Writing about Literature

[acrafty1]

I'm a mature student about to start on my journey towards an English Degree, but before I get there I have to write a 4000 word essay on any subject I like...so I thought I would write about literature, but am not sure where to start. I have ideas from the history of English Literature to what makes good literature and what makes a classic a classic, but I'm not sure if I could draft an essay of 4000 words on these topics, so, given the choice what would you write about?

You have to use resources both in print and on the internet, you must include diagrams/graphs etc. and it has to be in prose not a report styled document.

So, if you have the luxury of 4 months research, 4000 words and were allowed to write about any thing you liked regarding literature, what would you study and why and what would your essay be on?

Thanks for your comments xxx

[Charles Darnay]

Whatever you do, make sure it is not too vague. What makes a classic a classic, for example, is vague and not grounded in anything.

I would choose a specific author, genre, period, or trend and go from there.
For example : Shakespeare, or Romantic poetry, or satire. Something specific

[stlukesguild]

I would hone in a little bit more. Select a single writer... or two writers whom you could compare and contrast or show how one drew inspiration from the other. Or at the broadest, I might select a period or style of writers that you are especially fond of. 4000 words may seem like a lot, but already here I have over sixty words in one sentence.

[Sancho Panza]

If I were in your position I would look at the subject of controversial literature and how society's idea of what is acceptable and what is not, particularly during the Victorian era. D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterly's Lover and anything by the Marquis de Sade would be ideal starting points, even though they are from different eras.

You could possibly conclude that nowadays, very little is 'taboo' anymore, especially with the existence of such books as So Shalt Thou Reap by Mat Jackson.

[acrafty1]

SP - love your idea!

I wrote about the birth of the novel in a previous essay, which had huge links with the Victorian era, so this would be quite a good follow up...you have given me food for thought - thanks

[OrphanPip]

It's still a little broad.

If you want to think about how a text becomes a classic, I'd first choose a text or author that has not always been considered a classic and look at how it might have become one.

A popular example is John Donne, who was respected during his life, was hated by Samuel Johnson, and then was rescued from obscurity by the Modernist (T.S. Eliot) and the New Critics (Cleanth Brooks).

The idea of little being taboo these days is a little meh as a topic I feel, because it seems rather obvious that moral attitudes towards text change with changing morality. It would be more interesting to think about how Sade specifically has been re-evaluated by people like Bataille and Sontag, i.e. postmodern attempts to consider pornography as art in its own right.

[kelby_lake]

4000 words is not too much so don't choose something vague. Think about something that interests you- and then think about its total contrast. Allow yourself to explore a variety of ideas and you may be suprised by which ones strike you.

[acrafty1]

OrphanPip - Liking the idea...thanks for your imput...4000 words sounds like a novel to me at the moment, but I guess when I get going it will soon get used.

[AuntShecky]

Your first reply from Charles Darnay is wise. No matter what you are writing--poetry, fiction, or in your case, a literary essay--it's always, always best to use specific details as opposed to the general, the abstract, and the "dry" theorizing.

Since you mention your ambition to pursue a degree in English, how about writing an essay how you arrived at that decision? There must've been a certain author or two or a certain type of novel, play, or poetry inspiring you to make that decision.

Why not consider writing an essay on how literature changed your life?