Essays and Research Papers on Ancient Literature

This 5 page paper discusses the function of the character of the dragon in Gardner's tale about Grendel. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

An 11 page research paper/essay that analyzes Chaucer's "The Knight's Tale" from his medieval masterpiece The Canterbury Tales. The writer specifically addresses the pagan setting used in this tale and argues that it facilitates social commentary by distancing the narrative in time. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 3 page paper examines the classic work. Quotes are used to support the idea that the author exposes the hatred of women in society. Motives for the work are also noted. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page paper which discusses how well Chaucer dealt with the carpenter, the student, and the absolom in the Miller’s Tale and prologue. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page paper which examines and explains the apparent contradictions between why Sir Gawain wears the green girdle and his views concerning it, along with why his fellow knights wear theirs and their attitudes regarding doing so. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 4 page paper analyzes the idea of justice throughout the Trilogy by Aeschylus. Quotes cited from all three volumes. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 4 page paper which compares and contrasts Satan and Hell in Dante’s “Inferno” and Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which examines how the epic of Gilgamesh is similar to Homeric heroes and heroic tales. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses the romantic elements inherent in Goethe's version of Faust. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 5 page paper is a sample report on a primary document chronicling the life and times of King Charles (Charlemagne). Bibliography lists 1 source.

A paper which looks at several critical perspectives on Chaucer's Wife of Bath, taking into account her views on gender, marriage, and female economic independence. Bibliography lists 5 sources

A paper which looks at the concepts of ritual, sacrifice and violence in Spenser's poem Epithalamion, with specific reference to the magical and metaphysical associations of blood sacrifice and defloration, and how this is relevant to the importance of marriage within the social order. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A paper which investigates issues of female control and domination in The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale, with specific reference to the wife's views on economic independence, sexuality, and the role of men and women in marriage. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 6 page paper which compares and contrasts two of Beowulf’s opponents and analyzes their symbolic significance. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

5 pages in length. Laughter, according to Bergson, is an ever-changing entity – such a strange metamorphosis that it requires "something more flexible than an abstract definition." The extent to which laughter is an inextricable component in potentially every aspect of life is both grand and far-reaching; indeed, Bergson's comment "in laughter we always ...

A 10 page paper which examines how epic and romance are featured in what are ‘essentially celebrations of bygone worlds.’ Bibliography lists 8 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines how the roles of men and women are presented in Sophocles’ “Antigone” and Homer’s “The Iliad.” Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the plays and characters in terms of hamartia (or tragic flaw of the hero), revenge, incest, pursuit of justice, and irony. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines the symbolism within the classic tale “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” No sources cited.

A 5 page paper which examines Chaucer and his work “Canterbury Tales.” Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 3 page paper which summarizes “The Iliad” by Homer. No sources cited.

A 20 page paper which examines how the author masterfully employed humor to create a unique heroic characterization. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines what can be learned about women’s position in fourteenth-century society from this story that is a part of Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales.” Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 8-page paper compares the two works, Seneca's 'On Noise' and Plutarch's 'A Consolation to his Wife.' Bibliography lists 5 sources.

An 8 page paper which examines if physical threats are different from social, emotional, or psychological threats, whether or not threats are always external, if internal threats are without physical form, and what threats create socially or psychologically in the respective texts. No additional sources are used.