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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Journal › Top Scopus Indexed Journals in English Literature

Top Scopus Indexed Journals in English Literature

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on June 15, 2020 • ( 0 )

1. English Historical Review -(OXFORD) (https://academic.oup.com/ehr/pages/About)

2. ASIATIC: IITUM Journal of English Language & Literature ( https://journals.iium.edu.my/asiatic/index.php/AJELL )

3. English for Specific Purposes ( https://www.journals.elsevier.com/english-for-specific-purposes )

4. The Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) ( https://www.aate.org.au/journals/english-in-australia )

5. English in Education (Wiley) ( https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17548845 )

6. English World-Wide | A Journal of Varieties of English ( https://benjamins.com/catalog/eww )

7. European Journal of English Studies– Taylor & Francis Online ( https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/neje20/current )

8. Journal of English for Academic Purposes – Elsevier B.V. ( https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-english-for-academic-purposes )

9. Journal of English Linguistics- SAGE Journals ( https://journals.sagepub.com/home/eng )

10. Research in the Teaching of English-NCTE ( https://www2.ncte.org/resources/journals/research-in-the-teaching-of-english/ /)

11. The English Classroom – Regional Institute of English ( http://www.riesielt.org/english-classroom-journal )

12. World Englishes (Wiley Blackwell) ( https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1467971x )

13. English Language & Linguistics – Cambridge Core ( https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-language-and-linguistics )

14. English Today-The International Review of the English Language-Cambridge Core ( https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-today )

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English Literature Research Paper Topics

This guide, centered on English literature research paper topics , serves as a comprehensive resource for students seeking to delve deep into the diverse epochs, authors, and themes that have shaped English literary tradition. Navigating the intricate tapestry of English literature offers scholars a multitude of avenues for exploration. From the mystique of medieval tales to the introspective narratives of modernism, this guide not only provides a plethora of English literature research paper topics but also offers insights on choosing the ideal topic, structuring the research paper, and harnessing the unmatched writing services of iResearchNet. Dive in to unravel the rich heritage of English literature and discover the myriad opportunities it presents for academic exploration.

100 English Literature Research Paper Topics

Diving into English literature is like embarking on a journey through time and culture. From ancient ballads to modernist narratives, it offers a vast panorama of themes, styles, and societal reflections. Below is a comprehensive list of English literature research paper topics spanning across different eras and genres:

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Medieval Literature

• The significance of chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight .
• The Christian and Pagan elements in Beowulf .
• Courtly love in The Knight’s Tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales .
• Dream visions in Pearl and Piers Plowman .
• The role of fate and providence in The Consolation of Philosophy .
• The art of storytelling in The Decameron vs. The Canterbury Tales .
• The Seven Deadly Sins in Everyman .
• The evolution of the English language: Old English vs. Middle English.
• Religious allegory in The Second Shepherd’s Play .
• Women and femininity in the Lais of Marie de France .

Renaissance and Elizabethan Age

• Shakespeare’s portrayal of power in Macbeth .
• Love and beauty in Sonnet 18 .
• The idea of the “New World” in The Tempest .
• The virtues in Spenser’s The Faerie Queene .
• Magic and science in Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.
• The pastoral settings of As You Like It .
• The politics of gender in Twelfth Night .
• Revenge and madness in Hamlet .
• John Donne’s metaphysical poetry and its innovation.
• The darker side of the Renaissance: The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster.

The Restoration and the 18th Century

• The satirical world of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels .
• Class struggles in Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders .
• Alexander Pope’s critique of society in The Rape of the Lock .
• Aphra Behn and the emergence of the woman writer.
• The wit and wisdom of Samuel Johnson’s essays.
• The rise of the novel: Richardson vs. Fielding.
• Sentimentality and society in Sterne’s Tristram Shandy .
• Politics and plays: John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera .
• Women, education, and literature: Mary Wollstonecraft’s ideas.
• The mock-heroic in English literature.

Romantic Period

• Nature and transcendence in Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey .
• The Byronic hero in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage .
• Shelley’s Ozymandias and the ephemeral nature of power.
• The Gothic romance of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights .
• George Gordon Lord Byron and the Romantic antihero.
• The visionary world of William Blake’s poems.
• The exotic and the familiar in Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
• Keats’s exploration of beauty and mortality.
• The industrial revolution’s reflection in literature.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the dangers of ambition.

Victorian Era

• Charles Dickens and his critique of Victorian society.
• The challenges of morality in Thomas Hardy’s novels.
• The bildungsroman in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre .
• The plight of women in George Eliot’s Middlemarch .
• Oscar Wilde’s wit and irony in The Importance of Being Earnest .
• The debate on science and religion in In Memoriam A.H.H by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
• The mystery and suspense of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories.
• The “Woman Question” in Victorian literature.
• The realism of Anthony Trollope’s Chronicles of Barsetshire.
• Gothic elements in Dracula by Bram Stoker.
• The fragmented narrative of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse .
• T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and the disillusionment of the post-war era.
• The struggles of the working class in D.H. Lawrence’s novels.
• The impact of World War I on English poetry.
• James Joyce’s revolutionary narrative techniques in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man .
• E.M. Forster’s exploration of social and racial themes.
• The critique of colonialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness .
• W.B. Yeats and the Irish literary revival.
• The emergence of the stream-of-consciousness technique.
• The Jazz Age and decadence in the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Gothic Tradition

• Origins of Gothic fiction: Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto .
• The supernatural and macabre in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
• Ann Radcliffe’s influence on the Gothic novel.
• The role of the Byronic hero in The Vampyre by John Polidori.
• Duality of human nature in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde .
• The haunting atmospheres in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
• Gender and sexuality in Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu.
• Edgar Allan Poe’s influence on English Gothic literature.
• Dracula by Bram Stoker: Themes of sexuality and fear of the unknown.
• The Gothic novel as a reflection of societal fears and anxieties.

The Angry Young Men Era

• Social criticism in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger .
• Exploring masculinity in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe.
• The disillusionment of post-war Britain in The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner .
• The class struggle in Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim .
• Existential themes in John Wain’s Hurry on Down .
• Feminine perspectives in the era: Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey .
• The critique of academia in The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury.
• The Angry Young Men and their influence on modern theater.
• The transformation of British literature in the 1950s and 1960s.
• The lasting legacy of the Angry Young Men movement in contemporary literature.

Postmodern British Literature

• Metafiction in Julian Barnes’s Flaubert’s Parrot .
• The playfulness of language in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses .
• Intertextuality in Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit .
• The fragmented narrative in Graham Swift’s Waterland .
• Reality and fiction in Ian McEwan’s Atonement .
• Gender and postcolonial themes in Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve .
• The exploration of identity in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth .
• The deconstruction of traditional narrative in Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.
• Postmodern gothic in The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
• Magical realism in The Porcelain Doll by Julian Barnes.

Contemporary English Literature

• The multicultural London in Brick Lane by Monica Ali.
• Exploring family dynamics in On Beauty by Zadie Smith.
• The concept of time in Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam .
• The role of history in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall .
• The exploration of love and loss in Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending .
• Postcolonial Britain in Andrea Levy’s Small Island .
• The challenges of modern life in Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity .
• The evolution of the English detective novel: Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories .
• The legacy of the British Empire in The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai.
• The digital age and its influence on literature: The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon.

English literature boasts a rich and varied tapestry of themes, periods, and genres. This comprehensive list is a testament to the dynamism and depth of the field, offering a myriad of research avenues for students. As they venture into each topic, they can appreciate the nuances and complexities that have shaped the literary tradition, making it an invaluable component of global culture and heritage.

English Literature and the Range of Topics It Offers

English literature, encompassing the vast historical, cultural, and artistic legacy of writings in the English language, boasts a rich tapestry of narratives, characters, and stylistic innovations. From the earliest Old English epic poems to the reflective and multifaceted postmodern novels, English literature offers an expansive array of topics for analysis, discussion, and research. The depth and breadth of this literary tradition are mirrored by the diverse range of English literature research paper topics it can inspire.

