Key Reference Works
Questions:
- What value has a reference book?
- Why consult a literary encyclopedia?
Answers:
- Obtain from reference works biographical information about an author, define literary terms, and track down additional sources for further reading.
- Encyclopedias help researchers to choose, refine, and/or contextualize their topics, situating the secondary literature within scholarly debates.
- Encyclopedias help researchers to choose effective search terms (i.e., keywords).
- Encyclopedias are two steps removed from the primary works of literature, that is to say from creative works of drama, poetry, and prose. Encyclopedia articles, in other words, are based on or reveal secondary criticisms and therefore are sometimes referred to as tertiary sources.
The reference works listed below connect researchers with methods and sources for engaging in literary criticism. Use the tabs above to identify the appropriate national literature volume(s).
Best bets:
An Introduction to Literary Studies by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781135084790Publication Date: 2013-06-19Chapter 1 defines such basic terms as "literature" and "discourse," and covers primary and secondary sources. Chapter 2 explores literary genres such as poetry and drama. Chapter 3 covers periodization, while Chapter 4 tackles theoretical approaches to literary criticism: text-oriented (e.g., semiotics); author-oriented (e.g., psychoanalytic), reader-oriented (e.g., reception theory); and context-oriented (e.g, Marxist and gender theory). Chapter 6 is titled How to Write a Research Paper.
Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies by Call Number: Open Access E-BOOKISBN: 0873528085Publication Date: up-to-date through 2014This reference work is essentially a bibliography. It covers research methods; guides to reference works; literary handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias; libraries and library catalogs; guides to manuscripts and archives; serial bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts; guides to dissertations and theses; biographical sources; periodicals; literary genres; English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, American literatures (e.g., African American); other literatures in English; foreign-language literatures; comparative literature; and literature-related topics and sources. Also available in print, Reference Collection, Call # Z2011 .H34 2008.
MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature by Call Number: PR56 .B76 2019 (print only)ISBN: 9781603294362Publication Date: 2019-05-01"What makes a good research topic in a literature class? What does your professor mean by 'peer-reviewed' sources? What should you do if you can't find enough material? This approachable guide walks students through the process of research in literary studies, providing them with tools for responding successfully to course assignments. Written by two experienced librarians, the guide introduces the resources available through college and university libraries and explains how to access the sources a student needs. It focuses on research in literature, identifying relevant databases and research guides and explaining different types of sources and the role each plays in researching and writing about a literary text. But it contains helpful information for any student researcher, describing strategies for searching the Web to find the most useful material and offering guidance on organizing research and documenting sources with MLA style."
Also great:
The American Literature Scholar in the Digital Age by Call Number: Open Access E-BOOKISBN: 9780472071197Publication Date: 2010-12-29
A Research Guide for Undergraduate Students: English and American Literature by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0873529782Publication Date: 5th ed. (2000)A newer (6th) ed. is available in print, General Collection, Call # PR56 .B34 2006.
