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Literature Term Paper Topics: Fresh Takes on Some Old Works
Literature term paper topics need to offer fresh perspectives on often very old literature such as a Shakespearean play or sonnet, a novel by Jane Austen written over 200 years ago, or a poem from the medieval period.
While much of the literature that students study in 2011 bears no relationship to the world we live in, this does not mean that a literature term paper is impossibly difficult to write.
Topics exist that can help students enjoy writing literature term papers, rather than viewing them as tedious chores. Here is a list of term paper for literature topics that can facilitate the writing process:
- Compare two or three versions of a Shakespearean play that has been turned into a film or television series within the last decade in terms of their depictions of Shakespeare himself.
- Write an alternate ending to one of the world’s most famous novels such as Don Quixote or Wuthering Heights and offer an analysis in your paper of how the changed ending changes the impact of the novel. The term papers for literature that include a dose of your own creativity will help them flow much faster.
- Interview two or three English professors from two or three universities who all teach the same piece of literature. Compare and contrast the elements of the play, novel, poem that they teach and analyze the reasons why their teaching methods differ.
- Write about the characters from several famous pieces of literature that are rarely discussed in university literature classes; analyze what purpose these characters serve in the piece. In the case of Shakespearean plays, some examples include Mercutio or Goneril. Literature term papers are much more fun to explore, research, and write when you are not simply rehashing the same old characters doing the same old things over and over.
- If you speak another language besides English, another interesting topic for a literature term paper would be to compare and contrast two or three translations of a famous monologue or descriptive paragraph.
- Analyze another element of the piece of literature besides the characters. For example, write an essay about the description of animals, technology, or machines. This topic allows you to experience the piece of literature in a new way.