how to write an english essay a level

How to Write a Good English Literature Essay

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

How do you write a good English Literature essay? Although to an extent this depends on the particular subject you’re writing about, and on the nature of the question your essay is attempting to answer, there are a few general guidelines for how to write a convincing essay – just as there are a few guidelines for writing well in any field.

We at Interesting Literature call them ‘guidelines’ because we hesitate to use the word ‘rules’, which seems too programmatic. And as the writing habits of successful authors demonstrate, there is no one way to become a good writer – of essays, novels, poems, or whatever it is you’re setting out to write. The French writer Colette liked to begin her writing day by picking the fleas off her cat.

Edith Sitwell, by all accounts, liked to lie in an open coffin before she began her day’s writing. Friedrich von Schiller kept rotten apples in his desk, claiming he needed the scent of their decay to help him write. (For most student essay-writers, such an aroma is probably allowed to arise in the writing-room more organically, over time.)

We will address our suggestions for successful essay-writing to the average student of English Literature, whether at university or school level. There are many ways to approach the task of essay-writing, and these are just a few pointers for how to write a better English essay – and some of these pointers may also work for other disciplines and subjects, too.

Of course, these guidelines are designed to be of interest to the non-essay-writer too – people who have an interest in the craft of writing in general. If this describes you, we hope you enjoy the list as well. Remember, though, everyone can find writing difficult: as Thomas Mann memorably put it, ‘A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.’ Nora Ephron was briefer: ‘I think the hardest thing about writing is writing.’ So, the guidelines for successful essay-writing:

1. Planning is important, but don’t spend too long perfecting a structure that might end up changing.

This may seem like odd advice to kick off with, but the truth is that different approaches work for different students and essayists. You need to find out which method works best for you.

It’s not a bad idea, regardless of whether you’re a big planner or not, to sketch out perhaps a few points on a sheet of paper before you start, but don’t be surprised if you end up moving away from it slightly – or considerably – when you start to write.

Often the most extensively planned essays are the most mechanistic and dull in execution, precisely because the writer has drawn up a plan and refused to deviate from it. What is a more valuable skill is to be able to sense when your argument may be starting to go off-topic, or your point is getting out of hand, as you write . (For help on this, see point 5 below.)

We might even say that when it comes to knowing how to write a good English Literature essay, practising is more important than planning.

2. Make room for close analysis of the text, or texts.

Whilst it’s true that some first-class or A-grade essays will be impressive without containing any close reading as such, most of the highest-scoring and most sophisticated essays tend to zoom in on the text and examine its language and imagery closely in the course of the argument. (Close reading of literary texts arises from theology and the analysis of holy scripture, but really became a ‘thing’ in literary criticism in the early twentieth century, when T. S. Eliot, F. R. Leavis, William Empson, and other influential essayists started to subject the poem or novel to close scrutiny.)

Close reading has two distinct advantages: it increases the specificity of your argument (so you can’t be so easily accused of generalising a point), and it improves your chances of pointing up something about the text which none of the other essays your marker is reading will have said. For instance, take In Memoriam (1850), which is a long Victorian poem by the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson about his grief following the death of his close friend, Arthur Hallam, in the early 1830s.

When answering a question about the representation of religious faith in Tennyson’s poem In Memoriam (1850), how might you write a particularly brilliant essay about this theme? Anyone can make a general point about the poet’s crisis of faith; but to look closely at the language used gives you the chance to show how the poet portrays this.

For instance, consider this stanza, which conveys the poet’s doubt:

A solid and perfectly competent essay might cite this stanza in support of the claim that Tennyson is finding it increasingly difficult to have faith in God (following the untimely and senseless death of his friend, Arthur Hallam). But there are several ways of then doing something more with it. For instance, you might get close to the poem’s imagery, and show how Tennyson conveys this idea, through the image of the ‘altar-stairs’ associated with religious worship and the idea of the stairs leading ‘thro’ darkness’ towards God.

