Research Resources:
Subject Research Guides:
Literatures in English:
Encyclopedias, Handbooks and Companions
Use to find definitions of literary terms, to identify characters or allusions or quotations, to
check proper formats for footnotes or bibliographies, or to check dates.
Literary, Critical, and Theoretical Terms
**New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics.
Authoritative, lengthy, and challenging articles--A valuable source for research, but not the place for a quick definition.
ALEXANDER REF PN 1021.P75 1993.
A-Z Guide to Modern Literary and Cultural Theorists.
ALEXANDER REF PN 74.A2 1995.
Continuum Encyclopedia of Modern Criticism and Theory.
Substantial articles on major critics, theorists, and schools, with bibliographies.
ALEXANDER REF PN94.C695 2002.
Critical Terms for Literary Study.
This volume, co-edited by Frank Lentricchia, features substantive essays on 28 key concepts, by major critics.
ALEXANDER REF PN 81.C84 1995.
Dictionary of Critical Theory.
ALEXANDER REF PN 98.S6O77 1991.
Dictionary of Cultural Theorists.
ALEXANDER REF PN 74.D53 1999.
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory.
Valuable for its coverage of theory.
ALEXANDER REF PN 41.C83 1998.
Dictionary of Stylistics.
ALEXANDER REF P 301.W35 1989.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory.
Articles on critical schools/approaches, major critics or theorists, and key concepts.
ALEXANDER REF PN 81.E43 1993.
Encyclopedia of Literature and Criticism.
Substantial essays on literary genres and periods, and on critical approaches like Deconstruction and Feminism.
ALEXANDER REF PN 41.E53 1990.
Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory.
ALEXANDER REF PN 44.5.H37 1998.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism. 2nd edition.
Substantial articles on theories, movements, and individual critics and theorists.
ALEXANDER REF PN 81.J554 2005.
Literary Terms: A Dictionary.
More concise and easy to use than the New Princeton Encyclopedia. Also covers genres slighted by that title. Good for brief references.
ALEXANDER REF PN 44.5.B334.
Reader's Guide to Contemporary Feminist Literary Criticism.
Articles on types and schools of criticism and on major critics.
ALEXANDER REF PN 98.W64H85 1994.
Companions and Encyclopedias
National Literatures
**Oxford Companion to American Literature. 6th edition.
ALEXANDER REF PS 21.H3 1995.
**Oxford Companion to English Literature. Revised 5th edition.
ALEXANDER REF PR 19.D 73.
The Oxford Companions are a browser's delight as well as a valuable aid in research. There are articles on
authors, literary works and movements, characters, genres, forms, etc. It's worth having one on your desk. Earlier
editions provide insight into literary and critical fashion and canon formation. Note too that there are Companions for
other major national literatures (including Canadian, Irish, Scots, Australian, Spanish, French, and German, two from a
feminist perspective--Feminist Companion to Literature in English (ALEXANDER REF PR 111.F46 1990) and Oxford
Companion to Women's Writing in the United States (ALEXANDER REF PS 147.O94), the Oxford Companion to African American
Literature (ALEXANDER REF PS 153.N5906 1997), Oxford Companion to American Theatre (ALEXANDER REF PN 2220.B6 1992), and
The Companion to African Literatures (ALEXANDER REF PR9340.C65 2000).
Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia.
ALEXANDER REF PN 41.B4 1996.
Similar in format to the Oxford Companions, but covering a broader range of literatures.
See also Benet's Reader's
Encyclopedia of American Literature (ALEXANDER REF PN 41.B4 1991).
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 16th ed.
ALEXANDER REF PN 43.B65 1999.
Some overlap in coverage with the different Companions, but especially helpful for tracking down phrases and
sayings. See also Brewer's Dictionary of Twentieth Century Phrase and Fable (ALEXANDER REF PE 1630.B74 1992).
Cambridge Guide to Fiction in English.
ALEXANDER REF PR 821.O97 1998.
Cambridge Guide to Literature in English.
ALEXANDER REF PR 85.C29 1993.
Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English.
ALEXANDER REF PR 111.S24 1999.
Dictionary of Irish Literature. 2 volumes.
Ref. PR 8706.D5 1996.
Encyclopedia of American Literature.
Similar to the Oxford Companions but featuring somewhat longer articles on authors, genres, and movements.
ALEXANDER REF PS 21.E53 1999.
Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada.
ALEXANDER REF PR 9180.2.E53 2002.
Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. 2nd edition.
ALEXANDER REF PS 21.B46 2001.
Periods
These works are similar to the Oxford Companions cited above, but with a
more restricted focus.
Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1650-1740.
ALEXANDER REF PR 437.C36 1998.
Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Short Story.
ALEXANDER REF PS 374.S5C57 2000.
Companion to Victorian Literature and Culture.
ALEXANDER REF PR 461.C597 1999.
Edwardian Fiction : An Oxford Companion.
ALEXANDER REF PR 881.K39 1997.
Encyclopedia of Literary Modernism.
Essays on people, countries, and movements.
ALEXANDER REF PN 56.M54E53 2003.
Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. 4 volumes.
ALEXANDER REF PN 771.E5 1999.
Harlem Renaissance: A Gale Critical Companion. 3 volumes--two on authors and one on topics
ALEXANDER REF PS 153.H245 2003.
Jewish Writers of the Twentieth Century.
ALEXANDER REF PN 842.J48 2003.
Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Literature in English.
ALEXANDER REF PR 471.O94 1996.
Oxford Companion to Twentieth Century Poetry in English.
ALEXANDER REF PR 601.O9 1994.
