comic books as modern mythology.
• Marketing tactics in the fast food industry.
• Appeal of superhero movies.
• Emotional appeal in advertising.
• Use of color in interior design.
• Motifs in "Harry Potter" series.
• Impact of reality TV on participants.
• Popularity of online shopping.
• Coffee culture around the world.

Advanced Analysis Essay Topics

For those craving a more challenging analysis, we present a collection of advanced analytical essay title examples. These prompts touch on complex themes, concepts, or theories, demanding a higher level of analytical thinking and critical insight. From exploring abstract philosophical ideas to deciphering intricate scientific theories, these analytical topics are perfect for a seasoned writer.

• Existentialism in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot."
• Quantum physics and the nature of reality.
• Influence of ancient Greek philosophy on Western thought.
• Deconstructing post-truth politics.
• Social implications of neuroscience advancements.
• Deep learning in artificial intelligence.
• String theory : A critique.
• Ethical implications of human cloning.
• Exploring moral relativism.
• Psychoanalysis and dream interpretation.
• Understanding Wittgenstein's "Language games."
• Transhumanism and its implications.
• Intersectionality in feminist theory.
• Evolutionary biology and the origin of altruism .
• Analyzing determinism versus free will.

Popular Topics for Analytical Essay

If you're looking to write an essay on a topic that's currently in vogue, look no further. Our assortment of popular topics for analysis essay revolves around themes that are buzzing in today's world. From the latest advancements in technology to hot-button social issues, these analysis writing prompts will help you craft a relevant piece.

• Implications of deepfake technology.
• Metaverse: Future of the internet?
• TikTok's effect on youth culture.
• Veganism as a lifestyle choice.
• Mental health discourse in social media.
• Cryptocurrency's disruption of financial systems.
• Role of influencers in marketing.
• Cancel culture: A social commentary.
• Remote work: Pros and cons.
• Diversity representation in modern cinema.
• NFTs and digital art revolution.
• Climate change: Policies and responses.
• Telemedicine and healthcare accessibility.
• Internet privacy in the age of data mining.
• E-sports: The rise of digital competition.

Best Analytical Essay Topic Ideas

Take a look at these options below or head straight away to Title Generator for Essay which will offer a whole list of topics for you:

• Sustainable cities: An analysis of urban planning.
• Deconstructing minimalism in design.
• Human rights in the era of globalization.
• Breaking down Salinger’s "The Catcher in the Rye" alienation.
• DNA editing: Ethical dilemma.
• Space exploration : A necessity or luxury?
• Modern parenting styles and their outcomes.
• Gender bias in STEM fields.
• Revisiting the ethics of war in the 21st century.
• The psychology behind conspiracy theories.
• Meditation: A path to mental well-being?
• The relevance of classical music today.
• Identity formation in the digital age.
• Food security and future challenges.
• Unpacking the effects of poverty on education.

Analytical Essay Ideas & Writing Prompts for Students

Are you seeking analytical essay topics that match your academic level? You're in luck! Our assortment of analysis paper ideas caters to students at all stages. From high school to postgraduate studies, we've gathered a rich collection of essay titles across numerous fields. These analysis essay prompts are designed to help you channel your passion into an A+ analysis.

Analytical Essay Topics for High School

High school is the perfect time to hone your analytical skills, and what better way to do it than writing about analysis topic ideas? Below, we present some good analytical essay topics suitable for high school level:

• Profiling a hero in a literary classic.
• Online learning: A blessing or a curse?
• Interpreting symbolism in "Lord of the Flies".
• Smartphone addiction among teenagers.
• Decoding the success of reality TV.
• The evolution of fashion trends.
• The concept of happiness in Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics."
• The influence of advertising on consumer behavior.
• Peer pressure and its role in decision making.
• Understanding the dystopia in "Hunger Games".
• Pop music's contribution to youth culture.
• The importance of sports in school curriculum.
• Racial representation in modern television.
• Climate change activism among youth.
• Social media as a tool for self-expression.