The Medieval Foundation

Diving into the early origins of English literature, we encounter works like Beowulf , an Old English epic poem of heroism, fate, and the struggle against malevolent forces. Medieval English literature, characterized by religious texts, chivalric romances, and philosophical treatises, sets the stage for the evolution of narrative styles and thematic explorations. The rich allegorical narratives, like Piers Plowman or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , present intricate societal and spiritual commentaries that still resonate with readers today. These works invite inquiries into the socio-religious dynamics of medieval England, the evolution of the English language, and the literary techniques employed.

Renaissance and Enlightenment: A Burst of Creativity

The Renaissance and Elizabethan Age saw the emergence of revered playwrights like William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, whose dramas, whether tragedies, comedies, or histories, plumbed the depths of human emotion, politics, and existence. The genius of Shakespeare’s Hamlet or Othello , juxtaposed against Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus , provides a fertile ground for investigating themes of ambition, betrayal, love, and existential angst. Moreover, with poets like Edmund Spenser and his epic The Faerie Queene , English literature expanded its horizons, both thematically and stylistically.

The subsequent Restoration and the 18th century ushered in a period of social and literary change. With authors like Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, satire became a powerful tool to critique society and politics. Furthermore, the emergence of the novel, as exemplified by Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela , offered researchers a chance to explore the evolving societal values, gender norms, and narrative techniques.

Romanticism, Victorian Era to Modernism: A Spectrum of Emotion and Thought

The Romantic period, marked by poets like William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Keats, celebrated nature, emotion, and individualism. In contrast, the Victorian era, with novelists like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, and the Brontë sisters, addressed societal change, morality, and industrialization. Both periods are a goldmine for English literature research paper topics around the individual vs. society, the role of nature, and the exploration of the self.

Modernism in English literature, with heavyweights like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and T.S. Eliot, revolutionized narrative structure and thematic depth. Works from this era, such as To the Lighthouse or The Waste Land , demand analysis on fragmented narrative, stream of consciousness, and the introspective exploration of the human psyche.

Contemporary Reflections

Contemporary English literature, shaped by postcolonial, feminist, and postmodern influences, gives voice to a plethora of perspectives. Authors like Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, and Julian Barnes tackle issues of identity, multiculturalism, history, and reality versus fiction. Such works present a plethora of avenues for research, from analyzing the postcolonial identity in Rushdie’s narratives to the intricate tapestries of familial and societal dynamics in Smith’s novels.

Concluding Thoughts

In essence, English literature is an evolving entity, reflecting and shaping societal, cultural, and individual values and challenges over the centuries. For students and researchers, the wealth of English literature research paper topics it offers ranges from historical and linguistic analyses to deep dives into thematic cores and stylistic innovations. Whether one wishes to explore the chivalric codes of medieval romances, the biting satires of the 18th century, the emotional landscapes of Romanticism, or the fragmented realities of postmodern narratives, English literature provides an inexhaustible reservoir of research opportunities.

How to Choose an English Literature Topic

Choosing a research paper topic, especially within the expansive field of English literature, can be a challenging endeavor. The centuries-spanning literature offers a treasure trove of stories, themes, characters, and socio-political contexts that beckon exhaustive exploration. As such, students often find themselves at a crossroads, wondering where to begin and how to narrow down their choices to find that one compelling topic. Here’s a detailed guide to streamline this process:

• Align with Your Interests: Dive into periods, genres, or authors that genuinely intrigue you. If Victorian novels captivate your imagination or if Shakespearean dramas resonate with you, use that as your starting point. Genuine interest ensures sustained motivation throughout your research journey.
• Evaluate Academic Relevance: While personal interest is vital, ensure your chosen topic aligns with academic goals and curriculum requirements. Some English literature research paper topics, while intriguing, might not offer substantial academic value for a particular course or level of study.
• Seek Familiar Ground (But Not Too Familiar): Leverage your previous readings and coursework. Familiarity offers a foundation, but challenge yourself to explore uncharted territories within that domain. If you enjoyed Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice , maybe delve into its feminist interpretations or comparative studies with other contemporaneous works.
• Embrace Complexity: Opt for English literature research paper topics that lend themselves to multifaceted exploration. Simple topics might not provide enough depth for comprehensive research papers. Instead of a general overview of Romantic poetry, explore the portrayal of nature in Wordsworth’s works versus Shelley’s.
• Historical and Cultural Context: Literature isn’t created in a vacuum. Understand the historical and societal backdrop of a literary work. This context can offer a fresh perspective and can be an excellent lens for your research.
• Contemporary Relevance: How does a particular work or literary period converse with today’s world? Exploring the modern implications or relevance of classic works can be both enlightening and academically rewarding.
• Diverse Interpretations: Embrace English literature research paper topics open to various interpretations. Works like George Orwell’s 1984 or Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot can be analyzed from political, psychological, existential, or linguistic viewpoints.
• Consult with Peers and Professors: Engage in discussions with classmates and seek advice from professors. Their feedback can provide new perspectives or refine your existing topic ideas.
• Read Critiques and Literary Journals: Academic journals, critiques, and literary analyses offer insights into popular research areas and can help you identify gaps or lesser-explored aspects of a work or period.
• Flexibility is Key: As you delve deeper into your research, be open to tweaking or even changing your topic. New findings or challenges might necessitate slight shifts in your research focus.

Choosing the right research topic in English literature requires a blend of personal passion, academic relevance, and the potential for in-depth exploration. By aligning your interests with academic goals, and being open to exploration and adaptation, you pave the way for a fulfilling and academically enriching research experience. Remember, the journey of researching and understanding literature can be as enlightening as the end result. Embrace the process, and let the vast ocean of English literature inspire and challenge you.

How to Write an English Literature Research Paper

Penning an English literature research paper is a task that demands meticulous planning, a deep understanding of the subject, and the ability to weave thoughts coherently. English literature, with its vast and rich tapestry, offers endless avenues for exploration, making it both an exciting and daunting endeavor. Below are step-by-step guidelines to craft a compelling research paper in this domain:

• Understanding the Assignment: Before diving into the research phase, ensure you fully understand the assignment’s requirements. Is there a specific format? Are certain sources mandatory? What’s the word count? This foundational clarity sets the stage for efficient research and writing.
• Preliminary Research: Start with a broad exploration of your topic. Read general articles, introductory chapters, or review papers. This will give you a general overview and can help narrow down your focus.
• Thesis Statement Formulation: Your thesis is the backbone of your research paper. It should be clear, precise, and arguable. For instance, instead of writing “Shakespeare’s plays are influential,” you might specify, “ Macbeth illustrates the dire consequences of unchecked ambition.”
• Diving Deeper – Detailed Research: With your thesis in hand, dive deeper into primary (original texts) and secondary sources (critiques, essays). Libraries, academic databases, and literary journals are treasure troves of valuable information.
• Organize Your Findings: Use digital tools, index cards, or notebooks to categorize and annotate your findings. Grouping similar ideas together will make the writing process smoother.
• Drafting an Outline: An organized structure is essential for clarity. Create an outline with clear headings and subheadings, ensuring a logical flow of ideas. This will serve as a roadmap as you write.
• Introduction Crafting: Your introduction should be engaging, offering a glimpse of your thesis and the significance of your study. Remember, first impressions count!
• Literary Analysis: Delve into the text’s intricacies – symbols, themes, character development, stylistic devices, and historical context.
• Critiques and Counter-arguments: Discuss various interpretations of the text, and don’t shy away from addressing dissenting views. This lends credibility and depth to your paper.
• Comparative Analysis (if applicable): Compare the chosen work with others, drawing parallels or highlighting contrasts.
• Maintaining Coherence and Transition: Each paragraph should have a clear main idea and transition smoothly to the next, maintaining the paper’s flow and ensuring the reader’s engagement.
• Conclusion Crafting: Reiterate your thesis and summarize your main findings. Discuss the broader implications of your study, potentially suggesting areas for further exploration.
• Citing Your Sources: Always attribute ideas and quotations to their original authors. Depending on the assigned format (MLA, APA, etc.), ensure that in-text citations and the bibliography are correctly formatted.
• Revision and Proofreading: Once your draft is complete, take a break before revisiting it. Read it aloud to catch awkward phrasings. Check for grammatical errors, consistency in argumentation, and clarity in presenting ideas. Consider seeking peer reviews or utilizing editing tools.
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Using BobCat to Find Literature Journals

One of the best methods of staying current with your field is by browsing the journal literature. Literature journals help you keep up with the latest scholarship and provide potential venues for publishing your own research. The numerous online databases available to you through the library allow you to search through the contents of these journals (and many others), but browsing through an individual journal will allow you the opportunity for more specific topic research.

