Willie Miller’s Updates
Great Literature Research Paper Topics
The most difficult part of writing research papers for literature courses may be deciding on the topic – not because there are too few subjects to choose from, but because there are so many. From selecting a work or genre to study to deciding what aspect to analyze, the possibilities are endless.
1. Choosing an Excellent Topic
It is not a bad thing that the field of ideas is so wide open for your literature research paper – it just may make for a difficult decision. If you already have a research topic idea in mind that you want to explore, here is your chance. But if you don’t know which way to turn, that’s OK too – it is an opportunity to use literature and film help and think about what really interests you and write creatively about it.
With the myriad of possible subjects, picking something that you are interested in truly is important to the success of your essay. Your enthusiasm will come across and the final product will be more persuasive and engaging. Are you really into British literature? Fascinated by different kinds of poetry? Come up with a creative idea to address a topic you care about and half the battle is won.
2. Ideas for Literature Research Paper Topics
The first place to look for inspiration for research paper topics is the assignment that you have been given by your professor. The instructions may be very specific, or they may be general guidelines that give you the freedom to choose for yourself. If it is an open-ended assignment, you have many options to choose from. A few would include:
• An in-depth analysis of a particular novel, poem or play – its themes, characters, symbolism, literary devices, etc.
• A biographical study of an author – from childhood influences to the degree of success attained during his or her lifetime … or afterward
• A focus on literature types of a particular era or country
• A study of an obscure author or poet – try to determine why he or she never gained real recognition
• For a major thesis or dissertation, perhaps take a wider view and look how literature evolved throughout history.
3. Great Research Topics for Your Paper
While the possibilities for a literature research paper are endless, a listing of some common approaches and categorizations could serve as a starting point:
• Compare and contrast – As an example, themes and portrayals of society in Balzac’s Father Goriot and Brett Easton Ellis’ American Psycho.
• Writing as an impetus for change – Writers may indirectly, gradually cause change in society, or in other cases force change, such as the “muckrakers” who brought social problems to light.
• Character study – A look at the characters or how they are portrayed – are they realistic, symbolic?
• Consider the narrator – Analyze the subjectivity and reliability of the narrator of Dostoevsky’s Notes From the Underground.
• Poetry offers many avenues to explore including themes, varied writing devices and styles.
• Analyze the ideological differences between George Orwell and Rudyard Kipling and how their views on the British Empire informed their writing.
• Compare and contrast devices used in Voltaire’s Candide and George Bernard Shaw’s The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God. Analyze both protagonists’ developments in response to the new ideas they encounter.
• Use your imagination – Place yourself in the mind of a classic author and describe your thoughts on a modern work. Dickens on Catch-22, perhaps?