Analytical Essay Topics for College

As you advance in your studies, so should the complexity of your analysis essay titles. Here are some analytical essay topics for college students to explore:

• Ethical implications of AI advancements.
• Unraveling the myth of the American Dream in modern literature.
• Exploring mental health stigma in college students.
• Dissecting the causes and effects of the financial crisis.
• Intersectionality in contemporary feminist movements.
• Deconstructing the appeal of celebrity culture.
• Space exploration: Is it worth the cost?
• A deep dive into quantum computing.
• Decoding the success of e-commerce platforms.
• Unpacking the concept of toxic masculinity.
• Analyzing global warming solutions: Are they enough?
• Privacy versus security in the digital era.
• Unraveling the intricacies of the Middle East conflict.
• Evaluating the role of international organizations in global conflicts.
• The evolution of artificial intelligence and its future.

Analytical Essay Topics & Title Examples by Subject

Regardless of your area of study, analytical essays demand a thorough understanding of the subject matter. From literature to technology, we have topics for an analytical essay in every field. Scroll down and you will find interesting analysis paper title examples for various disciplines.

Political Analytical Topics for Essays

There are numerous things to analyze in politics. You can analyze political movements, policies or even current events. Here are some great political topics for an analytical paper:

• Populism in the 21st century: Causes and implications.
• Analyzing voter behavior in the last general elections.
• Implications of US-China trade relations.
• US immigration policies since 9/11.
• The efficacy of international sanctions.
• Political corruption: Tackling a global issue.
• The rise of political dynasties.
• Feminism in political theory and practice.
• The role of the United Nations in contemporary politics.
• Political ideologies and their impact on policy making.
• The rise and fall of totalitarianism in modern practices.
• Privacy rights in the age of surveillance.
• Environmental politics and its future trajectory.
• The role of political cartoons in societal commentary.
• The ethics of political lobbying.

Social Issue Analysis Topics

Social issues are great analytical topics as they affect large groups of people. From poverty to mental health, there is no shortage of social issues to analyze. Take as example these issue analysis topics:

• Digital divide: A growing concern.
• The changing dynamics of the modern family.
• Racism and its deep-rooted implications.
• The social impact of the gender pay gap.
• Child labor: Causes and consequences.
• Human trafficking: A hidden reality.
• The rise of cyberbullying in the digital era.
• The social implications of an aging population.
• Gun control laws and their effectiveness.
• The influence of celebrity culture on youth.
• Social ramifications of climate change.
• Understanding the complexity of racism in America.
• Deconstructing the effects of sexism on society.
• Psychological impacts of homelessness.
• Causes and consequences of domestic violence.

History Analysis Topics for Essays

Analyzing history is the way to truly understand events, people and ideas of the past. Below are some interesting history topics for analysis essays:

• Factors leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
• Causes and consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• The Renaissance influence on modern art.
• Cold War rivalry.
• American Civil Rights Movement.
• Ancient Greek philosophy and Western thought.
• Causes and implications of the French Revolution.
• Timeline of women's suffrage movement.
• Reasons behind the fall of the Roman Empire.
• A thorough examination of the Holocaust.
• Martin Luther King Jr. and impact on the civil rights movement.
• Consequences of the Industrial Revolution on social structure.
• Analyzing the Arab Spring: Causes and effects.
• Native American tribes and the American Revolution.
• The rise and fall of the British Empire.

Cultural Titles for Analysis Essays

Now it's the culture analysis essay topics turn. Cultural studies allow students to analyze sensitive issues and explore different customs. We can talk about the influence of religious views on a particular society or about some specific cultural characteristics. Below, our experts have selected more narrow analysis title examples regarding culture:

• Rites of passage in Maasai tribes.
• Samoan tattoo tradition: Symbolism and meaning.
• The allure of French gastronomy.
• Bollywood: Impact on Indian society and beyond.
• Cultural significance of the Chinese Zodiac.
• An analytical study of Irish folklore.
• Indian Classical Dance forms: A cultural perspective.
• Flamenco: An analysis of Spain's cultural icon.
• Aesthetics in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies.
• Cultural importance of Anzac Day in Australia.
• Italian Renaissance: Evolution.
• The cultural impact of Reggae music in Jamaica.
• Understanding Brazilian Carnaval through samba music.
• Aboriginal dreamtime paintings.
• Fashion trends and their cultural implications.