A Reader's Guide to Twentieth-Century Writers.
Includes British, American, and Commonwealth authors.
ALEXANDER REF PR 471.R43 1995.
Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction.
ALEXANDER REF PR 871.S87 1989.
Special Topics
Here the focus is on a type of literature or geographical region.
Companion to Southern Literature: Themes, Genres, Places, People, Movements, and Motifs.
ALEXANDER REF PS261.C55 2002.
Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PR 149.B5D53 1992.
Encyclopedia of Allegorical Literature.
Ref PN 56.A5L44.
Encyclopedia of American Poetry–the Nineteenth Century.
ALEXANDER REF PS 316.E63 1998.
Encyclopedia of American Poetry–the Twentieth Century.
ALEXANDER REF PS 323.5.E53 2001.
Encyclopedia of Apocalyptic Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PN 56.A69Z56 1996.
Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature. 2 volumes
ALEXANDER REF PN 485.E53 2004.
Encyclopedia of Folklore and Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PN 41.E48 1998.
Encyclopedia of Frontier Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PS 169.F7 1997
Encyclopedia of Literary Translation into English.
ALEXANDER REF PN 43.E53 2000.
Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English.
A two-volume set with articles on authors and national literatures.
ALEXANDER REF PR 9080.A52E53 1994.
Encyclopedia of Satirical Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PN6149.S2S56 1996.
Encyclopedia of Southern Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PS 261.S515 1997.
Encyclopedia of the Essay.
ALEXANDER REF PN 4500.E63 1997.
Encyclopedia of the Novel. 2 volumes.
ALEXANDER REF PN 41.E54 1998.
Encyclopedia of Utopian Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PN 56.U8S66 1995.
Facts on File Companion to the American Short Story.
ALEXANDER REF PS 374.S5F33 2000.
Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage: A Reader's Companion to the Writers and Their Works, from Antiquity to the Present.
Brand new second edition.
ALEXANDER REF PN 56.H57G365 2002.
Handbook of African American Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PS 153.N5E78 2004.
Twentieth Century Literary Movements Dictionary.
ALEXANDER REF PN 597.T94 2000.
Popular Literatures
Encyclopedia of Fantasy.
ALEXANDER REF PN 3435.L55 1997.
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
A highly regarded work with a real awareness of critical and theoretical trends.
ALEXANDER REF PN 3433.4.E53 1993.
International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature.
ALEXANDER REF PN 1008.5.I57 1996.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. 4 Volumes.
More than 3000 entries on important figures (ranging from Aesop to J. K.
Rowling and Philip Pullman), themes, organizations, etc.
Includes an index and several helpful appendices.
ALEXANDER REF PN1008.5.O94 2006.
Science Fiction: Critical Studies of the Major Authors from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Present Day.
ALEXANDER REF PS 374.S35S36 1999.
St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers. 4th ed.
This title, and the following four from the same publisher, offer brief biographical and critical overviews,
plus bibliographies.
ALEXANDER REF PR 888.D4T8 1991.
Supernatural Fiction Writers. 2nd ed. 2 volumes.
ALEXANDER REF PN 3435.S96 2003.
Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers.
ALEXANDER REF PR 888.L69T87 1994
Twentieth Century Western Writers.
ALEXANDER REF PS 271.T84 1991.
Twentieth Century Young Adult Writers.
ALEXANDER REF Z 1232.T9 1994.
Quotations & Poem Locators
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. 17th edition.
The most famous and still one of the best sources for tracking down the elusive quotation.
Browse this area in reference and you will find numerous other quotation sources.
ALEXANDER REF PN 6081.B27 2002.
Last Lines : an Index to the Last Lines of Poetry.
Granger's allows you to look by first line–this one gives access by the last line.
ALEXANDER REF PN1022.K55 1992.
Novel Openers: First Sentences of 11,000 Fictional Works.
ALEXANDER REF Z 5916.W43 1995.
Chronologies
Chronology of American Literature: America's Literary Achievements from the Colonial Era to Modern Times.
This and the following title are useful for setting
works in their context or for reviewing for qualifying exams.
ALEXANDER REF PS 94.C48 2004.
Oxford Chronology of English Literature. 2 volumes.
ALEXANDER REF PR 87.C69 2002.
Characters in Literature
Characters in 20th-Century Literature.
The next few titles, like this one, identify characters and set them in their proper context.
ALEXANDER REF PN 56.4.C 4 1990.
Cyclopedia of Literary Characters. 5 volumes.
Covers 3300 titles in all languages, from the Greek classics to current popular fiction.
ALEXANDER REF PN 44.M3 1998.
Dictionary of American Literary Characters.
ALEXANDER REF PS 374.C43D5 1990.
Dictionary of British Literary Characters: 18th and 19th Century Novels.
ALEXANDER REF PR 830.C47D5 1993.
Dictionary of Fictional Characters.
ALEXANDER REF PR 19.F7 1974.
Imaginary People: A Who's Who of Modern Fictional Characters.
ALEXANDER REF PN 56.4.P75 1987.
Miscellaneous
Handbook for Scholars. Rev. ed.
ALEXANDER REF PN 146.V36 1992.
MLA Guide to the Job Search: A Handbook for Departments and for PhDs and PhD Candidates
in English and Foreign Languages.
ALEXANDER REF PB 11.C37 1996.
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 2nd edition.
The essential guide to documentation. Buy a copy so you don't have to run to the library each time you write a paper or article.
ALEXANDER REF PN 147.G444 1998
On Compiling an Annotated Bibliography. 2nd edition.
Written for the Modern Language Association by James Harner.
ALEXANDER REF Z1001.H33 2000.
