LibGuides: Literary Criticism: Reference Materials

Reference Sources

Reference sources in literature include: critical summaries (such as the Literature Criticism Series below), background and biographical information, and bibliographies to further reading. Individual works or series may be compiled by a critical framework (e.g., Marxist Theory), a literary movement (Realism), an author, genre, or by history/geography (e.g. American Novelists since WWII).

These materials are a good place to get started with your research. They also help you check to make sure you are not missing a major point/work in your research papers.

Print reference materials are located on the 1st Floor Reference Collection in the John C. Pace Library. Literature is found in the P call number range; however, bibliographies will often be found in the Z's. Many reference materials may also be found through our databases.

To locate print items, conduct an Advanced Search in our library catalog and limit to the location "Reference."

Literary Criticisms: Gale Series

Literature Criticism Online (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Comprised of some of the Gale literary criticism series: 20th-C Literary Criticism, 19th-C Literary Criticism, Literature Criticism 1400-1800, Poetry Criticism, and Short Story Criticism,

Poetry Criticism
Call Number: Reference - 1st Floor -- PN1010.P499
Print volumes go to 2009. The electronic subscription picks up in Literature Criticism Online (accessible through the link above).
Contemporary literary criticism.
Call Number: PN771.C59
ISBN: 00913421
Available in print only, in the Reference Collection v.-v.126 (2000)

Reference: Guides

Literary Research Guide by James L. Harner
Call Number: Reference - 1st Floor -- Z2011 .H34 2008
ISBN: 9780873528085
Publication Date: 2008
James L. Harner's Literary Research Guide, which Choice calls "the standard guide in the field," evaluates important reference materials in English studies. Since the publication of the first edition in 1989, tens of thousands of students and educators have used the Guide as an aid to scholarly research. In the new edition Harner has added entries describing resources published since May 2001 and has revised nearly half the entries from the fourth edition. The fifth edition contains more than 1,000 entries, which discuss an additional 1,555 books, articles, and electronic resources and cite 723 reviews. Readers of earlier editions will notice the inclusion of substantially more electronic resources, particularly reliable sites sponsored by academic institutions and learned societies, to account for the proliferation of bibliographic databases, text archives, and other online resources. This edition also features a new section on cultural studies.
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism by Michael Groden (Editor); Martin Kreiswirth (Editor); Imre Szeman (Editor)
Call Number: Reference - 1st Floor -- PN81 .J554 2005
ISBN: 9780801880100
Publication Date: 2005
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism has become the indispensable resource for scholars and students of literary theory and discourse. The long-awaited second edition includes 48 new entries and subentries and has been revised throughout, taking account of ten years of rapidly changing scholarship. While concentrating on the explosion of contemporary critical and theoretical works, the Guide presents a comprehensive historical survey of ideas and individuals ranging from Plato and Aristotle to twentieth-century scholars. It includes more than 240 alphabetically arranged entries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods. It also examines developments in other disciplines which have shaped literary theory and criticism. An international, encyclopedic guide to the field's most important figures, schools, and movements, the new edition reflects the state of literary theory and criticism.

Biographical Sources

Dictionary of Literary Biography. (Call Number Varies)
An ongoing, multi-volume work that provides detailed descriptions of an author's life and work. Covers many American and European authors.

Biography In Context (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Online biographical reference database in the fields of literature, science, business, entertainment, politics, sports, history, current events and the arts.Biographical information on over one million people throughout history, around the world.

Reference: Dictionaries, Guides, and Handbooks

Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world.

Reference materials can be found on the 1st floor of the John C. Pace Library, as well as in selected databases.

The Dictionary of Feminist Theory. 1995. (Ref. HQ 1115 H86 1995)

Dictionary of Literary Symbols. 1999. (Ref. PN 56.S9 F47 1999 & FWB)

Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs. 1988. (Ref. PN 43 D48 1988)

Gay & Lesbian Literature. (Ref. PN56 .H57 G36)

Handbook of Literary Research. 1995. (Ref. PR 56 M54 1995)

A Multicultural Dictionary of Literary Terms. 1999. (Ref. PN 41 C28 1999)

The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. (Ref. PN41 C67 2008)

Twentieth-Century Literary Movements Dictionary. 2000. (Ref. PN 597 T94 2000)

Encyclopedias

Examples of the types of encyclopedias you might find are listed below. They can be as broad as the Encyclopedia of American Literature or as narrow as the The Mark Twain Encyclopedia. You may try the words: guides, handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias along with your keywords in OneSearch and in our Catalog to see what reference sources you may discover. Another good online reference source is our database, Credo Reference.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Offering more than 1100 highly-regarded titles from over 120 publishers, Credo covers every major subject from the world's best publishers of reference.

Encyclopedia of African-American Literature by Wilfred D. Samuels; Loretta Gilchrist Woodard (Editor); Tracie Church Guzzio (Editor)
ISBN: 9781438140599
Publication Date: 2007-09-01
An essential encyclopedic reference, ""Encyclopedia of African-American Literature"" guides readers through the rich history of African-American writing. More than 500 engaging entries cover the people, works, and events that have come to define African-American literature. This invaluable resource includes such authors as James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Langston Hughes, Gayl Jones, Ralph Ellison, and Gloria Naylor, and major works such as ""A Raisin in the Sun"", ""Native Son, ""The Color Purple"", and ""Invisible Man"". These entries are enhanced by bibliographies that help readers pursue further research. Additional entries include characters, periodicals, important anthologies, movements, concepts, and other related topics. Spanning the colonial period to the Harlem Renaissance and modernist periods to the ""Black Aesthetics"" movement to the contemporary age, this book provides comprehensive coverage of the history of African-American literature.
Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature by Kathy J. Whitson
ISBN: 9780313327315
Publication Date: 2004-12-30
Many women writers have secured a solid place in the literary canon, while others have remained marginalized. This reference includes alphabetically arranged entries on roughly 70 women writers whose works are widely read in English, and on some 20 related topics. While some of the writers profiled are widely known, others have not yet received as much attention. And while most of the writers are from England and America, the volume also profiles Chilean, Brazilian, Indian, South African, Australian, French, and German authors. The writers selected are feminist, in that their works have challenged traditional gender roles, explored female oppression, or critiqued patriarchal social structures. In addition to providing biographical information, the entries include interpretative summaries of major works. Each author entry includes biographical information, an extensive summary treatment of at least one of her works, an list of her other major works, cross-references to related entries, and a list of works for further reading. What distinguishes this encyclopedia from the many other volumes addressing feminist literature or literature by women is the interpretative summary in each entry. The volume closes with a list of works cited. Entries are clearly written and are accessible to high school students and undergraduates.
Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English by Eugene Benson (Editor); L. W. Conolly (Editor)
ISBN: 9780415278850
Publication Date: 2012
Post-Colonial Literatures in English, together with English Literature and American Literature, form one of the three major groupings of literature in English, and, as such, are widely studied around the world. Their significance derives from the richness and variety of experience which they reflect. In three volumes, this Encyclopedia documents the history and development of this body of work and includes original research relating to the literatures of some 50 countries and territories. In more than 1,600 entries written by more than 600 internationally recognized scholars, it explores the effect of the colonial and post-colonial experience on literatures in English worldwide.