Essays and Research Papers on Classic Literature

This 5 page paper compares the differences and the similarities in the Roman and Greek versions of the tale of Oedipus. The paper argues that Seneca’s version is much darker in language, tone and content than that of Sophocles. The bibliography cotes 2 sources.

This 5 page paper considers the play moral Play Everyman, the messages that are communicated by the anonymous author though the characters and how it is viewed by today’s critics. The bibliography cites 7 sources.

An 8 page paper discussing and comparing Christopher Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus” with Dante’s “Inferno.” Dante predated Marlowe by three centuries, writing “The Divine Comedy” long before the Reformation and the rise of Protestantism that Marlowe followed. The religious teachings of the times in which these authors lived are reflected in the concept of ...

A 5 page paper which discusses aspects of the argument that Gilgamesh is heroic while Enkidu is primitive and only gains heroic stature after becoming civilized. Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.

A 5 page paper which examines what authority is used by Machiavelli, in “The Prince,” and More, in “Utopia,” to demonstrate their usefulness to the courts. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page essay that contrasts how Clytemnestra and Medea are portrayed in plays by Aeschylus and Euripides, respectively. Each woman enacts a terrible vengeance on her husband, showing that she is capable of murder in order to feel that her honor as been upheld. However, a close examination of these plays demonstrates that the ...

A 5 page paper which examines Plato’s perspectives of the arts and drama and then discusses how Lysistrata by Aristophanes fits in with those ideas. Plato’s Republic and Apology are cited. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which examines Chaucer’s Merchant and Physician in “Canterbury Tales.” Bibliography lists 1 additional source.

A 5 page paper which examines the classic tale of Medea and discusses whether her character was portrayed from a feminist perspective or an anti-woman perspective. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which examines the representation of the divine in Homer’s “The Odyssey” and “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” Bibliography lists 6 additional sources.

This is a 5 page paper discussing Chaucer’s “Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale”. Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale” are very much a part of one another in that the teller of the tale, the Wife, has become very well known to the reader in the autobiographical details told by her in ...

A 5 page paper which examines the validity of the statement: Gilgamesh, the civilized king of Uruk, is a “heroic” character, while Enkidu, his counterpart, is rather “primitive” and only achieves greatness of heroic proportion after becoming civilized. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines this theme shapes the epic’s portrayal of gender roles, children, companionship, gods and worship, the afterlife, adventure and achievement, and legacy. No additional sources are used.

This is a 5 page analysis of Gordon’s “Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery” and additional comments on its historical context. Alan Gordon’s “Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery” (2002) successfully combines elements of fact and fiction when unraveling a mystery during the end of the Fourth Crusade in 1203 in ...

A 5 page paper which examines “The Song of Roland,” illustrating how it stands as a model for the Medieval character. No additional sources cited.

A 10 page research paper that analyzes the use of fire imagery in Virgil's Aeneid. The writer argues that references to fire serve to underscore and inform certain thematic material, such as heroism, piety, Juno's revenge, the Roman sense of duty, and the passion of Dido and that in exploring the various ways in which ...

A 6 page essay that explores the cost of the Roman state against the sufferings of the Trojan wanderers in Virgil's Aeneid. Citing specifically the story of Dido and Aeneas, as well as the Trojan women attempting to torch the fleet, the writer argues that by exploring Virgil's use of fire imagery, it becomes evident ...

A paper which considers the concepts of fate, free will and individual self-development with reference to a number of diverse texts including Oedipus Rex, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and Il Postino. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 7 page paper which discusses how women are portrayed in the classic stories of Medea and Antigone. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which examines the roles of the gods in Homer’s “The Odyssey.” Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the theme of “Gargantua” by Francois Rabelais as it unfolds through the relationship between Picrochole and Grangousier. No additional sources cited.

A five page paper which looks critically at some of the passages in book 22 of Homer's Iliad which describe the characters of Hector and Achilles, and the way that the two warriors compare to one another. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 3 page paper which examines the themes of love and death in “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” The source used is Herbert Mason's verse narrative version. No additional sources cited.

5 pages in length. When one traces the theme of crime and punishment in The Odyssey, the most apparent resolution relates directly to mortal limitations, truth, honesty and the desire to achieve and uphold one's righteousness. Homer's classic tale is instrumental in providing its characters with the knowledge of values and "to express ...

This is a 6 page paper discussing the characterization and the portrait of “The Wife of Bath” in The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer’s characterization of “The Wife of Bath” in “The Canterbury Tales” begins by her elaborate description in the General Prologue which is further detailed in her Prologue, considered the longest of all the ...