Art Analytical Essay Topics

Whether it’s a painting, sculpture or architecture, analysis essays require a thorough understanding of the historical context and social significance. Explore these analytical essay topics related to art:

• The influence of Cubism in modern art forms.
• Hidden meanings in Frida Kahlo's self-portraits.
• Art Nouveau's influence on modern design.
• Pop Art: A critique of consumerism.
• The revolutionary essence of Dadaism.
• Expressionism: A mirror of societal angst.
• Interpreting symbolism in Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights'.
• Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' : A new perspective.
• The artistic impact of the Harlem Renaissance.
• Surrealism's quest for the subconscious.
• The role of light in Impressionism.
• Gothic architecture: A study of Notre Dame.
• Analyzing chiaroscuro in Caravaggio's works .
• The legacy of African tribal art.
• Kandinsky's 'Composition VII': Navigating through abstract expressionism.

Education Analysis Essay Ideas

Education is a broad field with interesting subtopics. Your analysis in this field can talk about the changing educational landscape in the US or elsewhere. Here are some analysis paper topics in education :

• Standardized testing: Merits and demerits.
• Bilingual education: An investigation.
• Role of technology in special education.
• Homeschooling: A comparative study.
• Critical thinking skills: Importance in curriculum.
• Academic pressure: Impact on students' mental health.
• Corporal punishment in schools: A global perspective.
• Montessori Method: A revolution in early education.
• Inclusivity in the classroom: Strategies and outcomes.
• Student-led learning: Benefits and challenges.
• The evolution of sex education.
• College tuition fees: A critical evaluation.
• Effectiveness of e-learning during the pandemic.
• The role of arts in cognitive development.
• Skill-based education versus traditional education systems.

Health Analytical Paper Topics

When it comes to healthcare and medicine, the stakes are high. You can analyze various aspects of healthcare such as public health, medical protocols and patient care. Hover over the following analytical essay topics in the field of medicine:

• Nutritional misinformation: A public health crisis.
• Telemedicine: A game-changer in healthcare.
• Obesity: Lifestyle factor or genetic predisposition?
• Mandatory vaccinations: Pros and cons.
• The rise of health tracking technologies.
• Cannabis legalization: Medical benefits and risks.
• Mental health impact of social media.
• Palliative care: Importance and challenges.
• COVID-19 and mental health.
• Eating disorders among teenagers.
• The opioid crisis: Causes and solutions.
• Holistic medicine: Effectiveness and popular misconceptions.
• Understanding the end-of-life decisions.
• Genetically modified vaccines: Pros and cons.
• Healthcare reform in the US.

Environment Analytical Essay Topics

Our environment is an important part of our lives. Analyzing environmental science topics using an analytical approach can help us better understand our planet. Choose a title for analysis essay from these suggestions about the environment:

• Green architecture: A solution for sustainable living.
• Soil erosion: Unveiling its hidden impacts.
• Coral reefs: Underwater ecosystems at risk.
• Acid rain: Effects on ecosystems.
• Noise pollution: An underestimated environmental hazard.
• Melting glaciers: Unfolding consequences.
• Invasive species: Ecological balance disruptors.
• Waste management in urban settings.
• Renewable energy: Potential and limitations.
• Ecological footprint: Measuring human impact.
• Light pollution: Implications for nocturnal wildlife.
• Urban heat islands: An urban environmental issue.
• The influence of consumerism on resource depletion.
• Ocean acidification: The lesser-known side of CO2 emissions.