You can use the advanced search options in BobCat , the NYU Libraries' catalog, to limit the material type to "Journal" while searching for a subject or keyword of your choice. Here are some sample subject searches, limited to journals:

• American literature
• Comparative literature
• English literature -- History and criticism
• Language and literature

Try adding in additional terms to narrow your search down, or use the "Tweak my results" options on the left side of the page if you're getting too many results.

If this method doesn't work for you, you may want to look at a more specialized list of journals (see "Using the MLA Directory of Periodicals" below).

Using the MLA Directory of Periodicals to Find Literature Journals

If you want to look at a list of journals for any topic within literary studies, try the MLA Directory of Periodicals (DOP). Each entry in the DOP provides information about the journal's scope, subject matter, publication schedule, editors, submission guidelines, peer review status, and more. You can access the DoP from within the MLA International Bibliography database, or directly through its own link (below and in the library's Articles & Databases portal).

The video below, from the Modern Language Association, explains the basics of using the DoP.

• MLA Directory of Periodicals This link opens in a new window The MLA Directory of Periodicals provides detailed information on journals and book series that cover literature, literary theory, dramatic arts, folklore, language, linguistics, pedagogy, rhetoric and composition, and the history of printing and publishing. Articles published in works listed in the directory are indexed in the MLA International Bibliography. The directory is a valuable resource for scholars seeking outlets to publish their work

What Is the MLA Directory of Periodicals? (on EBSCO) from Modern Language Association on Vimeo .

Closed captioning is available through the Vimeo platform. No transcript is available.

This video is one of many MLA International Bibliography tutorials available on the MLA's own website.

A Sampling of Literature Journals

Here is a small sampling of the literature journals available to you through the library:

• Book History Book History is devoted to every aspect of the history of the book, broadly defined as the history of the creation, dissemination, and reception of script and print. It publishes research on the social, economic, and cultural history of author- ship, editing, printing, the book arts, publishing, the book trade, periodicals, newspapers, ephemera, copyright, censorship, literary agents, libraries, literary criticism, canon formation, literacy, literary education, reading habits, and reader response.
• Contemporary Literature Contemporary Literature covers the whole range of critical practices, offering new perspectives in contemporary literary studies. CL features in-depth interviews with significant writers, broad-ranging articles written by leaders in the field, and book reviews of important critical studies.
• Critical Inquiry In CI new ideas and reconsideration of those traditional in criticism and culture are granted a voice. The wide interdisciplinary focus creates surprising juxtapositions and linkages of concepts, offering new grounds for theoretical debate. In CI, authors entertain and challenge while illuminating such issues as improvisations, the life of things, Flaubert, and early modern women's writing. CI comes full circle with the electrically charged debates between contributors and their critics.
• ELH Since 1934, ELH has published superior studies that interpret the conditions affecting major works in English and American literature.
• Journal of Victorian Culture Journal of Victorian Culture is essential reading for scholars of the Victorian period. It provides an international forum for discussion and debate on all aspects of Victorian history and culture in a diverse range of formats, including articles, perspectives, roundtables and a section of substantial reviews.
• New Literary History New Literary History focuses on questions of theory, method, interpretation, and literary history. Rather than espousing a single ideology or intellectual framework, it canvasses a wide range of scholarly concerns.
• Publications of the Modern Language Association of America (PMLA) PMLA is the journal of the Modern Language Association of America. Since 1884, PMLA has published members' essays judged to be of interest to scholars and teachers of language and literature.
• SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 SEL focuses on four fields of British literature in rotating, quarterly issues: English Renaissance, Tudor and Stuart Drama, Restoration and Eighteenth Century, and Nineteenth Century. The editors select learned, readable papers that contribute significantly to the understanding of British literature from 1500 to 1900.

Need to find out if a journal is peer-reviewed? Use Ulrichs

• Ulrichsweb This link opens in a new window Ulrichsweb is an authoritative source of detailed information on periodicals of all types -- academic and scholarly journals, Open Access publications, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and more from around the world.
• << Previous: Finding Articles via databases
• Next: Historical Periodicals >>
• Last Updated: Apr 2, 2024 1:13 AM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/english-and-american-literature

e-Publications@Marquette

Home > ARTSSCI > English > dissertations

English Dissertations and Theses

The English Department Dissertations and Theses Series is comprised of dissertations and thesis authored by Marquette University's English Department doctoral and master's students.

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Lifting the Postmodern Veil: Cosmopolitanism, Humanism, and Decolonization in Global Fictions of the 21st Century , Matthew Burchanoski

Gothic Transformations and Remediations in Cheap Nineteenth-Century Fiction , Wendy Fall

Milton’s Learning: Complementarity and Difference in Paradise Lost , Peter Spaulding

“The Development of the Conceptive Plot Through Early 19th-Century English Novels” , Jannea R. Thomason

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Gonzo Eternal , John Francis Brick

Intertextuality and Sociopolitical Engagement in Contemporary Anglophone Women’s Writing , Jackielee Derks

Innovation, Genre, and Authenticity in the Nineteenth-Century Irish Novel , David Aiden Kenney II

Reluctant Sons: The Irish Matrilineal Tradition of Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, and Flann O’Brien , Jessie Wirkus Haynes

Britain's Extraterrestrial Empire: Colonial Ambition, Anxiety, and Ambivalence in Early Modern Literature , Mark Edward Wisniewski

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Re-Reading the “Culture Clash”: Alternative Ways of Reading in Indian Horse , Hailey Whetten

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

When the Foreign Became Familiar: Modernism, Expatriation, and Spatial Identities in the Twentieth Century , Danielle Kristene Clapham

Reforming Victorian Sense/Abilities: Disabilities in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Social Problem Novels , Hunter Nicole Duncan

Genre and Loss: The Impossibility of Restoration in 20th Century Detective Fiction , Kathryn Hendrickson

A Productive Failure: Existentialism in Fin de Siècle England , Maxwell Patchet

Inquiry and Provocation: The Use of Ambiguity in Sixteenth-Century English Political Satire , Jason James Zirbel

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

No Home but the World: Forced Migration and Transnational Identity , Justice Hagan

The City As a Trap: 20th and 21st Century American Literature and the American Myth of Mobility , Andrew Joseph Hoffmann

The Fantastic and the First World War , Brian Kenna

Insane in the Brain, Blood, and Lungs: Gender-Specific Manifestations of Hysteria, Chlorosis, & Consumption in 19th-Century Literature , Anna P. Scanlon

Reading Multicultural Novels Melancholically: Racial Grief and Grievance in the Joy Luck Club, Beloved, and Anil's Ghost , Jennifer Arias Sweeney

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

The Ethos of Dissent: Epideictic Rhetoric and the Democratic Function of American Protest and Countercultural Literature , Jeffrey Lorino Jr

Literary Cosmopolitanisms of Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, and Arundhati Roy , Sunil Samuel Macwan

The View from Here: Toward a Sissy Critique , Tyler Monson

The Forbidden Zone Writers: Femininity and Anglophone Women War Writers of the Great War , Sareene Proodian

Theatrical Weddings and Pious Frauds: Performance and Law in Victorian Marriage Plots , Adrianne A. Wojcik

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Changing the Victorian Habit Loop: The Body in the Poetry and Painting of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris , Bryan Gast

Gendering Scientific Discourse from 1790-1830: Erasmus Darwin, Thomas Beddoes, Maria Edgeworth, and Jane Marcet , Bridget E. Kapler

