56 Comparison/Contrast Analysis Approach

A comparison/contrast analysis looks at works sharing similarities, either written by the same author, different authors, and/or in different literary periods. A comparison/contrast essay uses the points of comparison and contrast between the works in order to make a claim about how one text illuminates the other or how they illuminate each other. Rather than a simple delineation of differences and similarities, this type of analysis uses those differences and similarities to make a larger argument about how comparing the two texts reveals some unexpected or non-obvious element in the works.

Often the best structure for this kind of argument is to detail enough similarities between the works (especially works written by vastly different authors and/or in different literary periods) to justify the comparison and to narrow the scope of the discussion. In other words, first show how the different texts are attempting similar things. Then, focus on the nuanced differences between each text’s approach to those similar things and the way in which juxtaposing them illuminates our understanding of one or both.