Literary Criticism - College of St. Catherine Libraries

St. Kate’s Libraries Guide http://library.stkate.edu
Literary Criticism
Selected Library Reference Sources for Literary Criticism
LOCATING ELECTRONIC RESOURCES ON LITERARY TOPICS OR AUTHORS
Databases allow you to locate articles from many different sources about all types of subjects or authors from the United
States, Great Britain and the World.
GENERAL INFORMATION
• If you know the citation for a journal article and would like a full text copy: consult the Journal A-Z (located on
the library’s web page under Go to…) to determine if it is available in print or another database.
• For articles not owned by St. Kate’s Library, see a librarian or use interlibrary loan (ILLiad) to request them.
• When you find a reference to a book or a chapter in a book, search for the title of the book using Books in
CLICnet (located on the library’s web page under Go to…).
• For books not owned by any library in CLICnet, see a librarian or use interlibrary loan (ILLiad) to request them.
• To see a complete list of literary databases, consult the Articles in Databases (located on the library’s web site
under Go to…). Under Browse databases by subject area select English.
ELECTRONIC REFERENCES BOOKS
Credo Reference
Contains dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, quotations and atlases, plus subject specific titles in literature on
drama, fiction, poetry.
Oxford Reference Online
Database of reference books with handy, brief entries on all sorts of topics, from literary biographies to historical
context and cultural issues.
O.E.D. Online
Oxford English Dictionary, the authoritative guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a
million words, both present and past, from across the English-speaking world.
ELECTRONIC SCHOLARLY JOURNALS, INDEXES, AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES
MLA Bibliography
Contains periodical articles about authors, genres, themes, works, language, and other literary topics for all time
periods. Covers articles and books written since 1963.
Contemporary Authors
Provides complete biographical and bibliographical information for more than 120,000 U.S. and international
authors.
Project Muse and JSTOR
Two full text databases that include selected language and literature journals. They continue to add new titles,
and are an expanding resource
Literature Resource Center
A current and comprehensive online resource for research on literary topics, authors, and works. Its coverage
includes all genres, time periods, and regions of the world. Includes articles from many academic journals,
literary magazines, book reviews, and biographical essays. Also has the full text of many poems and short stories.

LOCATING PRINT REFERENCE BOOKS
LITERARY THEORY
Ref. A Glossary of Literary Terms, 6 th edition
PN41 Defines and discusses terms, critical theories, movements, and points of view commonly used to classify,
.A184 analyze, interpret, and write the history of works of literature. Written with the undergraduate student in
1993 mind.
Ref. A Multicultural Dictionary of Literary Terms
PN41 Offers definitions of non-Western terms, and multicultural examples of more familiar terms, providing
.C28 a broader cultural spectrum.
1999
Ref. Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 4th Edition
PN41 Covers recent theory, along with a wide range of terms from historical literature, and many international
.C83 such as kabuki, pantun, Or samizdat.
1998
Ref. Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory, 4th edition
PN44.5 Interesting entries on everything from fetishism to intertextuality.
.H37
2000
Ref. Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms
PN44.5 A handy source of short explanatory essays on a wide range of literary terms including the major theories
.M86 and theorists.
Ref. The John Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism
PN81 Presents a historical survey of many influential critics and theorists, schools and movements, and the
.J64 critical and theoretical innovations in the field. Scholarship ranges from antiquity to contemporary views.
1994
Ref Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory
PN98 Includes key words, topics, proper names, and critical terminology from feminist literary theory.
.W64 Emphasis is on usage in the United States and Great Britain since the l970s. Each entry is
1997 accompanied by a bibliography to aid in further research.
Ref Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory
PN1993 An excellent reference for students of communication, media, film, cultural studies, art,
.45 design and literature. Presents scholarly entries that map out the conceptual framework of post-
.C75 1960 film and television theory. Topics range from the biographical to broad concepts.
2001
Ref The Oxford Companion to English Literature
PR19 English literature including articles about authors and their works, historical and cultural context, literary
.O94 theory, allusions, and characters from novels and plays. Special feature articles address popular genres
2006 such as children’s literature, fantasy fiction, gothic fiction, and postcolonial fiction.
Ref Literary Research Guide, 5th edition
PR83 A guide to additional reference resources for literary research. The best place for locating other
.H34 specialized reference sources when the sources above have been exhausted.
2008

Ref Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests
PS374 A readers guide that examines the origins of fictional genres, subgenres, and themes including: historical,
.P63 western, crime, adventure, romance, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Lists the influential and popular
R67 and titles of each genre. Great introduction.
2006
SPECIFIC AUTHORS AND LITERARY WORKS
Ref. Dictionary of Literary Biography.
PS21 Each volume in this series is devoted to a theme. Entries include critical essays, career chronologies,
.D5 publication lists, and bibliographies of works by and about the author. Consult the cumulative index in
the last volume to locate all entries for an author.
Ref. Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC).
PN771 CLC presents excerpts of published criticism and interpretations of writers from around the world. This
.C59 series is devoted to living writers or those who died after 1960. Use the cumulative author index in the
last volume to locate all references to an author.
Ref. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (TCLC)
PN94 TCLC provides excerpts of published criticism and interpretations of writers from around the world.
The.T83 The series is devoted to writers who died between 1900 and 1960. Use the cumulative author index in the
last volume to locate all references to a writer.
Ref. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies.
PS129 Encyclopedia contains analytic, interpretive, and biographical essays about American writers and literary
.A55 figures. Entries include a selective bibliography of published works and critical studies of each author.
Ref. The Oxford Companion to Women’s Writing in the United States.
PS147 A comprehensive, authoritative, and informative survey of women writers and their work. It also
.O94 discusses key issues faced by women writing in the U.S.
Ref. African American Writers.
PS153 This volume contains critical and biographical articles about African American men and women who
.N5 have contributed to U.S. letters, culture, and history. Each entry includes a selected bibliography of
A344 published works and critical studies.
Ref. Modern American Women Writers.
PS151 Critical Introductions to 41 notable American Women writers from 1870 to the present. Each entry
.M54 includes a brief summary of the writer’s life, but emphasizes an assessment of her literary production.
1991
Ref. Critical Perspective.
PR85 Key critical essays written in the twentieth century examine the works of major British and American
.C76 writers active before 1904. Several essays are provided for each author.
1985
Ref. Feminist Companion to Literature in English.
PR111 Handbook provides brief essays on women writers since the Middle Ages, including writers of diaries,
.B57 letters, children’s works, popular forms, and more traditional literary forms.
1990
More Questions? Ask a Reference Librarian (reference@stkate.edu / 651-690-6652 / or IM us)!
For more in depth research help contact the Library Liaison for English and Literature, Jim Newsome at jmnewsome@stkate.edu
Becknell / December 2009