Social Media Analytical Essay Topics

Social media has a pervasive presence in our lives. But how does it shape us and what potential risks does it carry? You can explore these questions using analytical essay topics:

• "Likes" culture: Validation or addiction?
• Hashtag activism : Online revolution or slacktivism?
• TikTok: Reshaping content consumption.
• LinkedIn: Professional networking in the digital age.
• Privacy concerns in the era of social media.
• Snapchat: Reinventing ephemeral communication.
• Instagram's effect on entrepreneurship.
• Political campaigning on social media platforms.
• Social media and its role in body positivity movement.
• Twitter: A platform for social justice or cancel culture?
• The role of social media in education.
• Influence of violent media content on school children.
• Media bias in presidential elections/ healthcare/ food advertising.
• Use of persuading strategies in advertising.
• Effect of embedded marketing used in the movies.

>> More ideas: Social Media Research Topics

Science Analytical Essay Topics

Science has brought about immense changes to our lives. You can analyze the impact of scientific development through analysis essay topics ideas offered below:

• Ethical dimensions of cloning technology.
• Pseudoscience : Distinguishing facts from myths.
• Is genetic engineering controlling evolution?
• Mars colonization: Sci-fi dream or future reality?
• Nanotechnology: Small size, big impact.
• Role of artificial intelligence in scientific discovery.
• Biological warfare: Unseen threats.
• Rewriting the genetic code with CRISPR technology.
• Autonomous vehicles.
• Dark matter and dark energy.
• Plastic production: Harm or need?
• Computers that can tell your age just by looking at your face.
• Can venom from spiders and other animals be used safely in treatment?
• Do greenhouse gasses harm people?
• How are scientists using genetic information to conserve species?

>> Learn more: Science Research Topics

Technology Topics for an Analytical Essay

Technology shapes our world and its progress sparks many interesting areas for analysis. Here are some examples of analytical essay topics on technology:

• Precision agriculture and digital age farming.
• Telemedicine: Reimagining healthcare delivery.
• Disruptive technology: Impact on traditional industries.
• Green tech solutions contributing to sustainable living.
• Fintech innovations in reshaping financial services.
• Geoengineering as a viable solution for climate change.
• Nanotechnology in medicine.
• Biometrics and identity verification in the digital world.
• Space tourism as a potential leisure activity of the future.
• How renewable energy tech is powering a sustainable future.
• Augmented reality and education.
• Genomic sequencing: Foundation of personalized medicine.
• Smart textiles: Fashion meets functionality.
• EdTech role in modern education.
• Using technology in archaeology.

>> View more: Technology Research Paper Topics

Analysis Essay Topics by Types

Analytical essay topics can be classified based on the type of analysis they involve. The most popular categories are shown right below:

Each of these analytical essay topics has its unique approach and demands different skills from the writer. Let’s explore potential title ideas for each type together!

Literature Analysis Essay Topics

When it comes to writing a literary analysis , there are many things to explore. You might investigate entire works or focus on a few elements such as characters, themes, and symbolism. With this in mind, we’ve prepared another list of analysis essay topics suitable for literature.

• Examining heroism in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings."
• Symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
• Feminist critique of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter."
• Magic realism in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude."
• Narrative structure in Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights."
• Post-colonial themes in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart."
• Dystopian society in George Orwell's "1984."
• Satire and humor in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
• Examination of loss and despair in Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar."
• Exploration of moral ambiguity in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."
• The role of nature in Henry David Thoreau's "Walden."
• Representation of race in Toni Morrison's "Beloved."
• Exploring time and memory in Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time."
• Absurdity in Albert Camus' "The Stranger."
• Power dynamics in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies."