In other words, Tennyson sees faith as a matter of groping through the darkness, trusting in God without having evidence that he is there. If you like, it’s a matter of ‘blind faith’. That would be a good reading. Now, here’s how to make a good English essay on this subject even better: one might look at how the word ‘falter’ – which encapsulates Tennyson’s stumbling faith – disperses into ‘falling’ and ‘altar’ in the succeeding lines. The word ‘falter’, we might say, itself falters or falls apart.

That is doing more than just interpreting the words: it’s being a highly careful reader of the poetry and showing how attentive to the language of the poetry you can be – all the while answering the question, about how the poem portrays the idea of faith. So, read and then reread the text you’re writing about – and be sensitive to such nuances of language and style.

The best way to become attuned to such nuances is revealed in point 5. We might summarise this point as follows: when it comes to knowing how to write a persuasive English Literature essay, it’s one thing to have a broad and overarching argument, but don’t be afraid to use the microscope as well as the telescope.

3. Provide several pieces of evidence where possible.

Many essays have a point to make and make it, tacking on a single piece of evidence from the text (or from beyond the text, e.g. a critical, historical, or biographical source) in the hope that this will be enough to make the point convincing.

‘State, quote, explain’ is the Holy Trinity of the Paragraph for many. What’s wrong with it? For one thing, this approach is too formulaic and basic for many arguments. Is one quotation enough to support a point? It’s often a matter of degree, and although one piece of evidence is better than none, two or three pieces will be even more persuasive.

After all, in a court of law a single eyewitness account won’t be enough to convict the accused of the crime, and even a confession from the accused would carry more weight if it comes supported by other, objective evidence (e.g. DNA, fingerprints, and so on).

Let’s go back to the example about Tennyson’s faith in his poem In Memoriam mentioned above. Perhaps you don’t find the end of the poem convincing – when the poet claims to have rediscovered his Christian faith and to have overcome his grief at the loss of his friend.

You can find examples from the end of the poem to suggest your reading of the poet’s insincerity may have validity, but looking at sources beyond the poem – e.g. a good edition of the text, which will contain biographical and critical information – may help you to find a clinching piece of evidence to support your reading.

And, sure enough, Tennyson is reported to have said of In Memoriam : ‘It’s too hopeful, this poem, more than I am myself.’ And there we have it: much more convincing than simply positing your reading of the poem with a few ambiguous quotations from the poem itself.

Of course, this rule also works in reverse: if you want to argue, for instance, that T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land is overwhelmingly inspired by the poet’s unhappy marriage to his first wife, then using a decent biographical source makes sense – but if you didn’t show evidence for this idea from the poem itself (see point 2), all you’ve got is a vague, general link between the poet’s life and his work.

Show how the poet’s marriage is reflected in the work, e.g. through men and women’s relationships throughout the poem being shown as empty, soulless, and unhappy. In other words, when setting out to write a good English essay about any text, don’t be afraid to pile on the evidence – though be sensible, a handful of quotations or examples should be more than enough to make your point convincing.

4. Avoid tentative or speculative phrasing.

Many essays tend to suffer from the above problem of a lack of evidence, so the point fails to convince. This has a knock-on effect: often the student making the point doesn’t sound especially convinced by it either. This leaks out in the telling use of, and reliance on, certain uncertain phrases: ‘Tennyson might have’ or ‘perhaps Harper Lee wrote this to portray’ or ‘it can be argued that’.

An English university professor used to write in the margins of an essay which used this last phrase, ‘What can’t be argued?’

This is a fair criticism: anything can be argued (badly), but it depends on what evidence you can bring to bear on it (point 3) as to whether it will be a persuasive argument. (Arguing that the plays of Shakespeare were written by a Martian who came down to Earth and ingratiated himself with the world of Elizabethan theatre is a theory that can be argued, though few would take it seriously. We wish we could say ‘none’, but that’s a story for another day.)