Discarding Dreams and Legends: The Short Fiction of Elizabeth Madox Roberts, Flannery O’Connor, Katherine Anne Porter, and Eudora Welty , Katy L. Leedy

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Saving the Grotesque: The Grotesque System of Liberation in British Modernism (1922-1932) , Matthew Henningsen

The Pulpit's Muse: Conversive Poetics in the American Renaissance , Michael William Keller

A Single Man of Good Fortune: Postmodern Identities and Consumerism in the New Novel of Manners , Bonnie McLean

Julian of Norwich: Voicing the Vernacular , Therese Elaine Novotny

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Homecomings: Victorian British Women Travel Writers And Revisions Of Domesticity , Emily Paige Blaser

From Pastorals to Paterson: Ecology in the Poetry and Poetics of William Carlos WIlliams , Daniel Edmund Burke

Argument in Poetry: (Re)Defining the Middle English Debate in Academic, Popular, and Physical Contexts , Kathleen R. Burt

Apocalyptic Mentalities in Late-Medieval England , Steven A. Hackbarth

The Creation of Heaven in the Middle Ages , William Storm

(re)making The Gentleman: Genteel Masculinities And The Country Estate In The Novels Of Charlotte Smith, Jane Austen, And Elizabeth Gaskell , Shaunna Kay Wilkinson

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Brides, Department Stores, Westerns, and Scrapbooks--The Everyday Lives of Teenage Girls in the 1940s , Carly Anger

Placed People: Rootedness in G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, and Wendell Berry , David Harden

Rhetorics Of Girlhood Trauma In Writing By Holly Goddard Jones, Joyce Carol Oates, Sandra Cisneros, And Jamaica Kincaid , Stephanie Marie Stella

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

A Victorian Christmas in Hell: Yuletide Ghosts and Necessary Pleasures in the Age of Capital , Brandon Chitwood

"Be-Holde the First Acte of this Tragedy" : Generic Symbiosis and Cross-Pollination in Jacobean Drama and the Early Modern Prose Novella , Karen Ann Zyck Galbraith

Pamela: Or, Virtue Reworded: The Texts, Paratexts, and Revisions that Redefine Samuel Richardson's Pamela , Jarrod Hurlbert

Violence and Masculinity in American Fiction, 1950-1975 , Magdalen McKinley

Gender Politics in the Novels of Eliza Haywood , Susan Muse

Destabilizing Tradition: Gender, Sexuality, and Postnational Identity in Four Novels by Irish Women, 1960-2000 , Sarah Nestor

Truth Telling: Testimony and Evidence in the Novels of Elizabeth Gaskell , Rebecca Parker Fedewa

Spirit of the Psyche: Carl Jung's and Victor White's Influence on Flannery O'Connor's Fiction , Paul Wakeman

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

Performing the Audience: Constructing Playgoing in Early Modern Drama , Eric Dunnum

Paule Marshall's Critique of Contemporary Neo-Imperialisms Through the Trope of Travel , Michelle Miesen Felix

Hermeneutics, Poetry, and Spenser: Augustinian Exegesis and the Renaissance Epic , Denna Iammarino-Falhamer

Encompassing the Intolerable: Laughter, Memory, and Inscription in the Fiction of John McGahern , John Keegan Malloy

Regional Consciousness in American Literature, 1860-1930 , Kelsey Louise Squire

The Ethics of Ekphrasis: The Turn to Responsible Rhetoric in Mid-Twentieth Century American Poetry , Joshua Scott Steffey

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Cognitive Architectures: Structures of Passion in Joanna Baillie's Dramas , Daniel James Bergen

On Trial: Restorative Justice in the Godwin-Wollstonecraft-Shelley Family Fictions , Colleen M. Fenno

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

What's the point to eschatology : multiple religions and terminality in James Joyce's Finnegans wake , Martin R. Brick

Economizing Characters: Harriet Martineau and the Problems of Poverty in Victorian Literature, Culture and Law , Mary Colleen Willenbring

Submissions from 2008 2008

"An improbable fiction": The marriage of history and romance in Shakespeare's Henriad , Marcia Eppich-Harris

Bearing the Mark of the Social: Notes Towards a Cosmopolitan Bildungsroman , Megan M. Muthupandiyan

The Gothic Novel and the Invention of the Middle-Class Reader: Northanger Abbey As Case Study , Tenille Nowak

Not Just a Novel of Epic Proportions: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man As Modern American Epic , Dana Edwards Prodoehl

Recovering the Radicals: Women Writers, Reform, and Nationalist Modes of Revolutionary Discourse , Mark J. Zunac

Theses/Dissertations from 2007 2007

"The Sweet and the Bitter": Death and Dying in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings , Amy M. Amendt-Raduege

The Games Men Play: Madness and Masculinity in Post-World War II American Fiction, 1946-1964 , Thomas P. Durkin

Denise Levertov: Through An Ecofeminist Lens , Katherine A. Hanson

The Wit of Wrestling: Devotional-Aesthetic Tradition in Christina Rossetti's Poetry , Maria M.E. Keaton

Genderless Bodies: Stigma and the Myth of Womanhood , Ellen M. Letizia

Envy and Jealousy in the Novels of the Brontës: A Synoptic Discernment , Margaret Ann McCann

Technologies of the Late Medieval Self: Ineffability, Distance, and Subjectivity in the Book of Margery Kempe , Crystal L. Mueller

"Finding-- a Map-- to That Place Called Home": The Journey from Silence to Recovery in Patrick McCabe's Carn and Breakfast on Pluto , Valerie A. Murrenus Pilmaier

Emily Dickinson's Ecocentric Pastoralism , Moon-ju Shin

The American Jeremiad in Civil War Literature , Jacob Hadley Stratman

Theses/Dissertations from 2006 2006

Literary Art in Times of Crisis: The Proto-Totalitarian Anxiety of Melville, James, and Twain , Matthew J. Darling

(Re) Writing Genre: Narrative Conventions and Race in the Novels of Toni Morrison , Jennifer Lee Jordan Heinert

"Amsolookly Kersse": Clothing in Finnegan's Wake , Catherine Simpson Kalish

"Do Your Will": Shakespeare's Use of the Rhetoric of Seduction in Four Plays , Jason James Nado

Woman in Emblem: Locating Authority in the Work and Identity of Katherine Philips (1632-1664) , Susan L. Stafinbil

When the Bough Breaks: Poetry on Abortion , Wendy A. Weaver

Theses/Dissertations from 2005 2005

Heroic Destruction: Shame and Guilt Cultures in Medieval Heroic Poetry , Karl E. Boehler

Poe and Early (Un)American Drama , Amy C. Branam

Grammars of Assent: Constructing Poetic Authority in An Age of Science , William Myles Carroll III

This Place is Not a Place: The Constructed Scene in the Works of Sir Walter Scott , Colin J. Marlaire

Cognitive Narratology: A Practical Approach to the Reader-Writer Relationship , Debra Ann Ripley

Theses/Dissertations from 2004 2004

Defoe and the Pirates: Function of Genre Conventions in Raiding Narratives , William J. Dezoma

Creative Discourse in the Eighteenth-Century Courtship Novel , Michelle Ruggaber Dougherty

Exclusionary Politics: Mourning and Modernism in the Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Amy Levy, and Charlotte Mew , Donna Decker Schuster

Theses/Dissertations from 2003 2003

Toward a Re-Formed Confession: Johann Gerhard's Sacred Meditations and "Repining Restlessnesse" in the Poetry of George Herbert , Erik P. Ankerberg

Idiographic Spaces: Representation, Ideology and Realism in the Postmodern British Novel , Gordon B. McConnell

Theses/Dissertations from 2002 2002

Reading into It: Wallace Stegner's Novelistic Sense of Time and Place , Colin C. Irvine

Brisbane and Beyond: Revising Social Capitalism in Mid-Nineteenth-Century America , Michael C. Mattek

Theses/Dissertations from 2001 2001

Christians and Mimics in W. B. Yeats' Collected Poems , Patrick Mulrooney

Renaissance Roles and the Process of Social Change , John Wieland

'Straunge Disguize': Allegory and Its Discontents in Spenser's Faerie Queene , Galina Ivanovna Yermolenko

