235 Interesting Literary Research Topics

While pursuing a degree in English Literature, you will have to submit a detailed literary research paper with proper evidence and examples. Basically, for writing a research paper, a good topic is needed the most. In case, you are asked to craft a thesis, make sure to identify the right topic that has high scope of discussion. If you are struggling to pick a good topic for an English literary research paper, check this blog post. Here, we have shared a list of the best 235 literary research topics and ideas on various themes.

What is Literary Research?

To select suitable literary research topics, first, it would be important to understand the meaning of literary research. Also, if you don’t understand its meaning, then it would be problematic for you to choose the appropriate topics.

A literary research paper is different from other types of papers. In a literary research paper, the viewpoints of other people are not important, but the interpretation made by the person writing the research paper plays a crucial role.

A major portion of the paper would include the interpretation of the author, the language, visuals, rhythm, structure, choice of words, repetitions, and the portrayal of characters, feelings, places, and events. Also, the core task of the writer here would be to evaluate the literature piece and offer his interpretation of the same or even take a stance to write the paper. Get in touch with us now for the best online research paper help.

Literary Research Paper Topic Selection

Do you have difficulties in choosing your literary research topics? I have listed a few important points below that will help you to make a good choice for your research paper.

1. Prepare a list of all possible topics that come to your mind. Put a cross on the topics, that don’t seem interesting to you. Once, you are left with 2-3 topics, attempt a few prewriting tasks.
2. Prepare questions for each of the shortlisted topics and identify which of them seems to be more natural and interesting.
3. Think, if any of these topics can be modified to make a good research paper for you.
4. Discuss with your professor on the shortlisted research topics. It might be possible that your professor has read these resources multiple times and would be able to provide you with proper guidance on the same.

Read more: What You Know About the Modern Age of English Literature?

List of Literary Research Topics and Ideas

For your convenience, here, we have shared a list of English literary topics that can make your research paper flawless. Explore them all and pick one topic that is more comfortable for you to craft a well-structured academic paper as per your university guidelines.

British Literary Research Topics

1. Lady Macbeth- Character Review.
2. Influence of Romans and Greeks on Western literature.
3. Developing Social Identity through the Lens of British Literature.
4. Significance of the 3 Medieval Centuries in Britain’s Literature.
5. The Myth of the Anglo-Saxon oral poet.
6. Impact of British Literature on global literature
7. Comparative analysis between the novel ‘Great Expectations written by Charles Dickens and ‘Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
8. Why ‘Middlemarch’ is considered one of the greatest British novels of all time?
9. Discuss the importance of British literary works
10. Discuss the reason for the general acceptance of short stories in Britain
11. Discuss the theme and image of Middle English romance during the Medieval Siege
12. The manner of character evolution in Charles Dickens’s Works
13. Analyze how the 18th Century writers in Britain presented the concept of virtue, highlighting many prominent reference material
14. The differences between how anti-heroes and villains are portrayed in King Lear
15. The theme of individualism and collectivism in Oliver Twist

Research Topics on Early American Literature

1. The importance of James Fennimore Cooper in improving Nationalism.
2. Modern American Literature- Social Perception.
3. The Role of Women in Early American Literature.
4. History and culture of American literature.
5. The colonial period of America- Significant historical characters.
6. Discuss the main focus of the early American literature
7. Analyse The Power of Sympathy, the first American novel
8. Why Uncle Tom’s Cabin(1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe is considered one of the greatest American novels?
9. How does American literature differ from British literature?
10. Discuss the social perception of contemporary American literature
11. What are some of the popular British Literature books that provide information about education?
12. Analyze William Shakespeare’s writing style
13. Discuss how English literature is majorly classified, giving some examples, and highlighting some famous writers together with their works
14. Compare the characters in two separate popular British novels
15. Discuss the advancement in the English language and how this advancement affects the language choice of today.

Also read: English Research Topics and Ideas To Deal With

Literary Research Topics for High School Students

1. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Literature for Society.
2. William Shakespeare- Exploring its significance.
3. Sex and love- The most popular genre in literature.
4. The popularity of Harry Potter among youngsters.
5. Influence of literature on male chauvinism.
6. How British Literature Portrays Elements of Romanticism
7. How female characters are portrayed in American and Asian literature
8. Differentiate between fictional, non-fictional, and historical literature with examples
9. Discuss how violent imagery and description are used in poetry and novels written after World War I
10. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – a unique form of monstrosity in the novel

Literary Research Topics for University Students

1. Influence of digital media on the traditional literary forms.
2. Importance of reading behavior on the development of literature.
3. Analyzing the challenges of the publishing industry.
4. Influence of digital media on the consumption and dissemination of literature resources.
5. How to win the hearts of intellectual people with reading?
6. Interrelations and patterns existing between fables and human stories
7. How are domestic violence and sexual abuse portrayed in novels and short stories?
8. Violence and Women in Raymond Carver’s Stories
9. How have digital innovations changed the global literature?
10. Impact of Literature on the Development of Civilization, political system, and justice system

Current British Literary Research Topics

1. Perception of Men by William Shakespeare.
2. Destiny and free will in the words of William Shakespeare.
3. How can books be perceived as classics of literature?
4. Love in books and physical love are two different sides of the same coin.
5. Lack of relevant problems in British Literature.
6. Do British literary works help society to grow and develop?
7. Discuss the theme of adultery in ‘Scarlet Letter’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne
8. Did the lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic create an impact on American Literature?
9. Should the government be blamed for not inculcating reading habits among its citizens?
10. Analyzing the influence of humans and technology on print media.
11. Can there be a book review without bias?
12. Is American literature an incentive for violence?
13. Are there any restrictions or barriers for female authors?
14. Freedom of speech and expression and its misuse by authors
15. Life of a Poet in the Innovative Era.