All periods:
A Companion to American Literature by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781119056157Publication Date: 2020-04-03
Colonial, Early Republic, and Romanticism, 1600-1850:
The Cambridge Companion to Early American Literature by Call Number: PS185 .C36 2021ISBN: 9781108840040Publication Date: 2021-11-25
Literary Research and the Era of American Nationalism and Romanticism: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780810860353Publication Date: 2007-12-07
Realism, 1865-1930:
Literary Research and the American Realism and Naturalism Period: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: PS217.R4 S74 2009ISBN: 9780810861411Publication Date: 2008-12-12
Research Guide to American Literature: Realism and Regionalism, 1865-1914 by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780816078646Publication Date: 2010-04-01
Modernism, 1930-1965:
The Cambridge Companion to American Modernism by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0521536804Publication Date: 2005-04-28also available in print, General Collection, Call # PS228.M63 C34 2005
The Cambridge Companion to the American Modernist Novel by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781107445895Publication Date: 2015-10-29
Literary Research and the American Modernist Era: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780810862371Publication Date: 2008
Post-Modernism, 1965-date:
The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern American Fiction by Call Number: PS374.P64 C36 2017ISBN: 9781107103443Publication Date: 2017-04-24
Historical Dictionary of Postmodernist Literature and Theater by Call Number: PN771 .M36 2017ISBN: 9781442276192Publication Date: 2016-12-12
Literary Research and American Postmodernism: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781442270985Publication Date: 2016-07-26
Canadian literature:
Literary Research and Canadian Literature: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780810877689Publication Date: 2011-02-07
The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature by Call Number: PR9180.2 .O94 1997ISBN: 0195411676Publication Date: 1998-04-23
Irish literature:
The Cambridge Companion to Irish Modernism by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781107031418Publication Date: 2014-08-11also available in print, General Collection, Call # PR8755 .C36 2014
Literary Research and Irish Literature: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: PR8711 .M38 2009ISBN: 0810863669Publication Date: 2008-12-04
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Literature by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781118902264Publication Date: 2020-10-16Part I is introductory. Part II contains 50 chapters, each one covering a contemporary literary figure. Part III tackles 19 literary themes. "Contributors to this companion are prominent scholars in their areas. With this astounding project and a joint effort of editors and scholars, the companion is of great help for students and scholars in need of an introduction to certain authors and a comprehensive view of the contemporary British and Irish literature" (Li 144).
Postcolonial literature:
A Concise Companion to Postcolonial Literature by Call Number: PR9080 .C595 2010ISBN: 9781405135030Publication Date: 2010-02-08
Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English by Call Number: PR9080.A52 E53 2005ISBN: 0415278856Publication Date: 2005-04-07
Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies by Call Number: PN849.U43 E53 2001ISBN: 0313311927Publication Date: 2001-09-30
Key Concepts in Postcolonial Literature by Call Number: PR9080 .W57 2007ISBN: 9781403944481Publication Date: 2006-11-14
Literary Research and Postcolonial Literatures in English: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0810883848Publication Date: 2012-08-01
All periods:
A Companion to British Literature (in 4 vols.) by Call Number: PR85 .C61 2014ISBN: 9780470656044Publication Date: 2014-02-10
Medieval, c. 450-1500:
The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Literature, 1100-1500 by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780521841672Publication Date: 2009-06-18
The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780521193320Publication Date: 2013-05-02
Literary Research and the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Eras: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781538138434Publication Date: 2020-02-20
Early Modern, c. 1500-1700:
The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1500-1600 by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0521582946Publication Date: 1999-12-02
The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1650-1740 by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0521563798Publication Date: 1998-06-13
Early Modern Studies After the Digital Turn by Call Number: AZ105 .E27 2016ISBN: 9780866985574Publication Date: 2016-07-26
Literary Research and the British Renaissance and Early Modern Period: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: PR421 .B68 2010ISBN: 9780810856974Publication Date: 2010-04-13
Long 18th Century, c. 1700-1798:
The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1740-1830 by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0521809746Publication Date: 2004-06-17
The Encyclopedia of British Literature, 1660-1789 by Call Number: PR441 .E67 2015ISBN: 9781444330205Publication Date: 2015-03-09"The Encyclopedia of British Literature 1660-1789 presents a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the poetry, drama, fiction, and literary and cultural criticism produced from the Restoration of the English monarchy to the onset of the French Revolution."