Many essay-writers, because they’re aware that texts are often open-ended and invite multiple interpretations (as almost all great works of literature invariably do), think that writing ‘it can be argued’ acknowledges the text’s rich layering of meaning and is therefore valid.

Whilst this is certainly a fact – texts are open-ended and can be read in wildly different ways – the phrase ‘it can be argued’ is best used sparingly if at all. It should be taken as true that your interpretation is, at bottom, probably unprovable. What would it mean to ‘prove’ a reading as correct, anyway? Because you found evidence that the author intended the same thing as you’ve argued of their text? Tennyson wrote in a letter, ‘I wrote In Memoriam because…’?

But the author might have lied about it (e.g. in an attempt to dissuade people from looking too much into their private life), or they might have changed their mind (to go back to the example of The Waste Land : T. S. Eliot championed the idea of poetic impersonality in an essay of 1919, but years later he described The Waste Land as ‘only the relief of a personal and wholly insignificant grouse against life’ – hardly impersonal, then).

Texts – and their writers – can often be contradictory, or cagey about their meaning. But we as critics have to act responsibly when writing about literary texts in any good English essay or exam answer. We need to argue honestly, and sincerely – and not use what Wikipedia calls ‘weasel words’ or hedging expressions.

So, if nothing is utterly provable, all that remains is to make the strongest possible case you can with the evidence available. You do this, not only through marshalling the evidence in an effective way, but by writing in a confident voice when making your case. Fundamentally, ‘There is evidence to suggest that’ says more or less the same thing as ‘It can be argued’, but it foregrounds the evidence rather than the argument, so is preferable as a phrase.

This point might be summarised by saying: the best way to write a good English Literature essay is to be honest about the reading you’re putting forward, so you can be confident in your interpretation and use clear, bold language. (‘Bold’ is good, but don’t get too cocky, of course…)

5. Read the work of other critics.

This might be viewed as the Holy Grail of good essay-writing tips, since it is perhaps the single most effective way to improve your own writing. Even if you’re writing an essay as part of school coursework rather than a university degree, and don’t need to research other critics for your essay, it’s worth finding a good writer of literary criticism and reading their work. Why is this worth doing?

Published criticism has at least one thing in its favour, at least if it’s published by an academic press or has appeared in an academic journal, and that is that it’s most probably been peer-reviewed, meaning that other academics have read it, closely studied its argument, checked it for errors or inaccuracies, and helped to ensure that it is expressed in a fluent, clear, and effective way.

If you’re serious about finding out how to write a better English essay, then you need to study how successful writers in the genre do it. And essay-writing is a genre, the same as novel-writing or poetry. But why will reading criticism help you? Because the critics you read can show you how to do all of the above: how to present a close reading of a poem, how to advance an argument that is not speculative or tentative yet not over-confident, how to use evidence from the text to make your argument more persuasive.

And, the more you read of other critics – a page a night, say, over a few months – the better you’ll get. It’s like textual osmosis: a little bit of their style will rub off on you, and every writer learns by the examples of other writers.

As T. S. Eliot himself said, ‘The poem which is absolutely original is absolutely bad.’ Don’t get precious about your own distinctive writing style and become afraid you’ll lose it. You can’t gain a truly original style before you’ve looked at other people’s and worked out what you like and what you can ‘steal’ for your own ends.

We say ‘steal’, but this is not the same as saying that plagiarism is okay, of course. But consider this example. You read an accessible book on Shakespeare’s language and the author makes a point about rhymes in Shakespeare. When you’re working on your essay on the poetry of Christina Rossetti, you notice a similar use of rhyme, and remember the point made by the Shakespeare critic.

This is not plagiarising a point but applying it independently to another writer. It shows independent interpretive skills and an ability to understand and apply what you have read. This is another of the advantages of reading critics, so this would be our final piece of advice for learning how to write a good English essay: find a critic whose style you like, and study their craft.

