Follow your instincts. If you have a strong opinion about a work or works of literature, your idea may make a good essay topic. For example, you may believe that a short story you read is racially insensitive or that a pair of novels written by different authors are similar.
Research the work or works of literature to discover potential topics. Look for ideas that spring up repeatedly in other scholarly works. For example, you may find a trend in literature analysis that regards a certain work of literature as highly influenced by music, and choose an essay topic following this trend.
Write down every word or phrase you associate with the work or works of literature, without editing yourself. Brainstorming in this way helps generate topics. Consider discussing the literature from different angles such as literary techniques, character analysis, philosophy, history, imagery or politics.
Narrow down your idea by reviewing your research and brainstorming efforts. Organize ideas into groups and expand the ones that seem most interesting. Choose a few topics that stand out as topics that you can develop into arguments.
Write potential thesis statements based on your short list of possible topics. Eliminate thesis statements that are too broad to cover in an essay of the specified length or so narrow that you won't be able to write more than a paragraph or two on the topic.
Choose a topic that is of personal interest to you, when possible. Working on an essay on a topic that you are particularly stimulated by allows you to connect with your writing on a closer level.