What about looking how a fantasy book such as "Lord of teh Rings " is rooted in ancient literature - note teh author was an english professor. That way you can relate old literature to teh present day and there is bound to be loads about it on the net. Bring in all the mythology bits.
You could look at women writers and how they often had to disguise themselves in the past e.g. George Elliot.
Look at racism and sexism in literature - e.g. is The Merchant of Venice anti-semitic? Is Othello racist? what other examples aer there.