If you’re looking for suggestions, we can recommend a few favourites: Christopher Ricks, whose The Force of Poetry is a tour de force; Jonathan Bate, whose The Genius of Shakespeare , although written for a general rather than academic audience, is written by a leading Shakespeare scholar and academic; and Helen Gardner, whose The Art of T. S. Eliot , whilst dated (it came out in 1949), is a wonderfully lucid and articulate analysis of Eliot’s poetry.

James Wood’s How Fiction Works is also a fine example of lucid prose and how to close-read literary texts. Doubtless readers of Interesting Literature will have their own favourites to suggest in the comments, so do check those out, as these are just three personal favourites. What’s your favourite work of literary scholarship/criticism? Suggestions please.

Much of all this may strike you as common sense, but even the most commonsensical advice can go out of your mind when you have a piece of coursework to write, or an exam to revise for. We hope these suggestions help to remind you of some of the key tenets of good essay-writing practice – though remember, these aren’t so much commandments as recommendations. No one can ‘tell’ you how to write a good English Literature essay as such.

But it can be learned. And remember, be interesting – find the things in the poems or plays or novels which really ignite your enthusiasm. As John Mortimer said, ‘The only rule I have found to have any validity in writing is not to bore yourself.’

Finally, good luck – and happy writing!

And if you enjoyed these tips for how to write a persuasive English essay, check out our advice for how to remember things for exams and our tips for becoming a better close reader of poetry .

Discover more from Interesting Literature

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Type your email…

30 thoughts on “How to Write a Good English Literature Essay”

You must have taken AP Literature. I’m always saying these same points to my students.

I also think a crucial part of excellent essay writing that too many students do not realize is that not every point or interpretation needs to be addressed. When offered the chance to write your interpretation of a work of literature, it is important to note that there of course are many but your essay should choose one and focus evidence on this one view rather than attempting to include all views and evidence to back up each view.

Reblogged this on SocioTech'nowledge .

Not a bad effort…not at all! (Did you intend “subject” instead of “object” in numbered paragraph two, line seven?”

Oops! I did indeed – many thanks for spotting. Duly corrected ;)

That’s what comes of writing about philosophy and the subject/object for another post at the same time!

Reblogged this on Scribing English .

Pingback: Recommended Resource: Interesting Literature.com & how to write an essay | Write Out Loud

Great post on essay writing! I’ve shared a post about this and about the blog site in general which you can look at here: http://writeoutloudblog.com/2015/01/13/recommended-resource-interesting-literature-com-how-to-write-an-essay/

All of these are very good points – especially I like 2 and 5. I’d like to read the essay on the Martian who wrote Shakespeare’s plays).

Reblogged this on Uniqely Mustered and commented: Dedicate this to all upcoming writers and lovers of Writing!

I shall take this as my New Year boost in Writing Essays. Please try to visit often for corrections,advise and criticisms.

Reblogged this on Blue Banana Bread .

Reblogged this on worldsinthenet .

All very good points, but numbers 2 and 4 are especially interesting.

Pingback: Weekly Digest | Alpha Female, Mainstream Cat

Reblogged this on rainniewu .

Reblogged this on pixcdrinks .

Pingback: How to Write a Good English Essay? Interesting Literature | EngLL.Com

Great post. Interesting infographic how to write an argumentative essay http://www.essay-profy.com/blog/how-to-write-an-essay-writing-an-argumentative-essay/

Reblogged this on DISTINCT CHARACTER and commented: Good Tips

Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner and commented: This could be applied to novel or short story writing as well.

Reblogged this on rosetech67 and commented: Useful, albeit maybe a bit late for me :-)

Pingback: How to Write a Good English Essay | georg28ang

such a nice pieace of content you shared in this write up about “How to Write a Good English Essay” going to share on another useful resource that is

Pingback: Mark Twain’s Rules for Good Writing | Interesting Literature
Pingback: How to Remember Things for Exams | Interesting Literature
Pingback: Michael Moorcock: How to Write a Novel in 3 Days | Interesting Literature
Pingback: Shakespeare and the Essay | Interesting Literature

A well rounded summary on all steps to keep in mind while starting on writing. There are many new avenues available though. Benefit from the writing options of the 21st century from here, i loved it! http://authenticwritingservices.com

Pingback: Mark Twain’s Rules for Good Writing | Peacejusticelove's Blog

Comments are closed.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Your English Literature

we see , we read , we experience

Essay Structure – Edexcel A Level English Literature

14th June 2017

by Aimee Wright

The first thing you need to consider when writing an English essay is the structure, and how you can make sure it is one that you can remember and will give you a good grade.

