You can find the best topics in literature by reading it yourself. Here are some common approaches:
– Discussion of the characters in a work: Are they historically-based, symbolic, or realistic?
– A comparison/contrast showing the different choices that authors and characters make in a piece.
– An outside philosophical perspective is used to read a work. What would Freudians think of Hamlet?
– Study of historical events and sources that are relevant to the work being done (Ex. Comparing G.B. Comparison of G.B. Shaw’s Pygmalion and the original Greek myth Pygmalion).
Analyse of a particular image in multiple works (Ex. Moon imagery in plays, poems, and novels.
– A “deconstruction” (Ex. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness shows how a racism-based worldview is revealed.
– A political reading (Ex. How would a Marxist view William Blake’s “London?”?
– Study of the socio-political, economic or political context in which a piece was written. What does this context have to do with the work?
HOW DO YOU START RESEARCHING?
Internet
The Internet is a great place to start once you’ve decided on a topic and/or work. You’ll find biographical data, brief summaries, and bibliographies about authors on the Internet.
– The book repository
Although the Internet offers limited scholarship, it is not likely to provide any. Instead, you will need to consult library sources, including journal articles and scholarly books. This information can be used to help you build your own scholarship, your literary paper. Use the MLA Periodical Index, the online catalog of the library. Your final paper should not include encyclopedic or dictionary sources.
WHAT CAN I DO WITH THE INFORMATION I FOUND?
Secondary sources should not be considered as a substitute for your primary source. The essay should be dominated by your thoughts. The ideas of other scholars will be helpful to you as you build your thesis.
Let’s say, for example, you argue that Huck Finn was a Christ figure. You then give evidence from the novel that allows this reading. Finally, at the right place, you might say the following: This argument is supported by evidence taken from the novel. At the right moment, you might then say the following:
Susan Thomas claims that Huck makes a sacrifice to free Jim (129).
Direct quotes are used when the scholar explains an important idea in an engaging way.
“Huck is driven to safety by his altruism and compassion for Jim” (Thomas 122).
Whatever way, this idea will be linked to your thesis.