Theses/Dissertations from 2000 2000

Reading American Women's Autobiography: Spheres of Identity, Spheres of Influence , Amy C. Getty

"Making Strange": The Art and Science of Selfhood in the Works of John Banville , Heather Maureen Moran

Writing Guadalupe: Mediacion and (mis)translation in borderland text(o)s , Jenny T Olin-Shanahan

Writing Guadalupe: Mediacion and (Mis)Translation in Borderland Text(o)s , Jenny T. Olin-Shanahan

Theses/Dissertations from 1999 1999

Setting the Word Against the Word: The Search for Self-Understanding in Richard II , Richard J. Erable

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115 British Literature Research Paper Topics & Ideas

18 January 2024

last updated

British literature research paper topics include a wide spectrum of themes, offering rich exploration into diverse eras and genres. Different topics can delve into the Elizabethan Age’s sociocultural landscape, viewing the world through the lens of Shakespeare’s plays. The Romantic Period provides fertile ground for examining the works of Shelley, Wordsworth, or Keats in the context of nature and emotions. Dickens, Brontë, or Austen’s works illuminate the Victorian era’s intricate social structures and gender dynamics. Investigating the modernist movement, one might study the experimental narratives of Woolf or Joyce. Postmodernist literature and its challenge to grand narratives can be a focal point with authors like Rushdie. British literature’s colonial and postcolonial narratives provide valuable insights into global power structures. Furthermore, exploring the intersections of literature with themes, like feminism, psychoanalysis, ecocriticism, and queerness, adds valid backgrounds to any research.

Top British Literature Research Paper Topics

• Narrative Techniques in “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
• Embracing the Gothic: Examination of “The Castle of Otranto” by Horace Walpole
• Poetic Devices in “Songs of Innocence and Experience” by William Blake
• Social Commentary in “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens
• Virginia Woolf’s Exploration of Feminine Identity in “A Room of One’s Own”
• Confronting Dystopia: Analysis of “1984” by George Orwell
• Investigating Courtly Love in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”
• Unraveling the Epic: Study of Beowulf’s Heroic Tradition
• Comparative Study: Brontë Sisters’ Treatment of Romanticism in “Wuthering Heights” and “Jane Eyre”
• J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”: Understanding the Art of World-building
• Journey Through Absurdity: Analyzing “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett
• Examining Satire in “Vanity Fair” by William Makepeace Thackeray
• Understanding “Paradise Lost”: John Milton’s Interpretation of Biblical Stories
• The Significance of Setting in “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” by Thomas Hardy
• Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias”: Unpacking the Themes of Power and Legacy
• Sense and Sensibility: Investigating Social Conventions in Jane Austen’s Novels
• Exploring the Metafictional Elements in “Flaubert’s Parrot” by Julian Barnes
• Assessing Imagery and Symbolism in the Poetry of Seamus Heaney
• Deconstruction of Self in “Orlando: A Biography” by Virginia Woolf
• Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber”: A Modern Take on Classic Fairy Tales

Simple British Literature Research Paper Topics

• “Lord of the Flies”: William Golding’s Vision of Human Nature
• Imagery in “Songs of Innocence and Experience” by William Blake
• Symbolism in “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë
• “Brave New World”: Aldous Huxley’s View on Technological Advances
• “Canterbury Tales”: Reflections on Medieval Society by Chaucer
• “1984”: George Orwell’s Perspective on Totalitarianism
• Examining Irony in “Vanity Fair” by William Makepeace Thackeray
• Identity Crisis in “The Quiet American” by Graham Greene
• “The Hobbit”: Exploring Fantasy Elements in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Work
• Understanding Postmodernism through “A History of the World in 10½ Chapters” by Julian Barnes
• Heroic Tradition in the Epic Poem “Beowulf”
• “Macbeth”: Power and Corruption in Shakespeare’s Tragedy
• Romanticism in Wordsworth’s Collection of Poems “Lyrical Ballads”
• Deconstruction of Identity in “Orlando” by Virginia Woolf
• “Kim”: Rudyard Kipling’s Take on Postcolonial Themes
• Love and Marriage as Portrayed in “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
• Social Realism in George Orwell’s “Down and Out in Paris and London”
• “Atonement”: Ian McEwan’s Study of Guilt and Redemption
• Exploring the Tragic in Thomas Hardy’s “Jude the Obscure”
• Analyzing “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot: Modernist Movement in Poetry

Interesting British Literature Research Paper Topics

• Love and Redemption in “Atonement” by Ian McEwan
• Understanding “Canterbury Tales”: A Medieval Tapestry by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Symbols and Metaphors: Analysis of “The Tyger” by William Blake
• “Jude the Obscure” by Thomas Hardy: A Lens Into Victorian Society
• J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”: Delving Into the Fantasy of Middle Earth
• Sense of Place: A Comparative Study of “Wuthering Heights” and “Jane Eyre” by the Brontë Sisters
• Exploring Rebellion and Power in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”
• Stream of Consciousness in Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway”
• Mysticism and Nature in William Wordsworth’s “Daffodils”
• Exploring Femininity in Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber”
• Dissecting Dystopia in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”
• Satirical Elements in Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”
• Brontë Sisters’ Interpretation of Romanticism in Their Major Works
• Unveiling Gothic Elements in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”
• Macbeth’s Tragic Ambition: A Close Look at Shakespeare’s Tragic Play
• Postcolonial Perspectives in Rudyard Kipling’s “Kim”
• Deciphering Modernism in T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”
• John Donne’s Metaphysical Poetry: An In-Depth Study

Other British Literature Research Paper Topics & Ideas

• Dissecting the Ideals of Courtly Love in “Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Postcolonial Examination of “Kim” by Rudyard Kipling
• Analyzing Satirical Undercurrents in “Vanity Fair” by William Makepeace Thackeray
• In-Depth Investigation of the Metafiction in “Flaubert’s Parrot” by Julian Barnes
• Reading “To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf: An Exploration of the Stream of Consciousness Technique
• Exploring Dystopian Elements in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
• Victorian Society and Morality: A Study of “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” by Thomas Hardy
• Mystical Elements in “Songs of Innocence and of Experience” by William Blake
• “Animal Farm” by George Orwell as a Critique of Totalitarianism
• Interpreting “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austen: A Sociocultural Study
• J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth: World Building in “The Lord of the Rings”
• The Gothic and Supernatural in “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
• Contextualizing “Utopia” by Thomas More: Humanism in Early Modern Literature
• Shakespearean Tragedies: Understanding the Tragic Hero in “Othello”
• Tracing the Romantic Sensibility in “Odes” by John Keats
• Examining Irony and Social Critique in “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens
• Comparative Study: Treatment of War in the Poetry of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon
• Cultural Intersections in “White Teeth” by Zadie Smith
• Analyzing Anti-Heroic Elements in “Moll Flanders” by Daniel Defoe
• Decoding the Modernist Aesthetic in “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot
• Exploring Unreliable Narration in “The Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Assessing Feminism in “The Bloody Chamber” by Angela Carter
• Spatial Narrative and Landscape in “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë
• Unraveling Allegory and Symbolism in “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
• “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett: An Existentialist Reading
• Journey Into the Supernatural: An Examination of “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James
• Symbolism in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde
• Exploring Subtext in “The Homecoming” by Harold Pinter
• Reading Postmodern Elements in “Midnight’s Children” by Salman Rushdie
• Dissecting Literary Elements in “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell
• Victorian Dualism: A Study of “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” Work by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Symbolism and Imagery in “To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf
• Tracing Themes of Power and Corruption in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
• Examining Narrative Structure in “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” by John Fowles
• Assessing Pathos in “Jude the Obscure” by Thomas Hardy
• The Myth and the Mundane: A Study of “The Chronicles of Narnia” Work by C.S. Lewis
• Ecocritical Reading of the Poetry of Ted Hughes
• Decoding Metaphysical Poetry: A Study of John Donne’s Works
• “Middlemarch” by George Eliot: A Study of Provincial Life
• Philosophy and Literature: A Study of “Under the Net” by Iris Murdoch
• Analyzing the Sublime in “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• Exploring Identity and Culture in “Brick Lane” by Monica Ali
• “Paradise Lost”: An Examination of John Milton’s Portrayal of the Fall
• Redefining Tragedy in “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller
• Exploring the Bildungsroman in “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens
• Unraveling the Mysteries of Time in “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells
• Romanticism and Nature: A Study of William Wordsworth’s Poetry
• Psychological Exploration in “The Power and the Glory” by Graham Greene
• Interpreting Gender and Power in “Oroonoko” by Aphra Behn
• Reading the Modern Gothic in “Fingersmith” by Sarah Waters
• Exploring the Theatre of the Absurd in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” by Tom Stoppard
• Understanding Social Satire in “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
• The Poetry of W.H. Auden: An Examination of Its Sociopolitical Dimensions
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• Analyzing Romantic Themes in the Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Decoding the Themes of Love and Betrayal in “Antony and Cleopatra” by William Shakespeare