Generic Introduction :You will need to know the book , the author , the publication date and the literary period / monarchy era – g. Frankenstein , Mary Shelley, 1818, Romantic period. Then, you will need to state the genre of the book(s) – e.g. Frankenstein is a gothic novel. Lastly, you will need to briefly summarise the theme / character that the question asks of you. Below are some example generic introductions :
(For the Prose exam): Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was published in 1818, during the Romantic Period, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood was published in 1985, and is a postmodern text. Both of these texts are science fiction novels, but Frankenstein is a gothic novel, written in the first wave of gothic literature, while The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel. *The role of gender in the misuse of science* is seen in both texts in the way that the writers have used linguistic techniques and contextual factors, and this is what will be explored in this analysis.
(For Othello ): Othello by William Shakespeare was published in 1604 during the Elizabethan era. The play is considered a tragedy, but many critics have picked up on the use of satire that Shakespeare has used, however it is not used so much that it could be seen as a comedy. In this analysis, it will be explored how Shakespeare has used his linguistic abilities and contextual factors to present the *theme of betrayal*, and subsequently how critics have viewed this.
(For A Streetcar Named Desire ): A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams was published in 1947, making it a modernist play. The play is a tragedy which aligns with the context of events such as World War Two, and the Great Depression, as these are very tragic. In this analysis, the *character of Blanche* will be explored, and it will be considered whether Williams uses linguistic, structural and contextual techniques to impact Blanche’s character.
(For Post 2000 Poetry): Please Hold by Ciaran O’Driscoll is a poem that presents the themes of frustration, manipulation and irritation that the modern day society brings. As a postmodern poem, the twenty-first century challenges that the narrator undertakes align with each other. On first reading Somewhat Unravelled by Jo Shapcott, the reader can perceive that the narrator also represents strong emotions to represent how the narrator is feeling. By comparing these two poems, the analysis will explore how *strong emotions* are used in order to relay a story, such as through linguistic and structural crafting.
(For Keats ): The Eve of St Agnes by John Keats was written in 1819, just two years before Keats’ death, in the Romantic period. The *theme of physical sensations* in this poem are represented through linguistic and structural methods, as well as contextual factors of the time. Physical sensations are not just seen in The Eve of St Agnes , however – Keats has also used this theme in La Belle Dame sans Merci , which was written in 1819 like The Eve of St Agnes . In this analysis, it will be seen whether La Belle Dame sans Merci shares a similar approach to physical sensations, and whether the time period had impact on this.

It is important to mention what you are going to be discussing in the essay. But, you do not need to use specific details in your introduction, otherwise the rest of your essay will seem sort of shallow. So, use phrases such as ‘In this analysis, the linguistic and structural crafting will be explored’, for instance.

If the question is particularly linked to a specific one contextual factor – maybe it is about monarchy or social hierarchy, or war? – you should give a brief overview of that contextual factor. E.g. “The social hierarchy in Shakespearean times was based on the chain of being , which will be discussed in this analysis.”