Literary Research and the British Eighteenth Century: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0810887959Publication Date: 2013-02-21
The Oxford Handbook of the Eighteenth-Century Novel by Call Number: PR851 .O95 2020ISBN: 9780199566747Publication Date: 2016-09-28
The Oxford Handbook of Eighteenth-Century Satire by Call Number: PR935 .O94 2021ISBN: 9780192859112Publication Date: 2022-03-01
Romantic, c. 1798-1832:
The Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0521199247Publication Date: 2010-07-22
Literary Research and the British Romantic Era: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: PR457 .K44 2005ISBN: 0810852098Publication Date: 2005-10-20
The Oxford Handbook of British Romanticism by Call Number: PR447 .O94 2018ISBN: 9780199660896Publication Date: 2018-12-04
Victorian and Edwardian, c. 1830-1910:
The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1830-1914 by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 1139002805Publication Date: 2010-11-28
The Encyclopedia of Victorian Literature by Call Number: PR451 .E553 2015ISBN: 9781118405383Publication Date: 2015-08-17This encyclopedia is a winner of the 2016 Outstanding Reference Sources Award, Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), American Library Association (ALA).
Literary Research and the Victorian and Edwardian Ages, 1830-1910: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: PR461 .V35 2011ISBN: 9780810877269Publication Date: 2010-11-19
Modernism, c. 1900-1940:
A Companion to Modernist Literature and Culture by Call Number: PR478.M6 C65 2006ISBN: 0631204350Publication Date: 2006-02-10
Literary Research and British Modernism: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780810869028Publication Date: 2009-08-16
Post-Modernism, c. 1945-date:
- Historical Dictionary of Postmodernist Literature and Theater by Call Number: PN771 .M36 2017ISBN: 9781442276192Publication Date: 2016-12-12
Literary Research and British Postmodernism: Strategies and Sources by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781442254152Publication Date: 2015-09-03- The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Literature by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781118902264Publication Date: 2020-10-16Part I is introductory. Part II contains 50 chapters, each one covering a contemporary literary figure. Part III tackles 19 literary themes. "Contributors to this companion are prominent scholars in their areas. With this astounding project and a joint effort of editors and scholars, the companion is of great help for students and scholars in need of an introduction to certain authors and a comprehensive view of the contemporary British and Irish literature" (Li 144).
- The Modern Library, 1925-1959The Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia
open access
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by
The standard reference work for British biography. Extensive bibliographic essays accompany many entries.
Call Number: DA28 .O95 2004ISBN: 019861411XPublication Date: 2004-09-23
American literature:
The Chronology of American Literature: America's Literary Achievements from the Colonial Era to Modern Times by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0618168214Publication Date: 2004-02-10Not a simple list of dates, this reference book connects researchers to developments in letters through the centuries. It covers ephemera (e.g., diaries, journals); essays and philosophical writings; nonfiction (e.g., histories); literary productions (e.g., poetry, fiction, drama); periodicals and other publications; and religious expressions (e.g., orations and sermons). Use this book to pinpoint primary texts published during any year or set of years such as Transcendentalism, 1830-1850. Also available in print, General Collection, Call # PS94 .C48 2004.
Women Writers in the United States: A Timeline of Literary, Cultural, and Social History by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0195090535Publication Date: 1996-05-09
English (UK) literature:
Annals of English Drama, 975-1700: An Analytical Record of All Plays, Extant or Lost, Chronologically Arranged and Indexed by Authors, Titles, Dramatic Companies, &c. by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKPublication Date: 1964- Annals of English Literature, 1475-1950: The Principal Publications of Each Year, Together with an Alphabetical Index of Authors with Their Works by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKPublication Date: 1961 (2nd ed.)
Irish literature:
- Modern Irish Literature and Culture: A Chronology by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0816172641Publication Date: 1992-12-01
The Cambridge Companion to Critical Theory by Call Number: B809.3 .C36 2004ISBN: 0521816602Publication Date: 2004-08-26
Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory: The Johns Hopkins Guide by Call Number: PN81 .C744 2012ISBN: 9781421406381Publication Date: 2012-10-04This important reference book reveals sources of literary theory, contextualizes literary movements, and provides biographical information about literary critics and theorists. It covers many national literatures and time periods. Highly recommended.
Use the dictionaries and glossaries below to quickly reveal the etymology and meaning of English words, literary terms, symbols, and theory.