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Rhetorical analysis takes a close look at how texts are written, and what methods are used to persuade readers. Below, you’ll find some analysis essay topics focused on rhetorics:

• Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
• Rhetorical strategies in Barack Obama's inaugural address.
• The effectiveness of Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech.
• Persuasion techniques in Apple's product advertisements.
• Examination of rhetoric in J.K. Rowling's Harvard commencement speech.
• Evaluation of ethos, pathos, and logos in Nike's "Just Do It" campaign.
• Analysis of rhetorical strategies in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.
• The use of rhetorical devices in Queen Elizabeth's "Tilbury Speech."
• The effectiveness of persuasion in "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr.
• Examination of the rhetorical appeals in JFK's inaugural address .
• Rhetoric in anti-smoking public service announcements.
• Analysis of rhetoric in the "Me Too" movement's online discourse.
• The use of pathos in Emily Dickinson's poetry.
• Examination of rhetorical devices in TED Talks.
• Rhetorical strategies in "The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln.

>> View more: Rhetorical Analysis Essay Topics

Critical Analysis Essay Topics

Critical analysis essay is a form of structured writing that evaluates a work, topic, or concept. Here are some analysis essay topics to consider if you want to explore something critically:

• The shift in global power dynamics.
• Evaluation of the feminist theory in modern society.
• Shakespeare's portrayal of power in "Macbeth."
• Climate change policies of various countries.
• Mindfulness techniques in managing stress.
• The role of symbolism in "The Great Gatsby."
• Education system's response to the pandemic.
• Human rights situation in North Korea.
• Critical analysis of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.
• The effectiveness of renewable energy policies.
• A critical look at representation in Disney movies.
• Mental health portrayal in media.
• Privacy issues in the digital age.
• Influence of pop art on contemporary culture.
• Ethical implications of genetic engineering.

Causal Analysis Essay Topics

Speaking about causal analysis, there is also a lot of potential for analytical essay topics. Such prompts are intended to explore various causes and effects related to different topics. Consider these ideas:

• Consequences of childhood obesity on adult health.
• Impacts of globalization on developing economies.
• Effects of social media on interpersonal relationships.
• Causes and impacts of desertification.
• Consequences of remote learning on students' mental health.
• Impact of bilingual upbringing on cognitive development.
• Causes and effects of high unemployment rates.
• Influence of divorce on children's social development.
• Effects of air pollution on urban life quality.
• Causes of increasing mental health issues among millennials.
• Impact of climate change on biodiversity.
• Causes and effects of cyberbullying.
• Consequences of fast food on public health.
• Outcomes of inadequate sleep on cognitive functions.
• Effects of overpopulation on global resources.

Analysis by Division Essay Topics

Analysis by division is an academic essay that requires students to divide a large topic into more manageable parts. Here are some interesting analytical easy ideas for this type of paper:

• Elements of a successful marketing campaign.
• Exploring the components of a sustainable city.
• Breaking down the layers of effective communication.
• Components of a balanced diet and their health benefits.
• The anatomy of a bestselling novel.
• Different methods of waste management.
• The components of a productive team.
• Breaking down the ingredients of a viral social media post.
• Exploring the elements of a successful online business.
• Components of an effective educational system.
• Dissecting the different types of renewable energy.
• Elements that define a thriving economy.
• Types of renewable energy sources and their potential impacts.
• Breaking down the structure of a successful relationship.
• Examining the components of human emotions.

Visual Analysis Essay Topics

A picture is indeed worth a thousand words. The art of visually analyzing an image—whether it's a photograph, a painting, or even a billboard advertisement—requires a keen eye and a mind for detail. Take a look at these analytical essay topics for visual analysis:

• Color symbolism in Van Gogh's "Starry Night."
• Visual rhetoric in World War II propaganda posters.
• The use of light and shadow in Caravaggio’s paintings.
• Meaning behind abstract shapes in Kandinsky's "Composition VII."
• Cultural representation in National Geographic covers.
• Body language in presidential debates.
• Visual semiotics in modern fashion advertising.
• The portrayal of gender in Disney animations.
• Examination of horror movie poster designs.
• Architectural space in Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.
• Symmetry in Islamic art.
• Use of color to convey mood in Pixar’s "Inside Out."
• Emotional expression in Edvard Munch’s "The Scream."
• How camera angles shape narrative in "The Godfather."
• The symbolism in Banksy's street art.