In comparison essays – so the Prose and Poetry exams – it is important to highlight which text is your primary text . In the Prose exam, your primary text is Frankenstein , because it “comes first” in literary history. In Post 2000 poetry, the primary text is the poem from the anthology , accompanied by the unseen poem . In Keats, the primary text is the poem it gives you , and you “support” your points with another poem. But, it is important not to compare . So, when exploring your point further, you could say “To support this point, this is also seen in *insert other poem name* by using the same techniques.”
In non-comparison essays – the Drama exam – you will need to write the same number of points that you would use for a comparison essay (the average is 2-3), but you may need more substance and expansive analysis. For example, if you wrote two paragraphs for one point in the Prose exam (which includes two texts ) you would still need to write two paragraphs for one point , even though you only have one text .
So the structure of your essays need to be clear , concise and understandable . Especially for comparison essays, you will need to split up your points into more than one paragraph so that the examiner can understand your analysis more clearly.Having said this, in the Prose exam, it is important to note that you must state the points for both texts in the initial paragraph. This is so that the examiner can see where your point is going from the beginning.In the comparison essays in the Poetry exam, the first paragraph of the point should be about the primary text , which will then lead you to explore the secondary text . So, the advice for this would be: do not plan points for both poems – if you want to plan, just think of points for the primary text , and then think about how that same technique or concept is seen in your secondary text .
Quoting / quotations: It is important to follow the succeeding points when considering the quotations that you use –
Think about the context that you are talking about, and how you are putting the quotation in a sentence. Generally, it is better to put a quotation in a sentence like: “This is seen in the declarative sentence , ‘We are two-legged wombs.’ (p.146).” (this is a quote from The Handmaid’s Tale ). But if you are going to use the quotation like this: “The narrator said that ‘We are two legged-wombs’ to present the idea that the Handmaids are irrelevant.” you will need to think about the structure of the sentence. Instead of using the pronoun ‘We’ in the quotation, put ‘they’ in square brackets to show that you have modified the quotation . So, the sentence would look like this: “The narrator said that ‘[they] are two-legged wombs’ to present the idea that the Handmaids are irrelevant.”
Think about the length of the quotation that you are using. If there is a long quotation – perhaps one that includes a stream of consciousness or syndetic listing , or just lengthy description – you may want to use snippets of the quotation to ensure that the examiner does not get bored. So instead of saying: “Walton (who is speaking) is seen to be a man who has power. Shelley presents this by saying, ‘One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought, for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race.’” (This is a quotation from Frankenstein ). you could use specific words or phrases to portray the same point. For instance, if your point was: “Walton (who is speaking) is seen to be a man who has power. Shelley presents this is seen in his fourth letter with a semantic field of power and knowledge, with words such as ‘acquirement’; ‘knowledge’; ‘dominion’’ and ‘transmit’.”
Terminology : I know that terminology is difficult to use, especially if you can’t think of the name for a technique. But, you are marked on your terminology use as it “proves” that you know what you’re talking about.
Where to use terminology: when structuring your point, you should use terminology either before you mention the quotation – this is if you are making a point that the technique has a direct impact on the theme or character – or after you mention the quotation – this is just to show that you know what technique the author has used.Before the quotation: If you are making the point that the author uses declarative sentences to depict the theme or character, you could say: “Atwood uses declarative sentences to represent how straightforward prejudice is as a theme in society: ‘We are two-legged wombs.’ (p.146).” The idea that prejudice is ‘straightforward’ is your point .After the quotation: So, after the point made above, you could expand by saying: “Atwood uses this declarative sentence to represent that the Handmaids are discriminated against in a simple way, otherwise she may have used another sentence mood, such as exclamatory sentences . In addition, the metaphor of Handmaids being ‘two-legged wombs’ shows Atwood’s linguistic crafting to portray that Handmaids are only seen as women who give birth to children, and nothing else.” The use of further terminology in your essay – in this case ‘exclamatory sentences’ and ‘metaphor’ – will show more knowledge.
Word Specific Analysis: Instead of using terminology for the analysis of a whole quotation , you can use Word Specific Analysis to really unpick the underlying ideas. For instance: “Atwood uses the pronoun ‘We’ to represent that the Handmaids are a collective. This shows that if one Handmaid is victimised or targeted, the whole group of Handmaids are discriminated against. In addition, the use of the noun ‘wombs’ indicates the part of the body that the Handmaids are seen as: they are just seen as being able to conceive a child, and nothing more.”