Top recommendation:
The Oxford English Dictionary by
(1150 CE- ) Documents the history of words in the English language including variant spellings, obsolete forms, combinations, derivatives, and definitions. More limited coverage of scientific and technical vocabulary, slang, jargon, and dialect. Meanings are arranged historically. Includes quotations from novelists, playwrights, journalists, scholars, scientists, legislators, politicians, diarists, saints, philosophers. Includes the full text of the 1989 Second Edition (20 printed volumes) and the 1993-1997 addition series (3 printed volumes). Advance release material for the projected 2010 New (Third) Edition is incorporated quarterly.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 0198611862Publication Date: 1989-03-30
More online dictionaries:
The Anthem Dictionary of Literary Terms and Theory by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 9781843318712Publication Date: 2010-07-15
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0550102450Publication Date: 2012-11-18 (19th ed.)Researchers might wish to access the 1898 ed. of Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Comprised of over 18,000 entries, this early edition of a classic reference work reveals the etymologies of phrases and "words with a tale to tell" (Bartleby.com).
A Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology 1450-2000 by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0199576122Publication Date: 2010-01-18
The Dictionary of Poetic Terms by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 1574411667Publication Date: 2003-07-24also available in print, Reference Stacks (1st floor), call # PN1042 .M93 2003
Key Terms in Literary Theory by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781441115737Publication Date: 2012-03-29
The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 9780199238910Publication Date: 2008-05-11
Selected dictionaries in print:
Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms by Call Number: PN44.5 .M86 2018ISBN: 9781319035396Publication Date: 2017-12-29Especially useful for definitions of concepts relating to critical theory and methods.
A Dictionary of Critical Theory by Call Number: B809.3 .B83 2010ISBN: 9780199532919Publication Date: 2010-06-25
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols by Call Number: PN56.S9 F47 2017ISBN: 9781107172111Publication Date: 2017-06-06
How Literature Works: 50 Key Concepts by Call Number: PN44.5 .S88 2011ISBN: 9780199794195Publication Date: 2011-04-07
Reference Databases
Best bets:
- Literature Online (LION) Gitenstein Library database One of the major draws of this databases is that it provides access to over 300 volumes in the Cambridge Companions series. Incorporates dictionaries, encyclopedias, and author biographies.
- Literature Resource Center Gitenstein Library database Access Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and Dictionary of Literary Biography. Use the Gale Literary Index (link at the bottom of the database's homepage) to find more information about authors in printed Gale literary series. Looking for reviews? LRC is also a good review source.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by
The standard reference work for British biography. Extensive bibliographic essays accompany many entries.
Call Number: DA28 .O95 2004ISBN: 019861411XPublication Date: 2004-09-23
- The Oxford English Dictionary by
(1150 CE- ) Documents the history of words in the English language including variant spellings, obsolete forms, combinations, derivatives, and definitions. More limited coverage of scientific and technical vocabulary, slang, jargon, and dialect. Meanings are arranged historically. Includes quotations from novelists, playwrights, journalists, scholars, scientists, legislators, politicians, diarists, saints, philosophers. Includes the full text of the 1989 Second Edition (20 printed volumes) and the 1993-1997 addition series (3 printed volumes). Advance release material for the projected 2010 New (Third) Edition is incorporated quarterly.
Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 0198611862Publication Date: 1989-03-30
Also great:
Next Steps
The Handbook to Literary Research by Call Number: E-BOOKISBN: 9780415497329Publication Date: 2009-09-24 (2nd ed.)"The Handbook to Literary Research is a practical guide for students embarking on postgraduate work in Literary Studies. It introduces and explains research techniques, methodologies and approaches to information resources, paying careful attention to the differences between countries and institutions, and providing a range of key examples." See Part 4. Planning and completing a research project.
Research Methods for English Studies by Call Number: PR56 .R43 2013ISBN: 9780748683437Publication Date: 2013-10-30 (2nd ed.)Heading to graduate school? This book is designed for "final-year undergraduates, postgraduates taking Masters degrees and PhD students of 19th- and 20th-century Literary Studies."
