Literary Criticism Sources

To search the Library Catalog for critical works on literature, do a subject search. Note: capitalization and punctuation are ignored. To perform a subject search on criticism of American fiction in the 19th century, type the following subject search:

American fiction 19th century history and criticism

To locate criticism on sylvia plath, type:

plath sylvia criticism and interpretation

To locate critical information on works written during a specific time period in a particular country, perform a subject search. Examples are:

American fiction 18th century
American literature afro American authors
American literature history and criticism
English fiction 20th century history and criticism

To locate critical information on specific types of literature, perform a search using subject headings such as the following:

Arthurian romances
modernism literature
European literature
historical fiction American
literature modern
criticism united states
popular literature

To locate information about specific literary topics, perform a search using subject headings such as the following:

bible in literature
sex in literature
women in literature
Indians in literature
women and literature

Subject headings like the ones above can be found in the book Library of Congress Subject Headings, which is located on the 1st Floor under the call number REF 025.49 L69. Four volumes alphabetically list the subject headings used in the Library Catalog.

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Periodical Indexes for Sources on Literature

MLA International Bibliography (1963-present)
(Search MLA International Bibliography using EBSCOhost on Search for Articles)
This reference tool indexes scholarship in modern languages, literature, and folklore with bibliographic data for more than 3,000 journal and book titles. Author, subject, and title indexing are available. A print version (1969-1990 only) is also available under the call number REF 016.4 M68mod-2000Aug.

Humanities Index
This indexes language and literary topics topics found in periodical literature.

Social Sciences and Humanities Index
This also indexes language and literary topics (prior to 1975) found in periodical literature.

Search for Articles
Articles on literary topics, including literary criticism, can also be found by using the Gale and EBSCOhost periodical indexes. These two databases index thousands of articles, many of which provide the full-text online.

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Indexes to Sources of Literary Criticism

Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature
An excellent bibliography covering English and American literature, this work includes a name index which provides access to the chronological arrangement of the works cited.

Articles on American and British Literature: An Index to Selected Periodicals
Brief annotations of scholarly and critical articles concerned with American and English literature are presented. The annotations are arranged by century and then alphabetically by author.

Articles on American Literature
Brief annotations of scholarly and critical articles concerned with American literature are provided here.

Articles on Twentieth Century Literature: An Annotated Bibliography
Brief annotations of scholarly and critical articles concerned with twentieth-century literature are included in this work. Entries summarize the contents, state the premises or conclusions, and/or identify the main ideas of the article.

Contemporary Novel: A Checklist of Critical Literature on the British and American Novel Since 1945
This includes citations to the critical literature on British and American novelists who wrote after 1945.

The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Language
This is a bibliography about literary authors of the British Isles from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present.

Research Guide to Biography and Criticism
This source includes the author's chronology, a bibliography of the author's works, biographical sources, and critical sources.

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Terms and Studies of Literary Criticism

The Achievement of American Criticism
This work contains "representative selections from three hundred years of American Criticism." The information presented include The Origins of American Critical Theory, The Aesthetics of Romanticism, Realism and Aestheticism, and Trends in Modern Literary Criticism.

Common Knowledge: A Reader's Guide to Literary Allusions
This reference tool includes a comprehensive list of literary allusions from ancient times to the present.

Concepts of Criticism
This is a book on literary criticism by Rene Wellek, one of the world's top literary critics. In it, Wellek explores a number of concepts and topics within the history of literary criticism. Also included is an index of names and an index of topics and terms associated with the field of literary criticism.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
This book explains literary terms and provides definitions with many examples.

Critical Approaches to Literature
The field of literary criticism is explored here using a three part approach. The first part deals with philosophical inquiry. The second part deals with practical criticism. The third part deals with the scholarship, psychology, sociology, and cultural context of literary criticism and related disciplines.

Critical Terms for Literary Study
This volume contains essays on 28 critical terms integral to the study of literary criticism. It also contains a list of references as well as a subject index.

Critical Theory Since 1965
In this book, one can find several excerpts of the writings of critical theorists on a number of subjects within the field of literary criticism between 1965 and 1986. Also included are an alphabetical index and a list of books published on the study of critical theory between 1965 and 1986.