For instance: “ Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou art by John Keats uses the Petrarchan sonnet form. Petrarch was famous for using themes such as unrequited love, and the sonnet will always use a Volta . The Volta is the beginning of the ninth line of the sonnet and, in Keats’ poetry, is often representative of his own personal change in mood or thought, so the Volta ‘No’ in Bright star! could be Keats changing his mind, or disagreeing, with his previous comments.”

In the Drama exam, it is important to know the names of speech and structure:

For instance: “ Othello by William Shakespeare uses a variety of structures to symbolise the theme of betrayal. For instance, Iago often speaks in prose when his plan is beginning to unravel. Prose, in comparison to the poetic speech that characters usually speaks in, is used to represent the unstoppable thoughts and ideas that a character may have.”

Context: It is explicitly important to use contextual information to back up your ideas.
The Prose Exam:The most important piece of context for this exam is about the science of the time and how it is used in your texts. This is because the section of the exam is ‘Science and Society’. This also means you have to have a substantial knowledge of the society at the time of the novels as well.
Other exams:It is just as important to use author-personal context as well as societal This includes the author’s family, associates, events that happened to them etc.You should use a balance of societal and personal context to show your varied knowledge. In fact, you can often use a piece of context as your point e.g. “Keats wrote in the second generation of the Romantic poets, so he had influence from the work of Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, for instance. The Romantics have many different conventions, but to represent the theme of physical sensations in The Eve of St Agnes , Keats has employed the Romantic connection to nature.”
Critics and Different Interpretations:The Drama exam is the only exam that you get marked on for critical analysis and using different interpretations, but it does not hurt to use them in each exam.

“In Othello , Shakespeare represents Desdemona as being associated with everyone, or having an impact on each character for a different reason.”

This can be supported by Anna Jameson , a critic of the play. You do not need to remember every detail of her critical evaluation, but you need to remember the general idea or snippets of quotes:

“To support this point, Anna Jameson said that Desdemona is the ‘source of the pathos’ of the play. This links to the idea that she is associated with everyone because she emits the ‘pathos’ and diffuses it to each character, and this is what creates the tragedy in the play.” What is important to mention , however, is that you should back up the critical reading with a quotation from the play, rather than just your “point”:

“This is seen just before Desdemona’s death when she says ‘I never did / Offend you in my life; never loved Cassio’, then Othello says ‘Honest Iago hath tane order for’t.’ This represents Desdemona’s impact on multiple characters through the possessive pronoun ‘you’ and the mention of ‘Cassio’ and ‘Iago’, and the bitter tone of these declarative sentences portrays pathos, therefore showing where Jameson got her idea from.”

To make another point, you could challenge the critic. Another point could be:

“Desdemona is seen as ‘fair’, and innocent, and Shakespeare represents this by repeatedly having Othello call her the epithet ‘gentle Desdemona’.”

Therefore, you could use Jameson’s idea to challenge this point:

“To challenge this point, Anna Jameson said that Desdemona is the ‘source pathos of the play’. If Desdemona is the ‘source pathos’, it can be analysed that she is not truly ‘gentle’, but is actually sorrowful.”

You could disagree with the critic as well, but do not use first person . Say it as though you are disagreeing on behalf of the audience:

I hope that this is all helpful for the exam, the exams start tomorrow so good luck!

Bibliography

Atwood, M. (1985). The Handmaid’s Tale. London: Vintage Random House.

Keats, J. (2007). Selected Poems. London: Penguin Classics.

Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry. (2011). London: Forward Ltd.

Shakespeare, W. (1622). Othello. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shelley, M. (1818). Frankenstein (3 ed.). London: Penguin Group.

Williams, T. (1947). A Streetcar Named Desire. London: Penguin Group.

How to Write a Good English Literature Essay

Discover more from Interesting Literature

30 thoughts on “How to Write a Good English Literature Essay”

Essay Structure – Edexcel A Level English Literature

Bibliography

Share this: