35 English Literature Essay Topics for High-school & College Students

September 19, 2022

English literature is one of the most important genres in essay writing service, and it has produced some of the best-known works. If you are looking to write an English literature essay, then there are many options for topics.

There are several ways that you can create an interesting essay on this topic. You can choose a particular author or timeframe that interests you and write an essay focusing on this.

Perhaps you could compare and contrast two of the most famous books written by one particular author, such as comparing 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with 'Much Ado About Nothing'.

Another thing that is interesting about English literature is the relationship between prose and poetry. You can discuss the difference in style between these two genres, and how they work together to make an interesting piece of essay writer service.

Here is a list of English Literature topics. Take your pick and get started on that essay!

  1. Discuss how Shakespeare explores the idea of dreams in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.
  2. Write an essay on one of Byron's poems, exploring its themes and style.
  3. Compare Chaucer's Prologue to The Canterbury Tales with a modern travel documentary, considering what effect this might have on their audience.
  4. What is the importance of Shakespeare's use of imagery in 'Romeo and Juliet'?
  5. Discuss the role and place of women in Milton's Comus and examine how this reflects views on essay writer website at that time.


  1. Write an essay suggesting how Shakespeare might have ended 'Hamlet'.
  2. How does Hardy re-write the ending of Tess of the D'Urbervilles?
  3. Explore the ways in which poetry is used, compared with prose, to develop character and plot in any novel.
  4. Discuss how Hardy's 'The Return of the Native' reflects Victorian social attitudes towards women.
  5. Compare two poems on love, considering the role that women play in each poem.
  6. 'Macbeth' is full of symbols and imagery with many different interpretations; discuss one of these and any significance it might have to the play as a whole.
  7. Use specific examples from at least three poems to compare and contrast Romantic poetry with Modernist poetry.
  8. Discuss the role of fate in 'essay writing service'.


  1. How is madness presented in Victorian literature?
  2. Use specific examples from at least three poems to compare and contrast these two Romantic poets' approaches to nature.
  3. There are many different versions of what happened to King Arthur after he was killed; discuss one of these and illustrate how this version might have been influenced by its historical context.
  4. How does Shakespeare present the concept of time in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
  5. Explore how Byron uses classical mythology to explore contemporary political and social issues in Don Juan.
  6. Discuss Milton's views on censorship and its importance in the interpretation of 'Paradise Lost'.
  7. Compare and contrast several poems on love.
  8. Discuss the role of fate in 'Hamlet' and consider how Shakespeare's use of this concept makes it difficult for the play to exist as a tragedy.
  9. What is shown by Hardy's choice of setting and style in 'essay writer free online'?


  1. Explore how Byron's use of satire and irony contributes to the meaning and tone of Don Juan.
  2. How does T S Eliot explore time and memory in The Waste Land?
  3. Using specific examples from two poems, discuss how women are presented as symbols of both domesticity and the Other World.
  4. How does Shakespeare present prophecy in 'Macbeth'?
  5. Discuss Conrad's use of a first-person narrator in Heart of Darkness, considering how this affects the reader's understanding of events.
  6. Explore how different versions of the same Arthurian story, such as 'The Once and Future King' affect how we interpret the legend.
  7. Compare Chaucer's Prologue with a modern poem.
  8. Discuss Hardy's presentation of the natural world in Tess of the D'Urbervilles focusing on its symbolic meaning in relation to Tess.
  9. Discuss how Byron uses the technique of dramatic monologue in Don Juan.
  10. Compare and contrast two poems on love, considering what attitudes to it each poet reveals.
  11. How does Hardy re-write a traditional fairy tale in his novel, 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'?
  12. Discuss how Shakespeare presents war in 'essay writing service for college'.

All these topics are about different works of literature. You can either choose any of the topics as it is or take inspiration from them.