Critics and Criticism
This book contains a number of essays. These essays are "arranged in three sections, the first dealing primarily with representative critics of the present day, the second with figures and episodes in the history of criticism from the Greeks though the eighteenth century, the third with theoretical questions relating to the criticism of criticism and poetic forms."

Dictionary of Concepts in Literary Criticism and Theory
A brief list of literary concepts and a comprehensive dictionary of terms and definitions are included in this work.

A Dictionary of Modern Critical Terms
This volume includes an extensive list of literary terms and definitions.

English Prose and Criticism in the Nineteenth Century
English Prose and Criticism is discussed in this book in terms of its background as well as in the critical, philosophical, polemical, aesthetic, historical, religious, and scientific senses. Also included is a bibliography, a section on guides and studies in nineteenth century periodicals, and author, title, and subject indices.

A Glossary of Literary Terms 
Literary terms and modern theories of literature and criticism are presented.

Great Theories in Literary Criticism
Literary criticism is discussed here by the analysis of the writings of critics from the Ancient Greek classical era, the Renaissance and the 18th century; and Romanticism, Humanism, and the 19th century. Also included is a selected bibliography of critical sources.

A History of Modern Criticism, 1750-1950
This is a five volume set exploring 200 years in the history of modern criticism. The volumes cover the topics of The Later Eighteenth Century, The Romantic Age, The Age of Transition, The Later Nineteenth Century, and The Twentieth Century.

Literary Criticism and Authors' Biographies
This is an annotated index of books in the field of literary criticism and the biography of authors.

Modern Continental Literary Criticism
In this work, literary criticism is discussed in terms of German Idealism, Positivism and Humanism, Aestheticism, Psychology and Anthropology, and in the New Directions in which the field is heading.

Modern Criticism: Theory and Practice
Critical theory and the practice of criticism are the two principle sections of this book. The section dealing with theory contains excerpts from the writings of classic authors on a vast array of components within the study of critical theory. The section on the practice of criticism includes excerpts from classic authors on the origin of criticism, ideas and values associated with it, and literary form in criticism.

Twentieth Century Criticism
This work on the study of criticism is divided into the sections of Formalist Criticism, Genre Criticism, Archetypal Criticism, Historical Criticism, and Interdisciplinary Criticism. Each section has an introduction and bibliography followed by biographical sketches of important scholars in the field of critical theory.

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Sources of Literary Criticism in Owens Library

Beacham's Popular Fiction in America
Each essay contains information on the social concerns/themes, characters, techniques, and literary precedents for a particular work.

Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism
Each entry provides a biographical and critical introduction, principal English translations or editions of the author's works, excerpts of criticism, and a bibliography for further reading.

Contemporary Literary Criticism
Entries include critical evaluations spanning from the beginning of an author's career to the present. Biographical information is also presented. There is a cumulative index in the last volume.

Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors
Each entry in this multi-volume set contains a short set of biographical information followed by a list of the most important works created by each author.

Critical Survey of Long Fiction: English Language Series
Sections on achievements, biographical information, analysis, and a bibliography for further reading are included.

Critical Survey of Long Fiction: Foreign Language Series
Sections on achievements, biographical information, analysis, and a bibliography for further reading are included.

Cyclopedia of Literary Places
These volumes are "...built around a new concept: the use of place in individual literary works." "Articles are arranged in alphabetical order by title." "Brief introductory paragraphs explain where the works are set and comment on broad themes and patterns in the use of place. Then follow individual entries discussing important real and imaginary places that figure into the work."

Dictionary of Literary Biography
This multi-volume set covers world literature from all time periods. Entries present biographical information, literary criticism, and a list of references for each author. Some entries are as short as 200 words, but major authors may have entries as long as 15,000 words.

Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs
This reference set contains 43 themes and motifs found in modern and classic literature. The themes and motifs are discussed in-depth and examples are provided using works of modern and classic literature.

