Really need your help

[acrafty1]

Ok, so I have to produce a 4000 word essay on anything I want...I have chosen literature as I thought it would be a great subject to cover, but I am finding the starting question really hard...please help me, I will be so grateful.

I have come up with...

What are the major characteristics of Victorian literature - but this is too broad

The importance of studying English Literature - but again too broad

How English Literature has changed/developed over time - again too broad

I have also come up with some other similar questions and again they have all been rejected.

I want to know what you would write about, or if you know of any critical essays/books/argument I could look at to get some inspiration!

I'm desperate now and am thinking of dropping out of college because I just can't get this right and I really don't want to do that, so any advice would be appreciated.

THanks

[Sancho Panza]

How about a focus on an author that you feel has revolutionised literature and investigate their inspirations.

Or you could look right in time to try and find out about what the first true novel was, who wrote it and why. Maybe you could further focus on the first novel in your favourite genre...

[PeterL]

If I were writinga 4000 word essay on a facet of literature, then I think that i would concentrate on horror literature. Perhaps how it has changed over the last 200 years, or maybe how it has affected the rest of literature. I would certainly restrict the essay to just one branch of literature, and I would want to concetrate on just one feature. Another possibility might be how literature has shifted away from what it was in the mid-1800's. Or Twain's influence on later writers. There are mny possibilities.

[kelby_lake]

The Victorian literature one doesn't seem too bad, but maybe just limit it to a branch of literature, such as purely poetry or purely novels.

[smerdyakov]

Ok, so I have to produce a 4000 word essay on anything I want...I have chosen literature as I thought it would be a great subject to cover, but I am finding the starting question really hard...please help me, I will be so grateful.


Why did you think it would be a great subject to cover? Ask yourself what made you think that? What literature do you like? What do you know about?
There's your answer.

[Wayfarer32]

How did the progress of industry impact literature in the Victorian period, or how was the progress of industry portrayed in major Victorian works

[irinmisfit92]

I agree with what someone has said up there, that you have to focus on just one branch of literature. I think horror or Victorian literature will be great. There are many famous Gothic works too, such as Dracula and Frankenstein.

Personally even though it's too broad I don't think it's much of a problem because that means you won't run out of things to say in your essay.

I would also recommend a question, about whether mangas can be considered literature, because to me it's a very interesting topic to do.

If you want more help, you can always send me a visitor message and we'll look into your essay! I'd be willing to help.

[irinmisfit92]

Actually I just realised, if a whole topic like that is too broad for you, why don't you compare two texts instead?

For example, maybe compare two Shakespearan plays and tell us more about the common themes and devices used.

In fact, if that is still too broad, focus on one novel and look at how the author's background affects how he writes. For example, Kafka wrote Metamorphosis as an autobiography because he felt like a cockroach to his family and he had a turbulent relationship with his father in real life.

[Darcy88]

4000 words is a lot but its not a tremendous lot. You could come up with that many words on one of your favourite books alone.

[JBI]

The trick to any good paper is being specific, yet providing broad implications. If you want to write a paper about literature, perhaps you can try sticking to one author, or one genre.

Beyond that, you also will want to stick to one idea, theme, or function. For instance, themes of loss in Victorian poetry, and why they matter today. Or, English literature as a colonial invention.

[acrafty1]

Thank you all for your wonderful ideas. I think I am finally getting there, so your help has been much appreciated. I will let you know the final outcome.

[irinmisfit92]

Thank you all for your wonderful ideas. I think I am finally getting there, so your help has been much appreciated. I will let you know the final outcome.

So what topic did you choose to do? (: