Literature Thesis
Literature Thesis
Thesis writing is a tad different when it comes to writing literature theses. Let us start by defining what we understand from this term. An essay that is a response to a question about a piece of literature, its genre or a part of it, is termed as ‘Literature Thesis’. In such a thesis, one gives his or her assertions, arguments, explanations, or understanding of the literature. Literature theses are usually based on plays, poetry, short stories, essays, books or even a whole genre of a literature; and these come in a variety – women’s literature, children’s literature, American literature, English literature, poetry literature, Victorian literature, gothic literature, etc.
So How Does One Write a Literature Thesis?
Topic:
Be very careful while selecting a topic for a Literature Thesis. The most common mistake committed by many is when they simply define the piece of Literature. Your thesis topic needs to hold more than just that. To be able to do this, you need to thoroughly read the literature and understand its genre. Study the characters in the plot and list their characteristics, significance, realistic angle, etc. You could even go on to compare pieces of work by the same author or those from different authors of a common genre. If you feel like being experimental, try drafting a thesis about how one author’s piece of work would be read by another author. Maybe you could carry out a trial by drawing points from a literary work that could probably hold strong in the modern world.
Research:
The first step is obvious. Read one or two works by the author. Next, dive into the internet and run a search for summaries of the author’s other work. Try to get as much information on the author’s biography. From biographies, there is a possibility that you could understand why the author writes in a particular fashion. Also, look for comparisons drawn by experts on the author’s work and compare his to other author’s from the same time period. All of this should give you a fair idea from where to plummet into writing your literature thesis. But you cannot rely on the internet alone. Approach a library for more substantial research like journals, books, articles, etc.
Thesis Statement:
A thesis statement for a literature thesis should have an instigating flavour to it. Make your argument more visible in this statement while highlighting your objective at the same time. Take from these examples:
• Hamlet experiences internal conflict because he is in love with his mother.
• Lear, Romans and Zen, each view the soul as the centre of human personality.
Body:
Sure you have a good stack of researched data. But this is not all that goes into penning your literature thesis. The main points of your thesis should be those that arise from your own points of view and understanding. Your research is for your understanding and to back your thoughts while writing the thesis. Like any research paper, you need strong evidence to support your arguments. These support elements rise from the literature, expert opinion and research. Most of the thesis should comprise of your own expert opinion.
