Essays and Research Papers on British Literature

(5 pp) In our politically correct world of a new century, certainly 'vexing' is hardly the thing to do, however during the time of the writers we are examining, Jonathan Swift through Gulliver's Travels and Jonathan Edwards in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, we might say that 'vexing was 'in''(style) ...

A five page paper which looks at the relationship between Volpone and Mosca in Ben Jonson’s Volpone, in terms of the way in which they interact to demonstrate both Jonson’s satirical perspective and his use of humour in characterisation. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page paper that discusses what led to Hamlet's death. The writer includes the issues of fate, the hierarchy, madness and the external forces that contributed to Hamlet's eventual death. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

8 pages in length. That Nathaniel Hawthorne chose such a controversial topic as adultery for The Scarlet Letter, his nineteenth century novel of adultery, demonstrates a delicate yet changing climate with regard to infidelity. The focus here is on the clergyman Arthur Dimmesdale, the illegitimate child's father. Bibliography lists two sources.

A 5 page research paper that summarizes the main points of Swift's satire of seventeenth century religion. The Tale of a Tub (1704) is an allegorical satire that ridicules religious extremists. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page paper which discusses the many conflicts involving human emotions in the stories "The Winter's Tale" and "Wuthering Heights." No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which compares the one of the tale tellers of "Canterbury Tales," the Knight, with the narrator, Gulliver, in "Gulliver's Travels." No additional sources cited.

A 2.5 page paper which considers the novel's purpose, the techniques employed to convey the purpose, the aspect which makes this literary element so intriguing and central to understanding the work, with support of this position provided, along with a consideration of possible arguments against the thesis statement, and responses to such arguments. No additional ...

A 5 page paper which examines how, by not forsaking his morals, More proved to be the most admirable character. No additional sources are used.

A ten page paper which looks at the way in which the English class system and imperialism are treated in Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day and how the development of the character of Stevens represents the transition from the old social order to the new in British society. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 14 page paper discussing Jane Eyre as a revolutionary and feminist work. Superficially, Jane Eyre does not appear to be a feminist novel. Jane is employed in a traditional female position of governess and is dependent on men for her subsistence. These circumstances change, but her intelligence, dedication to insisting on living according to her ...

A 5 page paper which provides an overview of the novel, examines characters, and offers views and opinions on the text. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 6 page paper which compares the characters of Fantomina and Pamela, found in the 18th century British novels of the same name. "Fantomina" was written by E.F. Haywood and "Pamela" by S. Richardson. The paper focuses on the similarities the women share as intelligent and somewhat enlightened women of their time period. Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

A 7 page paper which examines how honor and dishonor was determined in Medieval women, as considered in de Pizan's "The Book of the City of Ladies," "The Writings of Christine de Pizan," and Chaucer's "The Franklin's Tale" and "The Nun's Priest's Tale." Specifically considered are marriage; widowhood; effects of education, offspring, politics and ...

(5 pp) In this discussion we will examine Charlotte Bronte's major character, Jane Eyre. As the novel is arranged and Jane progresses, each new environment or setting teaches her something new; the vivid picture-form descriptions of the weather throughout the novel give us clues to what we might anticipate in each of five settings ...

This 5 page paper examines the conflict in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic work and how it affects characterization. Syntax and diction are also discussed to support a thesis that the conflict drives the characters. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, he reflects the nature of human cruelty and does so in a manner that allows the reader to see into the heart and mind of humanity, which, sadly, is often “of darkness”. This 5 page paper argues that the reality of the world Conrad presents is tinted - seen through the prism ...

(5 pp). Northanger Abbey was written in 1797-98 under a different title. The manuscript was revised around 1803 and sold to a London publisher, Crosbie & Co., who sold it back in 1816. The Signet Classic text is based on the first edition, published by John Murray, London, in 1818, the year following ...

A 6 page paper which discusses the importance of the body during the Middle Ages. The focus is upon the General Prologue of Canterbury Tales as it involves the body during this time period. Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

A 5 page essay that analyzes how these two works look at the social conduct of women. Alexander Pope's mock heroic epic, The Rape of the Lock, and Jane Austen's novel of English society, Mansfield Park, were written roughly a century apart, Pope in the early eighteenth and Austen's work in the early nineteenth centuries. ...

A 5 page essay that analyzes Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. This book is composed of letters from a senior devil residing in Hell, Screwtape, to his nephew and protégé devil, Wormwood, who is assigned the task of preventing the salvation of an unnamed Englishman. Using satire and humor, Lewis, through the voice of Screwtape, ...

A 5 page explanation specifying that John Milton's "Samson Agonistes" falls into the literary genre of classic tragedy. Contends that the classification of "tragedy", however, is not to be confused with the more common contemporary usage of employing it to describe any type of catastrophe or form of bad luck. Instead, this ...

A 6 page essay that analyzes Mansfield's famous short story from a modernist perspective. After offering definitions of modernism, the writer discusses how Mansfield's story fits these descriptions. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper which discusses how Jane, Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre," developed a different identity after discovering Rochester's secret. Her identity is discussed as it involves her relationship with men, primarily St. John River. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page overview of the perceived societal roles of women during the Victorian Era. Presents the work of Elizabeth Gaskell, John Stewart Mills, and Tennyson to contrast the views which existed. Bibliography lists 4 sources.