Epics for Students
This volume is intended to be a guide to understanding epic world literature that is most studied in classrooms. Each entry in the volume includes an introduction to the epic and the author when known. There is a plot summary, character sketches, essays on the analysis of the epic, important themes and literary techniques employed.

A Library of Literary Criticism: Modern British Literature
For each of over 400 authors, excerpts from criticisms have been included along with the source of the excerpts.

Literature and Its Times
"Literature and its times relates history to literature on a case-by-case basis, intending to help readers respond fully to a work and to assist them in distinguishing fact from invention in the work." The works considered in this series include novels, short stories, plays, poems, essays, biographies, speeches and documents. Each entry examines one work and presents the following features - introduction, events in history at the time the literary work takes place, the literary work in focus, events in history at the time the literary work was written, and a section suggesting where to look for more information.

Literature Criticism from 1400-1800
This volume serves as an introduction to authors of the time period and the most significant commentators on these authors. It also provides an overview of major criticism on an author. There is a cumulative index in the last volume.

Magill's Literary Annual
Critical evaluations of major examples of serious literature published during the previous year are included in these volumes which span 1977-present.

Major Authors Edition of the New Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism
Included here are portraits of authors, including biographical information. It also presents additional readings, influences, and critical information on individual works.

Masterpieces of Latino Literature
Entries in this reference work are arranged alphabetically by title. Each entry contains character summaries, a summary of each work presented, analysis of the work, and the critical context of the work.

Masterplots, Revised 2nd Edition
Brief synopses of 2,010 plots from the world's fine literature are available in this work. Also presented is a critical evaluation of the works, and the last volume includes an author/title index for the set.

Masterplots II: American Fiction Series
Included here are brief synopses of the novel, an overview of the characters, themes and meanings, the critical context, and sources for further study.

Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series
This volume covers more than 400 novels from 1900-1986. It includes a synopsis of the novel, an overview of the characters, themes and meanings, the critical context, and sources for further study.

Masterplots II: Nonfiction Series
Included here are brief synopses of plots from the world's fine literature. A critical evaluation of the work is also presented, and the last volume includes an author/title/genre index for the set.

Masterplots II: World Fiction Series
Covering about 380 titles, this series presents a synopsis of the novel, an overview of the characters, themes and meanings, the critical context, and sources for further study.

Modern American Literature
Critical excerpts of 170 authors who wrote after 1904 are presented here.

The New Moulton's Library of Literary Criticism
This source presents portraits of authors, including biographical information along with additional readings, influences, and critical information on individual works.

Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism
This source serves as an introduction to authors of the 19th century and to the most significant interpretations of these authors' works. Every fourth volume covers literary movements, prominent themes in the literature, literary reaction, and more.

Popular World Fiction, 1900-present
This covers world authors who have been translated into English. Included are a publishing list, social concerns, themes, characters, techniques, and literary precedents.

Shakespearean Criticism
This five volume set contains entries on each of Shakespeare's most famous works. Each entry has an introduction, a section devoted to criticism, a bibliographical entry for each critic, and an annotated bibliography for further reading.

Survey of Contemporary Literature
This source provides a brief overview of works along with a list of characters and is arranged in alphabetical order by the title of the work.

Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature
This source contains an in-depth overview of several fantasy works. Each entry contains a list of characters and is arranged in alphabetical order by the title of the work.

Twentieth Century American Literature
A critical and bibliographic aid on major British and American writers, this book is arranged by century with the authors listed in the table of contents.

Twentieth Century British Literature
This volume includes biographical information on selected authors as well as additional readings, influences, and critical information on individual works.

Twentieth Century Literary Criticism
An introduction to authors of the 20th century, this source also covers the most significant interpretations of those authors' works. Every fourth volume covers literary movements, prominent themes in the literature, literary reaction, and more.

World Literature and Its Times
"It uniquely combines literary and historical information, arranged in alphabetical order by the title of the work. Each of the 50 entries includes an introduction that discusses the work by genre, place, and period; a description of its social and political background; a summary of plot or contents; a description of the social, political, or literary events of its author's life and the way they have influenced the plot of contents of the work; and a list of sources and further readings." The volumes are arranged geographically.

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All quoted material is from the respective source.

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