how do you define literature essay

how do you define literature essay

Defining the Literature Essay: A Comprehensive Exploration

1. Introduction to Literature Essays

A literature essay, commenting in a limited way on the language, plot, and character development of the literature, must develop proper language in order to be distinguished as superior. This response to literature provides your instructor with additional evidence of your ability to engage in an activity that occurs with regularity in the “real” world: spontaneous verbal discourse. The process of developing spontaneous verbal discourse in writing becomes an intimidating endeavor at times. The merit of spontaneous verbal responses to literature rests in their intention to develop, polish, and perfect the process of developing ideas during oral discourse; an instructor cannot with absolute certainty restrict your use of the rich resource from which you author spoken ideas. An instructor’s guidelines for writing literature essays often prohibit tangential or off-topic responses to literature; writing what one knows in no way exemplifies this principle.

Upon first encounter with literature, we are confronted by meanings in the setting of an unknown context. Meaning, stripped of familiar reference points, quickly becomes a set of irrational arbitrary marks of little consequence. Literature assumes the character of marks on paper when it is unfamiliar, when it has yet to become an integral part of our lives as individuals and as members of a community. Literature is experienced as a product of a particular place and time—indeed, as a product based on shared experiences and understandings as well as on the customs, traditions, and rules of living established within the society. To counteract the division between the here and now of the reader and the there and then of the literature, learners are actually encouraged to exercise critical thinking on an entirely unrealistic level.

2. Key Elements of a Literature Essay

The aim of a titled literary essay is to present a concise and clear argument concerning a particular part of a text you have read. It should state something flatly: the writer’s main point about the literature they are discussing. A good literary essay will also compare and contrast this claim with at least one other point of view on that particular piece of literature. Logic, organization, and style support the main point proposed by the literary essay. Undergraduate essays have between 3-5 pages, whereas graduate coursework may ask for more. Writers cite at least two sources per written page of the literary essay. Each source should have a job and function in the body of the text. Original analysis as close in logical sequence or relevancy of the work helps the writer develop a significant, important argument. Each paragraph develops a new point. Only one paragraph topic among the examples should provide Bella support for the claim of the paragraph.

A great literature essay requires a clear, focused argument, which is the crux of the essay. As a writer, consider this item in your writing. A well-documented paper will include two to three sources per page of the paper. Bibliographic information such as author, which includes last name, and page reference is necessary when you use a source. Do not overuse quotations; they should take a supporting role that bolsters your argument, rather than the center stage within the essay. Blocked quotes, which go over four lines in the essay, must have no quotation marks, but should not take over the essay. When possible, use the MLA documentation format in works cited and the essay. Literature essays are written in the third person, present tense.

3. Different Approaches to Analyzing Literature

The Old English literary mode, elegy, is, in its purest, most often not-yet-corrupted form, based on a plot least plot in the modern sense, which is preeminently characterized by a heightened sadness and lamentation. Though there is a minor lyrical tradition, posing a possible development of the genre, the vast majority of poems can be seen as the verbal or oral representations of sadness. Nevertheless, the essential characteristic of the elegy – the presentation of the situation bemoaned as also to suffer – functions as a particular vocal expression of sameness.

In the poems “The Wanderer,” “The Seafarer,” and “The Wife’s Lament,” all considered as elegies, the general tone is that of a sorrowful, solitary loneliness which is emphasized by the loneliness of the poems. These elegies also chronicle the battle between Christian and pagan morality, which is so much a part of the plot. In “The Wanderer,” the introduction of the warrior imagery, here associated with Christ, produces further tension caused by the juxtaposition of the two strongly opposed moralities. Similar tension is produced by such imagery in “The Seafarer.” In “The Wife’s Lament,” the mere fact of the narrative voice, a frau, and the subject matter, namely, the deserted wife, produce their own particular tension.

4. Writing and Structuring a Literature Essay

Introduction: Consideration of the subject matter begins with the invention or collection of a remarkable nucleus of factual material as Precondition 0. This may eventually constitute everything that is known about an extraordinary work. Emphasis upon this concentrated mass of detail may reveal some neglected aspect of the subject. In the case of more than one cluster of objects, the negative question has four possible answers as Precondition 1. Which remarkable group is the most remarkable theme? Consequently, consideration of interest involves reduction of these masses of material to a manageable load as Precondition 6. Contempt of a cluster of facts relieved these. The three-step procedure offers advice to teachers who abstain from interesting subjects.

The essay is the basic form, and the basic essay, though it is not necessarily the form of every essay, is the type of essay known as a theme or term paper. It applies to almost any essay on a work of literature, and at the heart of that essay is a thesis, a conception of the book, supported by interpretation or analysis of its details. All the rest is steps to or steps from that thesis: an introduction, a set of concepts (conclusion) suggested by several objects of concern (a group of relevant details, the same for every essay in the expressly constructed body), a position from which to gain a vantage on those objects (topic sentences), and steps toward or steps from those objects (TIQA segments). If we cannot provide evidence to refute a tentative judgment, then prudentially, if the judgment is not significant enough to concern us, then we must still assess the significance of the human subject.

5. Conclusion and Future Directions

The findings of the research uncovered that the LE concept is still very much an embryonic term with multiple dimensions and descriptions from diverse disciplines. Despite being studied in different disciplines such as Applied Linguistics, Philosophy, Sociology, and numerous studies on literature in tandem with various related areas, the LE remains ambiguous from the very fundamental concept itself and is an intriguing, emergent and challenging field of study, warranting further scrutiny. Given the emerging interest and immense potential of the LE field, it is timely to undertake an empirical and theoretical journey to equip scholars and regulators with a scholarly and comprehensive understanding of LE within and across disciplinary boundaries. The subject of the LE is beyond academic research, capturing the hearts and minds of stakeholders in various societies. As such, it is both timely and pertinent for more theoretical and empirical work to be conducted in this growing field. Whether the subject is considered as interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary, it offers new avenues for future research, combining the insights from each discipline to build a comprehensive understanding of the richness of LE. With such insights, scholars will have an opportunity to contribute to the existing literature in social and political fields, hopefully improving the living conditions and welfare of humankind.

A comprehensive research literature is imperative for the development of a theoretical framework. As highlighted by the thematic analysis, the extant literature on the LE does exist, spearheaded by a collection of scholars across disciplines. Although the literature on the LE has gained traction, a detailed systematic review has yet to be conducted. To the best of our knowledge, this current review can be considered the first detachment of the LE from its nebulous form. It is also the first purely comprehensive review on the LE, unmasking its features and capturing its structure hence imbuing clarity into the LE domain. This comprehensive review not only connected the dots across the different fields of study but also provided an informed overview of the diverging and converging research interests of LE.