Literature Analysis Ideas: Useful Sources, Examples, and Tips from Experts
Posted on April 6, 2022
Many students do not differentiate between literary analysis and retelling. To retell means to tell what the book or a story is about. To analyze means to choose a factor and review literary work through its prism. When students search for literary analysis topics, they will need not only to read a source but also to judge, criticize, and introduce their viewpoints on some events, characters, manner of author’s language use, etc. This article answers the most frequent questions of those who need to write a literature analysis.
Top 10 Samples of Literature Analysis Topics
One literary work can be analyzed differently. Students can investigate its characters, plot, setting, figures of speech, dialogs, point of view, theme, imagery, and tone. If it is poetry, a person can write about rhythm and rhyme. Below, one can see a table with vivid examples.
| An object of a literary analysis | Topic sample |
| Character(s) | Can the main character of the novel “Carrie” by Stephen King be called a dynamic character? Why? Why not? |
| Setting | How could the story of Romeo and Juliette end if they lived in Verona today? |
| Plot | What episodes can one include to the exposition, rising action, falling action, and resolution when reading the first book of the trilogy “The Hunger Games” by S. Collins? |
| Theme | What does a geek show symbolize in the “Nightmare Alley” by W.L. Gresham? How does it help to comprehend the main idea of the novel? |
| Dialog | Do you agree or disagree with critics who regard “Waiting for Godot” as a masterpiece, thanks to the dialogs that S. Beckett used to convey the main idea of the novel? |
| Imagery | What types of imagery (visual, tactile, organic, olfactory, etc.) did Stephen King use to create a tense atmosphere of the approaching disasters in his novel “The Stand”? |
| Figures of speech | What figures of speech did Rupi Kaur use to show the sexual abuse and suffering of women in her book of poems “Milk and Honey”? |
| Tone | Why did E.M. Remarque select different tones to convey the post-war atmosphere in his book “Three Comrades”? |
| Rhyme and Rhythm | Does Ada Limon try to preserve rhyme and rhythm in her poems? What is the secret of her success? |
| Point of view | How could the message of “The Handmaid’s Tale” by M. Atwood change if it were introduced in the first person through the eyes of evil characters such as Aunt Lydia and Fred? |
Where to search for literature analysis topics? Experts suggest using the following sources when preparing a literature analysis essay:
edited academic books;
- journal articles that were peer-reviewed;
- materials, taken from web sources of dependable professional associations;
- statistics posted on official websites of government;
- professional journals.
How to Compose a Stellar Literature Analysis: 5 Steps from Pro
It is not enough to find great ideas to get the highest degree. A student should know how to compose a peerless analysis. Custom writers usually take five steps to guarantee A-level performance.
Step #1. Select a literary work
The chosen topics should be new. Students must be ready to support the chosen theme with enough information. That is why it is better not to stop on novels and poems that have been discussed thousands of times because it will be hard to introduce original information in a paper. If a student has to write about works of classic writers, one should consider a novel or a poem that a couple of people agreed to discuss.
Step #2. Collect information to create a thesis statement
As soon as a student decides what to write about, it will be necessary to read a masterpiece once again. This time, a student should search for specific information connected with the topic. The most valuable message must be reflected in the thesis statement.
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Top-10 Writer at CustomWritings.com
Besides, one should find a good literary essay example on educational websites. It is better to see once than to hear about the paper format many times.
Step #3. Outline your future analysis
It is a bad idea not to structure a paper. Students risk failing the task. Everything must be logical. A student should write an introduction with a thesis statement, a body with one or several paragraphs that discuss the argument of the thesis statement, and a conclusion to sum everything up.
These are some related articles that can be helpful in the creation of decent literature analysis:
- Character Analysis: How to Evaluate Specific Traits of a Literary Character
- How to Write a Literary Analysis on Native American Literature
Step #4. Edit
A learner should read the finished essay and check if everything is good with word selection, active voice constructions, selected tone, readability, and overall format. It is essential to read school or college requirements to see whether the paper corresponds to a tutor’s demands or not.
Step #5. Proofread
A student reads the text backward to spot typos. Then, it is necessary to look for punctuation mistakes, including quotes. A text should also have the required spaces.
Pro tip
If you want our analysis to sound convincing, it will be significant to gather strong evidence. These could be citations from the analyzed literary work, the words of its author, and the viewpoint of critics and experts who post their reviews in professional journals and magazines. One should try to paraphrase most information to avoid direct plagiarism.
Summary
Writing literature analysis is a scrupulous task. One should be ready to read a lot, analyze and compare materials to draw smart conclusions. Professional writers help students not to get lost and find the right direction in writing. Hence, if students do not know how to start or what to do with the assignment, custom writers will show them the way out.