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How to write a Research Paper – Step by Step Guide

A Step-by-Step Guide to writing a research paper

Introduction:

Writing a research paper is a job that we all have to do in our academic life. A research paper represents the ideas of the person who writes it. In simple words, a research paper presents an original idea and substantiates it with logical arguments. Writing a research paper in the domain of English literature is very different compared to writing research articles in other domains. Literature inclines towards abstract thinking. In other subjects, one has to stick to the facts. Howsoever you try, disputing an idea of science becomes very difficult. On the other hand, to contradict an idea in the purview of literature, you just need a systematic flow of arguments (logical and valid) and it’s done! So, writing a research paper in the field of English literature becomes easy if arguments are strong, in a sequence and wisely crafted.

Step 1: Choose the topic of your research paper:

This is one of the most vital parts. Choosing a topic is a crucial choice to make and it has to be taken seriously. You have to choose the area of your interest in English literature and then narrow it down to the area of your expertise. You cannot write a paper on the topics which are wider than a Doctoral thesis! So, you have to be precise and wise while choosing your topic.

An example: Suppose a person has adequate knowledge about Matthew Arnold. Can he write a research article on Arnold alone? No! He will need to bring the topic to some specific idea related to Arnold. The possibilities may be in his prose or poetry writing. In certain states in India, students work on topics like “Matthew Arnold as a poet” and “Matthew Arnold as a great prose writer” which is invalid, injustice and academically a sin. It should not be encouraged! Someone being a poet cannot be a subject of a research article. Any special quality of someone’s poetry writing can certainly be an interesting topic of a research paper – now you must have the idea. ‘Hopelessness and Despair in the poetry of Matthew Arnold’ can be a topic for a brilliant research paper. The hint is very simple – narrow it down to the speciality and you will have your topic ready!

Read in detail – How to choose a research topic? 

Step 2: Collect information – primary and secondary sources:

Now that you have selected a topic for your research paper, you should find ‘credible sources’ that substantiate your ‘paper’s purpose’. Sources are divided into two major categories – primary and secondary. Primary sources are the materials produced by the people who feature in your topic. In the case of our example above, poetry by Matthew Arnold and other writings by him will be primary sources. Secondary sources are the writings ‘about the topic and anything related to the topic’. Therefore, you have to browse the internet, visit a library, check your bookshelves and do anything that will bring you information about the topic and anything that relates to the topic.

Step 3: Plan your research article:

Before you begin writing the paper, it’s always wise to have a clear plan in your mind. Planning a research paper in the domain of English literature should always begin with a clear ‘purpose of research’ in your mind. Why are you writing this paper? What point do you want to make? How significant is that point? Do you have your arguments to support the point (or idea) that you want to establish? Do you have enough credible sources that support the arguments you want to make in the body of the paper? If all the answers are positive, move to the next step and begin writing the drafts for your paper.

Step 4: Writing the first draft of your research paper:

Now it comes to writing the paper’s first draft. Before you begin writing, have a clear picture of your paper in your mind. It will make the job easier. What does a research paper look like? Or, rather, what’s the ideal structure of a research paper?

Beginning – Introduce your idea that drives the research paper. How do you approach that idea? What is your paper – an analysis, review of a book or two ideas compared or something else. The introduction must tell the story of your research in brief – ideas, a highlight or arguments and the glimpse of conclusion. It is generally advised that the introduction part should be written in the end so that you have the final research paper clearly justified, introduced and highlighted at the beginning itself.

Middle – And here goes the meat of your paper. All that you have to emphasise, euphemise, compare, collaborate and break down will take place in the middle or the body of your research paper. Please be careful once you begin writing the body of your paper. This is what will impact your readers (or the examiners or the teachers) the most. You have to be disciplined, systematic, clever and also no-nonsense. Make your points and support them with your arguments. Arguments should be logical and based on textual proofs (if required). Analyse, compare or collaborate as required to make your arguments sharp and supportive to the proposition that you make. The example topic of a research paper that we chose somewhere above in this article – Hopelessness and Despair in the Poetry of Matthew Arnold will require the person writing this paper to convince the readers (and so on) that actually Arnold’s poetry gives a sign of the two negative attitudes picked as the topic. It would be wise to analyse the works (and instances from them, to be specific) The Scholar Gypsy, Empedocles on Etna, Dover Beach and others that support the proposition made in the topic for research. You can use primary and secondary sources and cite them wisely as required. You have to convince the readers of your paper that what you propose in the purpose of the research paper stands on the ground as a logical and valid proposition.

End – Or the conclusion of a research paper that should be written wisely and carefully. You can use a few of your strongest arguments here to strike the final balance and make your proposition justified. After a few of your strongest arguments are made, you can briefly summarise your research topic and exhibit your skills of writing to close the lid by justifying why you are proposing that you have concluded what you began. Make sure that you leave the least possible loopholes for conjecture after you conclude your paper.

Reference: You can use two of the most used styles (or rather only used) to give a list of references in your paper – APA or MLA. Whatever you choose needs to be constant throughout the paper.

To summarise, here is what a research paper should look like:

• Introduction
• A list of References

Step 5: Read & re-read your draft: It gives you the chance to judge your research paper and find the possible shortcomings so that you can make amends and finalise your paper before you print it out for your academic requirements. While you read your first draft, treat it with a purpose to find contradictions and conjecture points as much as possible. Wherever you find the chances of contradiction possible, you have to make those arguments forceful and more logical and substantiate them to bypass the fear of being contradicted (and defeated). Let us be clear – it is English literature we are dealing with and there will be contradictions. Don’t fear it. However, make sure your arguments are not defeated. The defeat means your paper will not hold up to the scrutiny of the experts. And this is why you need to read and re-read the first draft of your literature research paper.

Step 6: Finalise & print your research paper: After reading your paper 1 or 2 times, you should be sure what needs to be changed and otherwise. Finalise it so that it appears the best and sounds good to be the final version. Print your work in the best possible quality and you are done! If there is a verbal question-answer associated with the paper you prepare, make sure you understand it completely and are ready for the questions from any possible side of your topic.

This was our step-by-step guide to writing a research paper in the field of English literature. We hope you have found it useful. We will write more articles associated with the concept – such as choosing a research topic, building arguments, writing powerful introductions. Make sure you subscribe to our website so that you are notified whenever we post a new article on English Literature Education! All the best with your paper!

More guides on How to Subjects: 

How to Study Poetry?

Read related articles from this category:

Bildungsroman – literary term definition, examples, notes & help you need

List of important literary terms associated with studying drama or play – Literature Guides

What is Drama? What is Drama in Literature? Features, Types & Details Students Must Know

Have something to say? Add your comments:

9 Comments . Leave new

Thank you so much, explanation about research work is a nice manner. (private information retracted)

Very well written article! Thanks for this. I was confused about my research paper. I am sure I can do it now.

Quite resourceful. thank you.

Very nice reseach paper

It was very nice reading, helpful for writing research paper.

