English Literature

QUICK LINKS

There are many handbooks, dictionaries, and encyclopedias that provide basic information for literary studies. If you are not clear about your topic, try establishing its limits with a good definition and some introductory information. The following sources can give you a quick overview or summary of a topic.

Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism This link opens in a new window
Historical survey of critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.

Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Ref PN1021 .N39 2012
"Provides surveys of 106 national poetries; descriptions of poetic forms and genres...detailed explanations of the devices of prosody and rhetoric; and overviews of all major schools of poetry ancient and modern, Western and Eastern...provides balanced and comprehensive accounts of the major movements and issues in criticism and literary theory."
The Oxford Companion to English Literature
Ref PR19 .D73 2000
Brief articles on authors, works, literary movements, etc.

Reader's Guide to Literature in English by Mark Hawkins-Dady (Editor)
Call Number: Ref PR85 .R42 1996
ISBN: 9781884964206
Publication Date: 1996-05-01
Provides descriptions and evaluation of critical writing on a range of topics and writers of the British Isles, the United States, and other major English-speaking traditions.

Oxford Companion to American Literature
Author biographies, plot summaries, and descriptions of literary movements in American literature.
Contemporary Authors
Provides biographical and bibliographical information and references on more than 120,000 U.S. and international authors

Last Updated: Sep 21, 2023 11:46 AM
URL: https://libguides.reed.edu/english
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Subjects: English

Tags: english