Awesome Literary Research Paper Topics

1. Discuss the emergence of theatre in Europe and the relation of its origin to the coming of the printing press.
2. Explain why the Renaissance is considered the best period for the patronization of art
3. Write about the origin of the literary club.
4. Explain the depiction of the middle class in Victorian literature.
5. What are the major literary texts in modern literature that describe the effect of war on the human mind in the best way?
6. Explain how historians have described the Victorian era.
7. Why literary texts written in the neoclassical age are written in the poetic form mostly and not in prose?
8. Explain how prose emerged at the end of the neoclassical period.
9. Write about the morality of people in the Renaissance period.
10. Why religion and scientific explanation is important in the Neo-classical age of literature?

Latest Literary Research Ideas

1. Recent types of copyrights in the technological era.
2. Analyzing the collision between religion and literature.
3. Influence of culture on literature in the American perspective.
4. Role of Literature in shaping the Morals of society.
5. Importance of female authors in literature.
6. Core themes of British literature.
7. How have images influenced written literature?
8. Early conventional American literature pieces.
9. The problem encountered in the constructive literature study.
10. Literature of different countries of Europe.

Also read: Best Essay Topics and Ideas for Students to Get Started

Trending Literary Research Paper Topics

1. The best literary masterpiece of all time.
2. Famous women in literature.
3. Discussing the personality of Don Quixote.
4. Comprehensive analysis of European literature.
5. Medieval time in Europe- Critical Analysis.
6. The specifications of Irish Poetry.
7. Compare and contrast US classical literature and European literature.
8. Most powerful social problems in modern times.
9. What is the role of ethnicity in literature?
10. The specifications of travel writing in 2021.

Unique Literary Research Topics

1. Portraying the life of a city- Development.
2. The transformations made in verse and narrative from 1900.
3. African literary journalism.
4. The rites of reaching adulthood- Literary journalism.
5. The role played by names in the children’s literature.
6. What did Oliver Twist state on individualism?
7. Lost in the Funhouse- Significance of fiction.
8. How can reading develop the imagination of a child?
9. Role of an artificial language in the literature work.
10. Drawbacks of ignorance in a novel.
11. English use deviates from the norm among university students.
12. Social Criticism within contemporary dystopian young adult fiction
13. Compare and contrast the representation of males and females by authors in their classic and modern literary works
14. Critical analysis of the role played by women in neo-Victorian literature with examples
15. Describe how racial and gender representations are made within African American autobiographies

Excellent Literary Research Paper Topics

1. The significance of graphics in WWI poetry.
2. Sonnet on His Blindness by John Milton- Key theme.
3. The emergence of detective novels in British literature.
4. What is the connection between the soul and sin?
5. Significance of unconditional love in the world of poetry.
6. Influence of war and peace on poetry.
7. Learning about the comfort after death comfort.
8. Significance of comedy in Western literature.
9. Is literature a part of Western literature?
10. American Dream in literature- Discuss its significance.

Unbelievable Literary Research Topics

1. What is the “stream of consciousness” in literature?
2. Do you think literature should be gendered?
3. Analysis between dystopian and utopian literature.
4. How would you rate the feminist concept in literature?
5. Evaluate how clichés function in literature.
6. Describe the Byronic characters in literature.
7. Elaborate on the languages developed in the literature.
8. Analyze Japanese literature in the 20^th
9. Explain cultural production in the context of Latino writers.
10. Learn about the most popular work of Ernest Hemingway.
11. What do you mean by madness in literature?
12. Change in the life of a city since 1900.
13. The policy of English in African literary content.
14. What is the role of leadership in literature?
15. Evaluate the methods that have been used to create styles in the literature.

Also read: Get to Know the Common English Techniques with Examples

Outstanding Literary Research Ideas

1. Analyze the impact of Asian theaters on conventional literature.
2. Do you think literature has made any development from the past to the current time?
3. How can language diversity impact the growth of a country?
4. Explain the importance of revolution and music.
5. The provocations made by language on national development.
6. The distinction between grammatical theories and linguistic theories.
7. Discuss the communication mediums used in the field of literature.
8. Importance of a sentence structure in literature.
9. Societal norms versus personal happiness in Victorian literature.
10. Assessing word development in literature.

