A List Of Brilliant Literary Research Paper Topic Ideas

The best research paper topics are ones that originate from your own readings of literature and the scholarly work surrounding the area of study. You can discuss a work’s characters, themes, descriptions, allegories, etc. and offer perspectives or provide comparisons or differences. The best way to come up with a research topic is to start broadly then working your way down till it’s something specific and interesting. Here is a list of some brilliant paper topic ideas for you to try out:

1. Can you discuss the concept of the Muslim and Christian believer in literary works such as John Donne’s “Batter my heart, three-personed God” and Chairil Anwar’s “At the Mosque”.
2. Using Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal”, can you discuss the difficulties of the African male as he comes to age in the U.S. Can you compare this using what other scholars have to say about the challenges faced?
3. What political issues are addressed in certain pieces of literature? This can include issues of rights, equality, and discrimination. What broader comments about society and government do these issues affect? Is it the same in contemporary literature?
4. Can Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” be used to explore the medical community’s approach to women’s health in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
5. Discuss the battle between science and faith in the Victorian Age, framing the discussion using Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach”.
6. Can you use Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” as a kind of jumping off point to discuss the idea that violence created a gaping hole in Victorian-era society?
7. Use Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to explore depression in women at the start of the 20th century in American. What can literature teach us about society’s attitude toward those who were afflicted and the kinds of treatments that were used?
8. What are some significant allusions within a piece of fiction? These could be in reference to religion, other novels and even other authors. How are these allusions important to understanding a novel and its place in literature?
9. Look at gender roles in literary works of your choice, considering questions of how men and women are portrayed differently or similarly? Do specific characters follow or fight against certain gender expectations?
10. Make comparisons between two of your favorite characters in a single piece of fiction. How are their similarities and differences important to the piece of fiction?