Textual Analysis Essay Topics

Get to interpret the text, language, and meanings with these textual analysis topics. They invite you to examine various types of texts – from books to speeches and social media posts.

• Character development in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."
• Love and relationships in Gabriel García Márquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera."
• Language symbolism in Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."
• Irony in O. Henry's short stories.
• Textual analysis of Shakespeare's sonnets.
• Understanding conflict in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart."
• Role of narrative voice in Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre."
• Imagery in the poems of William Blake.
• Use of suspense in Edgar Allan Poe's short stories.
• Political rhetoric in inaugural speeches.
• Examination of metaphor in Langston Hughes' poetry.
• Imagery in Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken."
• Character analysis in Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations."
• Examination of persuasive language in advertising campaigns.
• Persuasive strategies in Apple's product descriptions.

Extra Analytical Essay Topics & Writing Prompts

Discover an additional set of analytical essay topics and prompts in this section. From curious intricacies to broad concepts, these topics provide an extra dose of inspiration for students looking to take their analytical skills to the next level.

Analytical Report Topics

Are you looking for an analytical report topic? Don’t skip these ideas. Below, we’ve added extra topics for analytical reports that you might find interesting:

• Transforming traditional businesses with digital marketing.
• Declining biodiversity: Causes and solutions.
• Alternative energy: A feasible substitute for fossil fuels?
• Food waste: A global crisis.
• Climate change policies in developed vs. developing countries.
• The future of e-commerce post-Covid-19.
• Cybersecurity: New strategies for an ever-evolving threat.
• Space tourism: An in-depth look.
• Zero-waste initiatives in urban cities.
• The growth and impact of telemedicine.
• Decoding the rise of cryptocurrency.
• Analyzing the shift from physical to online classrooms.
• Mental health effects of long-term remote work.
• Biotech advancements and their implications on human health.
• Smart homes: Pros, cons, and future developments.

Analytical Research Topics

The good news is that analytical research paper topics are incredibly diverse. You can write about almost anything. But many students still have a hard time narrowing down their choice. That’s why, we also enhanced our list with extra analytical research topics:

• Examining mindfulness practices in reducing anxiety.
• Understanding urban farming as a sustainable solution.
• Analysis of cryptocurrency's impact on traditional banking.
• How does remote work influence work-life balance?
• Evaluation of mental health programs in schools.
• Gene editing and ethical considerations.
• Precision medicine: A revolution in healthcare.
• Dissecting the digital divide in education.
• Plastic pollution in oceans: An in-depth analysis.
• Implications of autonomous vehicles on traffic management.
• Exploring nanotechnology applications in environmental conservation.
• The correlation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement.
• Impact of peer pressure on adolescent behavior.
• Nutritional genomics and personalized diets.
• The potential effects of prolonged space travel on human physiology.

Bottom Line on Analytical Essay Topics

We hope these analytical easy topics and title ideas have made your selection process simpler. But don't worry if you're still unsure or battling against the clock – our team of experts is ready to assist. We can offer personalized topic suggestions and efficient writing help. From brainstorming to final drafts, we can handle your academic tasks swiftly and professionally.

Connect with our team of academic professionals and let's get started on crafting your masterpiece! Say ‘ write my essay online ’ and have your task handled by an expert.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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Themes and Analysis

By neil gaiman.

'Coraline' by Neil Gaiman is a brilliant work of children's literature that captures a number of fascinating themes and intriguing symbols that enrich the story in multiple ways.

About the Book

Article written by Neesha Thunga K

B.A. in English Literature, and M.A. in English Language and Literature.

Coraline  is a marvelous piece of dark fantasy children’s literature that flits in and out of various themes. Some of the most popular themes that can be discerned from the novella include courage, a quest for identity, the power of imagination, self-sufficiency, good versus evil, and so on. Several important symbols can be gleaned out from  Coraline  as well, including the button eyes of the evil Other Mother, mirrors in the novella, and the key to the door in the drawing-room. 

