Our approach makes literature accessible to everyone, from students at every level to teachers and book club readers.

From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Understand more, faster. Free!

The best study guide to How to Read Literature Like a Professor on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

What's the Function of Point of View in Literature? Point of view is the means by which an author relays either one or a multiplicity of perspectives about the events of their story.

A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book or play.

The characters of nearly every story—whether in literature, film, or any other narrative—have some characterization. Here are some examples of different types of characterization.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Anonymous's Beowulf. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

In our LitCharts literature study guides, we usually identify themes in headings as thematic concepts, and then explain the theme more fully in a few paragraphs.

Actually understand Shakespeare, with side-by-side modern English translations of every Shakespeare play, sonnet, and longer poem.