Thanks for your kind sharing of the information

Normally, I don’t leave any replies after reading a blog, but I couldn’t help this time. I found this blog very useful. So, I’m writing my research paper and I’ve been racking my brain and the internet for a good topic, plus trying to learn how to write a research paper. Thank you so much for putting this up!

I want to work on The French Revolution and its impact on romantic poetry. Please help in this regard.

Thanks a lot for the information.

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On this page...

Step 1: choose a topic, step 2: consult reference sources, step 3: grab some books, step 4: search for articles, step 5: collect, read, evaluate, and write what you have learned, step 6: cite your sources.

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This page walks you through the basic steps of research. Keep in mind that the research process is actually quite messy, and you might find yourself jumping back and forth between the steps listed here. These steps are meant to orient you to the research process, but you do not necessarily have to follow this exact order:

• Choose a topic
• Consult reference sources
• Grab some books
• Search for articles
• Collect, read, evaluate, and write what you have learned
• Cite your sources

When choosing a topic, keep the following points in mind:

• Choose a topic that ACTUALLY interests you.
• Your topic is not set in stone. Once you start doing some initial research on your topic, you will probably decide to tweak it a bit.
• Pick a topic that is manageable. If your topic is too broad, it will be hard to condense it all into one university paper. But if your topic is too narrow, you may have a hard time finding enough scholarly research for your paper.
• Handout: Choosing a topic Check out this helpful handout on choosing a research topic!

Or, watch this incredibly useful video from North Carolina State University Library on choosing a topic:

When you first get started on a research project, you might not have very much prior knowledge of your topic. In that case, it's a great idea to start with some background information. The most heavily-used reference source in the world is Wikipedia, but as a student you also have access to many other excellent scholarly reference sources.

Jump to the "Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and more" page of this guide.

Time to get down to it! Books will help you get an even better handle on your topic. Books provide more in-depth information than reference sources, but are often much better for background information than journal articles. Keep the following in mind:

• Start by registering your Dal card as your library card. Fill out your registration form and bring it to the service desk at the Killam Library, or register online using our online form (this will take about 24 hours to process).
• Use the Novanet library catalogue to search for books on your topic.
• You can access ebooks immediately online; if you find a print book that interests you, write down the call number and visit the stacks!
• Check out this quick video: How to read a call number in 90 seconds
• Remember that in most cases you won't need to read the whole book!
• You may borrow print books for 3 weeks, and renew them twice. To renew books online, start here . Click "Guest," at the top right of the screen, and then "My library card." Log in with your barcode and password. You should see an overview of the books you have checked out, and an option to renew. You can also check out this quick video tutorial on renewing books .  

Jump to the "Find books" page of this guide.

Scholarly journals are specialized journals that publish new research on specialized topics. They are written FOR academics, researchers, and students to keep them aware of new developments in the field. They are written, for the most part, BY academics and researchers who are actively involved with the field of study. You can find scholarly articles in databases that the library subscribes to. Make sure to search in subject-specific databases (such as a history database), as well as multidisciplinary databases that include a wider scope of material.

Jump to the "Find journal articles" page of this guide.

• Handout: Identifying and reading scholarly works New to reading scholarly articles? Check out this helpful handout.

Or, check out this great video from Western Libraries:

Take very careful notes as you read your sources! This will help you trace themes and develop an argument. Check out the following two videos on writing a research paper, and make an appointment at the Dalhousie Writing Centre if you would like assistance with your writing.

• Dalhousie Writing Centre: Make an appointment
• Video tutorial: Writing a research paper, Part 1
• Writing Research Papers Part 2 Draft -- Revise -- Proof read -- References

Very important! When you use somebody else's words or ideas in your academic papers, you must to give credit to the original source. This is one of the reasons why keeping good notes is so important to the research process.

Jump to the MLA Citation page of this guide.

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Research Papers on English Literature

This section focuses on the literature of English language from any part of the world, not just the England literature. America and Ireland has also produced remarkable literature work in the field of English. English literature has transformed into a global phenomenon. Researchomatic understands the emerging needs of writers to write an innovative research papers. Therefore, our website provides millions of research based papers for your assistance.

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English Literature: Resources for Graduate Research

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What is a literature review?

How to conduct a literature review, books at tufts & beyond.

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"A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge on and/or methodological  approaches to a particular topic. They are secondary sources and discuss published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.  Its ultimate goal is to bring the reader up to date with current literature on a topic and forms the basis for another goal, such as future research that may be needed in the area.

A literature review usually precedes a research proposal and may be just a simple summary of sources. Usually, however, it has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. 

A summary is a recap of important information about the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. Depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant of them.

Keep in mind that the main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research paper will contain a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper, you use the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute. The focus of a literature review, however, is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions."

The following resource include a number of interesting tips on conducting literature reviews:

• The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It Valuable guidelines from the University of Toronto.
• Literature Reviews From UNC Chapel Hill, this site explains what literature reviews are and offer insights into the form and construction of literature reviews in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
• How to Write a Literature Review A comprehensive guide from UC Santa Cruz Libraries.
• Software Tools for a Literature Review A tutorial that explains how mind maps, pdf readers, and citation managers can be used for a literature review (see first part of the tutorial).
• Review of Literature A useful overview of literature reviews from UW-Madison.
• The Literature Review Ths site was developed by staff at Central Queensland University to help postgraduate students conceptualize, research and write a literature review.

This is a sample of books at Tufts and beyond that include helpful tips for conducting literature reviews and writing dissertations and theses.

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100 Best Literature Research Paper Topics For Students

Literary research paper topics are among the most interesting to write about. Books are the best teachers for most learners. And, students love reading interesting literature books. But, when asked to write research papers, most students have difficulties choosing their topics. That’s because many issues can be investigated and written about.

For instance, literary topics can be about characters’ personalities in certain works. They can also be about particular characteristics of specific literary genres. Learners can also choose literary analysis topics that focus on the life story of famous writers or poets. But, regardless of what a learner opts to write about, they should choose interesting topics.

What are Interesting Literary Research Paper Topics?

Several factors make a topic interesting to write about. A topic for a research paper or a graduate thesis should generally be definite, specific, and innovative. Also, it should be interesting to research and write about. Here’s how to select interesting literature topics:

Think about something. Explore the idea to select a topic for which you can find sufficient research data from credible sources. Narrow down your subject if you find it too broad.

English literature topics can be classified into different categories. Here some of these categories and topics can be considered in each category.

Great World Literature Research Topics

Perhaps, you’ve been asked to write a literature research paper with a global perspective. Here are some of the literary analysis research paper topics that you can consider.

• Explain how the supernatural and spirituality help in furthering the development of the plot in the Latin American literature of the early 20th century.
• What themes are common in the Japanese poems of the early 20th century? How do they differ from those of the early 19th century?
• Compare the early Chinese literary works and European literary works of the middle ages. How different or alike are they?
• How were European literary works in the early 20th century shaped by the revolutionary works of Engels and Marx? What examples can demonstrate this influence?
• Explain how the Muslim philosophers’ work of the 15th century led to new ideas and inventions across the globe.
• Compare and contrast different anti-British works that originated in India in the 19th century with pro-colonialist works that came from England at the same time.
• How did the nightmarish utopian future ideas of Aldous Huxley influence modern-day science fiction writers across the world?
• Explain how the Antigone play by Sophocles deals with the conflict between the central characters while relating to the state laws and individual conscience.
• How are the sentiments of the authors reflected in Animal Farm by George Orwell and concerns about the October Revolution?
• Explain some of the examples of literary fiction pieces that have shaped cultures in the world. Have historic, societal, and cultural factors played some roles in shaping these literature pieces?
• Being a prolific writer in the early and mid-19th century, Charles Dickens’s works were published in serialized forms. How and why has this approach become less fashionable?
• Compare and contrast the early Japanese literature works and the early Chinese literature works. How do they differ in terms of values and culture?
• Explain how comedy differs in literature across cultures. What comedy appeared in the early theatrical performances and it’s still present in modern literature?
• Analyze chivalry and honor critically in the Green Knight and Sir Gawain. What are the qualities of these works from a similar period?
• Compare and contrast the Odyssey and Iliad by Homer the Ancient Greek. Explain how cultures across the world have adapted the themes presented in the poem.