Table of Contents

• 1 Coraline Themes
• 2 Analysis of Key Moments in Coraline
• 3 Style and Tone 
• 4 Analysis of Symbols

Coraline Themes

Courage .

Coraline  by Neil Gaiman is fundamentally a story about facing your fears. There are several times when Coraline is faced with frightening circumstances, but she steels herself to fight through it all. Coraline receives inspiration from her father about bravery, where he sacrifices himself to a bunch of wasps in order to help Coraline escape. Her father tells her that one can only be brave when one is scared. 

“And he said that wasn’t brave of him, doing that, just standing there and being stung”, said Coraline to the cat. “It wasn’t brave because he wasn’t scared: it was the only thing he could do. But going back again to get his glasses, when he knew the wasps were there, when he was really scared.  That  was brave.”

The Power of Imagination

Coraline is constantly bored and looking for ways to spice up her everyday life. She often turns towards her imagination to make her life better. Once, when she was asked where she had gone, Coraline makes up a story about alien abduction that is much more exciting than the mundane reality. The fact that Coraline has a vivid imagination calls the truth of her adventure into question. Did she really meet with the Other Mother in the parallel universe or was it all just her imagination?

Self-sufficiency

Despite being a 9-year-old girl, Coraline is fairly self-sufficient. Since her parents are always busy and have no time to play with her, Coraline learns to amuse herself and keep herself busy. In the absence of her parents, she is even able to sustain for 3 whole days by herself. Coraline is also capable of defeating the Other Mother through her own courageous spirit and witty personality – although she is not opposed to receiving help when required. 

Good vs. Evil

One of the major themes in Coraline includes the tussle between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Coraline is constantly forced to dig deep into her morals and virtues as she comes face to face with the evil beldam. Ultimately, good trumps evil as Coraline grows drastically as an individual and discovers her true self through her adventures.

The Deceptive Nature of Appearances

The story of  Coraline   points towards how mirrors (both literal and metaphorical mirrors) can lie to us regarding appearances. The parallel universe that Coraline visits seems exactly like her old house but new and improved in various. The alternate house has everything Coraline wished she had in her own apartment, including exciting toys and adventurous clothes. However, Coraline soon realizes that these aspects of the parallel universe are only skin-deep. They do not hold any real value, and she begins to realize that it’s all a mere illusion.

Family and Contentment

In the beginning, Coraline is dissatisfied with her family’s lack of interest in her activities. She is constantly bored and looking for something new and exciting. After her adventure in the alternate universe, however, she comes to realize that not every family can be perfect. She begins to feel more affectionate towards her parents and accepts them for who they are. 

Coraline also learns to find contentment in her everyday reality. She understands that there is magic in the mundane and the boring, and learns to appreciate what she has.

Analysis of Key Moments in  Coraline

• Coraline moves into a new apartment with her parents.
• She asks her mother to open a big door in the drawing-room and discovers that it opens onto a solid brick wall.
• The next day, Coraline visits her neighbors who warn her of impending danger and arm her with a protective stone.
• Coraline opens the door in the drawing-room on her own and finds a corridor behind it.
• At the end of the corridor is a parallel universe that looks just like Coraline’s own. She meets her Other Mother (the beldam) and Other Father.
• Coraline returns home and finds her parents missing for 3 days.
• She discovers that the Other Mother has kidnapped her parents and decides to rescue them.
• Coraline heads back to the parallel universe and proceeds to look for the parents.
• She meets three ghost children whose souls she vows to set free from the clutches of the wicked beldam.
• Coraline uses her protective stone and finds the souls of the three children.
• She locates her parents trapped in a snow globe and narrowly escapes from the Other Mother.
• The souls of the ghost children are set free and Coraline’s parents have no recollection of any of the incidents that occurred in the parallel universe.
• Coraline discovers that the dangers have not passed. The Other Mother has sent her hand to obtain the key that unlocks the door to the corridor. 
• Coraline traps the hand along with the key underneath a well and boards the well up.
• She wakes up the next day ready for the first day of her new school year.

