Literary Criticism

Articles | Reference Books | Web Sites | Librarians

Core Databases and Indexes

Click on the to see database description ‡ Citations Only

Title	# Users	Access Restrictions
BGMI - Biography and Genealogy Master Index ‡		On & Off Campus
CREDO Reference		On & Off Campus
Dictionary of Old English: A to G		On & Off Campus
Dictionary of Old English: Web Corpus		On & Off Campus
Early English Books Online (ProQuest)		On & Off Campus
Gale Virtual Reference Library		On & Off Campus
Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 (EBSCOhost)	4	On & Off Campus
Humanities International Index (EBSCOhost)		On & Off Campus
Literary Reference Center (EBSCOhost)		On & Off Campus
Literary Reference Center (Special Interface)		On & Off Campus
LitFinder		On & Off Campus
MLA International Bibliography (EBSCOhost)		On & Off Campus
Oxford English Dictionary Online		On & Off Campus
Oxford Reference Online: Premium Collection Old Platform (only available until Dec. 12, 2012)		On & Off Campus

To search for a specific journal, use the A-Z Journal List.

Related Databases and Indexes

Click on the to see database description ‡ Citations Only

Info	Title		# Users	Access Restrictions
	Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost)			On & Off Campus
	Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)			Unrestricted
	PRIMO			Special

To search for a specific journal, use the A-Z Journal List.

Reference Books

The following are selected resources for research in literary criticism. For more books on this topic, please use the Library Catalog.

To find books in other libraries, try using WorldCat, a collective catalog for thousands of libraries in the United States, Canada, and around the world. This catalog should not be used as a substitute for this library's catalog, but as another avenue of searching for books.

For criticism of plays and information on playwrights, please see also the subject resources page for Theatre.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (Reference Collection: PN44.5 .M86 1997): This dictionary defines concepts in literary criticism. Indexed.

A Dictionary of Classical Reference in English Poetry (Reference Collection: PR508.C68 S63 1984): This dictionary explains in brief articles allusions to events, people and deities from classical mythology in English language poetry.

Dictionary of Poetic Terms (Reference Collection: PN1042 .M93 2003): This dictionary defines poetic terms and devices. Also included are appendices of anthologies and poetic terms by type and function.

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory (Reference Collection: PN81 .E43 1993): This encyclopedia contains articles on authors and their works as well as on critics and critical schools of thought. Indexed.

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (Reference Collection: PN1021 .N39 1993): This encyclopedia uses brief articles to discuss poets, poetic terms and devices, literary movements and criticism of poetry. This encyclopedia is not indexed.

Criticism and Biography (all of these resources are indexed in BGMI except Critical Survey of Poetry)

British Writers (Reference Collection: PR85 .B688): This multi-volume work contains in-depth articles and selected resources on writers from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Authors are organized by time period, not alphabetically.

Contemporary Authors, Cumulative Index (Reference Collection: PN771 .C667): This index contains thorough bibliographic and critical information on currently active authors from around the world and in a number of different genres.

Contemporary Literary Criticism (Reference Collection: PN771 C59): 237 vols. Presents criticism of novelists, short story writers, poets and dramatists who are living or have died after 1950.

Contemporary Poets (Reference Collection: PR603 .C6 2001): This resource contains bibliographic information and criticism for currently publishing poets. Included are lists of poetry collections and some suggested criticism.

Critical Survey of Poetry (Reference Collection: PR502 .C85 1982): This multi-volume resource contains essays on poets from around the world who write in a number of different languages. Also included is a list of selected criticism for each poet. An index can be found in the last volume.

em>Dictionary of Literary Biography (Reference Collection: PS128 D5): Set is incomplete but growing. Includes biographical and critical essays on the lives, works and careers of influential literary figures from all eras and genres. Grouped by sub-genre, i.e., British Romantic Novelists 1789-1832 or Western Writers, volumes present biographical information, genres, writings, detailed biography, and further reading.

Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century (Reference Collection: PN771 .E5 1999): This encyclopedia contains articles on writers in a variety of languages from around the world, with suggested further reading. An index can be found in the last volume.

Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism (Reference Collection: PN761 N56): 183 vols. Presents significant criticism of authors who died between 1800 and 1900. Includes brief biographical information and bibliographies.

Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (Reference Collection: PN771 G27): 184 vols. Brings together significant criticism or poets, novelists, short story writers and dramatists who died between 1900-1960. Includes brief biographical information and bibliographies.

Other Resources

Index of American Periodical Verse (Reference Collection: PN1021 .I47): This index is designed to help students and researchers locate contemporary poems in periodicals that publish poetry. Poems are listed by author and by title. This multi-volume index covers 1971-1979 and 1981 to 2002.

Literary Movements for Students (Reference Collection: PN597 .L58 2002): This two-volume set contains detailed articles on major literary movements in world literature. Also included are suggested articles and books for further reading, articles on important works for each period and more.

Masterplots and Masterplots II (Reference Collection: Various Call Numbers): This resource contains summaries and selected readings on novels, poems, plays, children's fiction, summaries of poems, suggested criticism and more. There are multiple editions and specialized editions of this work. To find copies of Masterplots, please search the Library catalog.

Poetry Explication (Reference Collection: PR502 .K8 1980): This resource indexes articles that explicate and criticize poems written by American and British poets. It covers 1925 to 1980.

Reference Guide to American Literature (Reference Collection: PS21 .R43 1987): This guide to American literature contains articles and selected resources on authors and literary movements throughout American history. An index can be found in the last volume.

Web Sites

Literary Resources on the Net: Created by a professor of English at Rutgers University, this page has categorized lists of online sources of criticism and information about poetry and literature.

LitLinks: This site contains annotated links to sites on a variety of authors, poets, playwrights and critics. Click on the links to the right of the screen to see the author lists. Created by a noted academic publishing company.

Representative Poetry On-line: Created and maintained by the University of Toronto, this site indexes thousands of poems by British and American writers. Poems are indexed by author, title, first and last lines. Also included is a timeline, selected criticism, a glossary, links and a bibliography of sources.

Verse: Poetry Anthologies and Thousands of Poems: This portion of Bartleby.com contains a list of online versions of anthologies of British and American poetry published before 1923.

Voice of the Shuttle: English Literature by Period: Created by the University of California at Santa Barbara's English Department, this site lists a wide variety of academic and popular Web sites on literature in English. This site is organized by time period.

Western Writers Series Digital Editions: Compiled by the Boise State University Western Writers Series and Albertsons Library, this collection provides online access to the 23 out-of-print volumes in the series of 50- to 60-page booklets of biography and criticism about the American literary west. Each of the digital editions is available in pdf format and is fully searchable. Many print copies of this series are in the ISU Library collection and can be located in the catalog.

Librarians

Bibliographer & Reference Librarian for Literary Criticism	Reference Librarians for Literary Criticism
Sandra Shropshire Dean/University Librarian (208) 282-2671 shrosand@isu.edu
	Kristi Austin Reference Librarian Interim Director of Idaho Health Sciences Library (208) 282-4073 austkris@isu.edu	Spencer Jardine Coordinator of Instruction (208) 282-5609 jardspen@isu.edu
	Phil Homan Instruction Librarian (208) 282-3047 homaphil@isu.edu

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