High-quality Literary Research Paper Topics

1. Impact of a native language on the selection of a second language for a person.
2. Issues that can be experienced in learning a second language.
3. Effects of music, dance, rituals, and songs in literature.
4. What are the syntactic issues connected with English usage?
5. The influence of poetic language on expression.
6. Can literature be called the catalyst of social change?
7. How does society influence the performance of students in literature?
8. Learning strengths and teachings in literature.
9. Post World War II – Analysis of American Literature
10. Contribution of Anne Bradstreet to American Literature.
11. Studying the common themes in American literature.
12. Demonstration of death and dialects in literature.
13. The development of customary excellence.
14. The significance of American Sign Language in literature.
15. Beowulf- Discussing the male and female characters

Top Literary Research Topics

1. How did African American literature deal with the black experience?
2. Beloved- Demonstration of mother and daughter relationships.
3. Impact of modern literature and generational divide.
4. Falkner’s Fable- Depicting the concept of war.
5. What did Tom Morrison say about the civil way?
6. Ways in which self-verification occurs in African American literature.
7. Great Gatsby- Analyzing the color interpretation.
8. The importance of proverbs in literature.
9. Evaluation of the dangers in literature.
10. Exploring the significance of speech in literature.
11. “Things fall apart”- Achebe’s comparative study.
12. Studying the relevance of folktale in literature.
13. Multi-lingual society- Factors affecting the choice of languages.
14. Morphological procedures in English- Critical analysis.
15. Importance of women in the development of a nation.

Captivating Research Topics on English Literature

1. The Tribulation of the African Women.
2. Depiction of gender in the Gothic novel.
3. The portrayal of death in Renaissance literature.
4. Duma’s Novel- Historical background.
5. Astronomy and Poetic Imagination- Examination of the 19^th
6. Application of quantum in physics in literature.
7. Fairy Tales in Literature.
8. Accuracy of history described in historical novels.
9. Issues associated with tenses in literature.
10. Role of conflicts in literary novels.
11. Issues associated with tenses in literature.
12. Role of conflicts in literary novels.
13. Examine the literature on post-colonialism and climate change.
14. Discuss Tagore Gora’s perspective on tradition and modernity.
15. Examine the relationship between pre- and post-independence in Indian literature.

Engaging Literature Research Ideas

1. The Significance of African Literary Responses to Racism
2. The homosexuality literature
3. The Importance of Literature in Today’s World
4. Feminism expanded during the twentieth century.
5. The perceptions of fairy tales in the modern era
6. The relationship between pre- and post-independence Indian literature
7. Discuss the 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
8. Shakespeare’s importance in the world of literature
9. How did the artistry of novel writing begin?
10. The Vanity Fair Character Analysis of Amy and Rebecca
11. Vampires as depicted in nineteenth and twenty-first-century literature
12. Analyze the development of literature from its inception to the present.
13. Examine the techniques employed to develop the literary styles.
14. What are some feminist critiques of particular works by feminist authors?
15. A discussion of fiction’s significance in literature.
16. Critical analysis of the relationship between language and political power during the Victorian era in Charles Dickens’ play
17. Discuss how censorship, social responsibility, caste system, and free speech are depicted in English novels written during the 19^th century
18. Discuss how LGBTQI+ people are represented by the authors in contemporary novels and movies
19. Describe the themes of revolution and rebellion in literary works of African American authors
20. Discuss the oppression of women and freedom of men as in colonial Latin American literary works

Best Literary Research Paper Topics

1. The importance of feeling and storytelling in literature’s novel writing.
2. Discuss how literary novels use tensions to their advantage.
3. What impact does linguistic diversity have on a nation’s development?
4. Talk about the connection between music and the revolution.
5. Language barriers to national growth.
6. What type of communication is employed in literature?
7. How can I teach reading to young children to help them form relationships and use their imaginations?
8. Describe the limits between the disciplines of English literature and archaeology.
9. Examine the relationship between pre- and post-independence literature in India.
10. Compare Indian literature before and after independence.
11. What new roles have women had in 20th-century literature?
12. What impact did Milton’s Paradise Lost have on the writing of the 17th century?
13. How have William Burroughs and James Joyce written their novels?
14. the use of linguistic activities in English language instruction and acquisition.
15. Discuss the role of women in literature and nation-building.

Fascinating Literary Research Questions

1. Discuss propaganda and literature in the modern world.
2. Write about the most effective villains in literature.
3. How can you define masculinity in literature?
4. Evaluate black American women writers and their influence on the world.
5. Discuss the influence of Asian American literature.
6. How did colonization influence modern literature?
7. Explain the evolution of modern literature.
8. Examine how leadership is portrayed in literature.
9. Analyze the effect of social media language on learners
10. Evaluate the contemporary refuge literature.

The Bottom Line

From the list of 235 literary research topics and ideas suggested above, choose any topic that is convenient for you to convince your readers. In case, you need any other ideas or if you experience any difficulties with writing your literary research paper, approach us for assistance. On our platform, we have numerous English assignment help experts to offer help with writing academic papers on literary topics. Moreover, by utilizing the assignment help of the literary scholars in our team, you can finish your tasks on time and achieve top grades.