Top Literary topics for Research Paper

Some topics for literary analysis stand out among students. These are topics that educators recommend for students across the study levels.

• How is literature an aspect of modern culture?
• Explain how feminism has influenced modern literature
• How is psychology utilized in literature?
• Explain the major social issues that have been exposed by literary works
• Explain the philosophical tradition of Daoism in the Chinese literature
• Explain the roles played by death and honor in Japanese literature in the 20th century
• Explain how the European culture influences the Mid-West literature
• How has European culture affected modern literature?
• Analyze the personality of Don Quixote
• Explain how literature differs between countries.
• Discuss poetry in the innovative ear of the 21st century
• Examine racism in the novels of the 1960s and 1970s
• Explain the exile’s perception in literature
• Literature and culture? Which one affects the other?
• How has literature addressed homosexuality?

These can also be great literary debate topics. That’s because learners can have varying opinions about them.

British Literature Research Paper Topics

Students have many topics to choose from when it comes to British literature essay topics. Here are some of the best literature topics from the works of British authors.

• Discuss Victorian England’s picture with the works of Charles Dickens in mind
• Discuss the theme of Orphans with the Oliver Twist character in mind
• Explain how British Literature has influenced different cultures
• Explain how British literature has addressed gender issues
• Explain how King Lear highlights the differences between anti-heroes and villains
• Explain William Shakespeare’s personality- Highlight facts and myths
• Choose two famous British novels and then compare the characters in them
• Explain the viewpoint of different writers about the Utopian civilization idea
• With Harry Potter books in mind, explain why some literature books are considered classics
• Explain how love and romantic love are presented in Charlotte Bronte’s works
• Explain how modern literary works have been affected by the Victorian period works
• Discuss the adultery theme in Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Who are the main characters in Lake Poets’ works?
• Explain how violent imagery was used in World War I poetry
• Explain talent as a theme in Milton’s on His Blindness
• Explain innocence loss in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
• Explain the theme of individualism versus collectivism in Oliver Twist
• Explain why the popularity of detective novels increased in the XIX century
• What role did the supernatural play in Macbeth: a case study of three witches
• Class demarcation in XVII century- The vengeance theme

American Literature Topics

Some teachers ask students to choose American literature research topics for certain reasons. If asked to write on such topics, here are some of the American literature research paper topics to consider.

• Analyze key aspects of American ideology, particularly in the literature written before the 20th century.
• Determine thematic concerns and literary styles of the major historical period of American literature between the colonial period and post-modernism.
• Show the American identity uniqueness of texts
• Propose connections between the American literature concerns and themes in the larger historical development and social issues that face the present world
• Examine major concerns and themes that reappear across the American literature
• Highlight the major themes in Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner
• Explain the African American Experience with female authors like Alice Walker, Zora Neal Hurston, and Toni Morrison
• Explain the predominant theme in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
• Explain how Jonathan Edwards epitomizes Puritan definitions in his sermons
• Explain the use of historical personalities and events by Washington Irving as the background for his works
• The Crucible demonstrates how a community can be torn apart by hysteria. Explain
• Explain how Sylvia Plath demonstrates the social pressure faced by women in the 1960s in the Bell Jar.
• Explain how John Knowles demonstrates the impact of war on everyone
• Explain the strong belief in the education power by Maya Angelou as depicted in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Explain how Thornton Wilder conveys life as a gift in Our Town
• Discuss the themes of anger and pity in the Grapes of Wrath
• Explain how Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck portrays the Great Depression struggles
• Discuss the portrayal of the unconquerable spirit in Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
• Plays by Eugene O’Neil are tragically realistic. Explain
• God is humanized in The Creation poem by James Weldon Johnson. Explain

Some of the ideas here are great poetry topics. Nevertheless, they require careful research and analysis to write about.

High School Literary Essay Topics

Some topics in literature are ideal for high school essays. Here are examples of literary analysis paper topics for high school students.

• Compare and contrast the major characters in your preferred book
• Choose your favorite character in a book and explain your reasons for liking it
• Please explain why the quality of a literature book is not determined by its length
• Highlight the similarities of your favorite books
• Discuss the top 4 authors in horror books
• Explain why reading some books is more difficult than reading others
• Explain what it takes to write a high-quality poem
• Who is your favorite poet and why?
• Explain what makes your favorite book interesting
• Who is your favorite character in literary works and why?
• What makes some literature books difficult to read?
• Who are your favorite top 5 authors and why?
• Should the age of readers be restricted to some books?
• What is your favorite literary genre?
• Explain why the author determines the quality of a book more than the story
• Discuss the literary works of your favorite authors
• Why is it important to captivate readers with the introductory chapter of a book?
• Which book genre makes great movies?
• Why is the work of Harry Potter so popular?
• Explain why your favorite horror book is scary

Unique Research Topics in English Literature

Some literature research topics are unique and can be written about by learners at different study levels. Here are examples of such topics.

• Analyze the use of literary devices in novels
• Discuss the author’s autobiography
• Analyze literary genres and the role played by an artist in them
• Compare the works of a similar genre
• Highlight the gender roles of characters in literary works
• Social stratification and Harry Potter- Discuss
• With Charles Dickens’ work in mind, explain the peculiarity of the bildungsroman genre.
• Explain how The Lord of the Rings uses artificial language
• Explain how the Sherlock Holmes image influences the world of detective fiction
• Explain the war theme in the world literature

These are also great literary journalism topics. Nevertheless, they require extensive research to write about.

In a nutshell, students have many literary argument topics to consider. The most important thing is to choose an interesting topic that you can find sufficient data to write about. Also, don’t hesitate to check our history topics .

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Inaugural International Symposium on Social Justice and the Teaching of World Literature

The English Department at the University of the Incarnate Word welcomes presentation proposals for its inaugural international interdisciplinary symposium on “Social Justice and the Teaching of World Literature.” The study and teaching of global texts actively allows for an inclusive representation of diverse voices and perspectives. This symposium seeks to explore more deeply the intersection between teaching world literature and social justice issues as they emerge in the 21st century.

Taking Survey of The Survey of English Literature

Permanent Session: English Literature Pre 1800 I

Panel Topic: Taking Survey of The Survey of English Literature

This Permanent Section of the MMLA invites papers, which reflect on the significance of the survey course, past present and future. 

Adaptations Area: Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association Annual Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS, ABSTRACTS, AND PANEL PROPOSALS

Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association Annual Conference: Adaptations Area

Friday-Sunday, 4-6 October 2024

DePaul University—Loop Campus, Chicago, IL

Address: DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 Phone: (312) 362-8000

Extended and Revised Call for Chapters on FX Channel Original TV Series Edited Collection

The FX Reader

Extended and revised call for chapters on select FX Channel original TV series are sought for an edited book collection.  In a similar vein as The Essential HBO Reader (2008) , this scholarly collection will serve as a valuable resource for TV scholars and educators on FX’s history and its most critically acclaimed, noteworthy series. 

Each chapter is expected to focus on each series’ creation and production history, its overall aesthetics and key performances, core themes, its association with genre conventions, and relevance to the FX Channel.  We still need chapter proposals on the following series:

Call for Chapters: Qualitative Research Methods for Dissertation Research

Katherine Mansfield: Spaces, Places, Traces - Extended Deadline

Katherine Mansfield: Spaces, Places, Traces

IADT Dún Laoghaire, Dublin

June 14th–16th 2024

An international conference organised by the Katherine Mansfield Society

Hosted by the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dún Laoghaire

Navigating The Many Parts of Graduate School

While it takes copious research to get into a graduate program, it is also impossible to fully encompass the experience of being within a graduate program from the outside looking in. Given that so much of graduate school can often be a mystery, and given that there are also many ways one can be a graduate student, those who are newer to the experience of graduate school may find themselves wondering what to do when faced with handbooks, seminar syllabi, or even teaching for the first time. While these resources from your program will always be helpful, there remain aspects of graduate education that can seem rather opaque and mysterious to the point of being intimidating.