Style and Tone 

The writing style of  Coraline  is simple, matter of fact, and child-like. The story is narrated from a third-person limited perspective from the point of view of the protagonist, a young 9-year-old girl named Coraline Jones. The narrative, therefore, focuses on descriptions of actions and surroundings, and simply “tells it like it is.” For instance, read this quote from Coraline , 

Coraline also explored for animals. She found a hedgehog, and a snakeskin (but no snake), and a rock that looked just like a frog, and a toad that looked just like a rock.

While the writing style is descriptive and child-like in nature, the tone of the novel is calm and curious. It does not betray any emotions and carries on in a level-headed manner even if there are frightening circumstances occurring in the story. Such a tone makes it easy for children to read, as it does not require the use of complicated sentences or words.

Now she felt nothing but cold loss. She had failed the ghost children. She had failed her parents. She had failed herself, failed everything. She closed her eyes and wished that the earth would swallow her up. There was a cough. She opened her eyes and saw the rat. It was lying on the brick path at the bottom of the stairs with a surprised look on its face—which was now several inches away from the rest of it.

Analysis of Symbols

The button eyes.

The button eyes of the Other Mother and the Other Father are the main distinguishing features between the parallel universe and the original universe. The buttons represent the inhumanness of the Other Mother and her evil nature. They prevent Coraline from understanding the Other Mother beyond a certain extent and thereby provide a more menacing air to the beldam. The buttons are also representative of the loss of virtue and morality, as Coraline is expected to sew on the button eyes onto her own face by the Other Mother.

The story of  Coraline  is a story of mirrors. When Coraline returns from the parallel universe and finds her parents missing, she discovers them trapped in the mirror. The mirror represents the parallel universe which literally mirrors Coraline’s own world. Just like appearances in a mirror are slightly different from the original, the parallel universe is also skewed in several ways. 

The key to the door at the end of the corridor represents safety and freedom. Coraline and the Other Mother undergo a fierce fight for the key, with Coraline emerging victorious in the end. Coraline also cleverly ensures her safety by trapping the key itself, thereby preventing the Other Mother from getting a hold of it for the rest of her life.

What is the storyline behind  Coraline ?

Coraline  by Neil Gaiman follows the story of a young 9-year-old girl named Coraline Jones, who comes across a parallel universe at the end of a mysterious corridor in her home. She meets an evil creature, the beldam, or the Other Mother, who traps her parents in the other world. Coraline uses her courage and wits to defeat the Other Mother and rescue her parents successfully.

What is the moral of  Coraline ?

The moral of Coraline is “Be careful what you wish for.” At the beginning of the story, Coraline is deeply dissatisfied with her life and is constantly bored by the mundane realities of her surroundings. However, she learns to appreciate the magic of everyday life by the end of the novel.

What is Neil Gaiman’s most popular book?

Neil Gaiman’s most popular book is arguably  American Gods , which was published in the year 2001 to great critical acclaim. The novel won the Nebula and Hugo awards in 2002. However, there are several other books written by Neil Gaiman that compete for the top spot, including  Coraline, Stardust,  the  Sandman  series, and  The Graveyard Book .

What does  Coraline  symbolize?

Coraline  symbolizes several things, most notably the fight between good versus evil. The protagonist of the story, Coraline is pitted against the evil beldam or the Other Mother. The two of them fight it out amongst each other with Coraline emerging victorious in the end.

About Neesha Thunga K

Neesha, born to a family of avid readers, has devoted several years to teaching English and writing for various organizations, making an impact on the literary community.

Cite This Page

K, NeeshaThunga " Coraline Themes and Analysis 📖 " Book Analysis , https://bookanalysis.com/neil-gaiman/coraline/themes-analysis/ . Accessed 5 April 2024.

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