Library Guides: English Subject Guide: Find literary criticism

Selected databases

Grasselli Library Carrolline Catalog (via OPAL)
There are two main ways that you can search for books pertaining to an author you are studying. The first is for books by that author. To do this, use the dropdown menu in Carrolline to set your search to AUTHOR. The second is to look for secondary sources, or books *about* the author. To do this, set the drop down menu so that you are searching for books by SUBJECT. The prescribed way to search by an author's name, whether it is by author or by subject, is to enter the last name first, first name last: e.g. ATWOOD, MARGARET.

Search tip: When you are looking for books that discuss your author in the light of criticism and interpretation, scroll down to the appropriate subtopic following the author's name. For example: ATWOOD, MARGARET -- CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION.
OhioLINK Library Catalog
OhioLink enables you to search for the holdings of Grasselli Library, as well as the libraries of 80+ colleges and universities in the state. The AUTHOR and SUBJECT searches, discussed above, are also applicable to searching OhioLink. Remember that when you are searching by SUBJECT to peruse the various subtopics you find under an author's name. You will find subtopics in addition to CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION that can help you think about an author in a variety of social, cultural, and historical contexts.
WorldCat
Find items in holdings of libraries worldwide.

Literary Reference Center Plus
The outlines, overviews, and basic criticism found in this database may be helpful when you are in your initial stage of inquiry -- for instance, examining a new poem which you want to "crack open" for its messages.
MLA International Bibliography
Compiled by the Modern Language Association, this bibliography covers all literary criticism with the exception of classical Greek and Latin literature, which is covered by L'Annee Philologique, below. It is also strong in film studies and folklore studies. One thing you will notice is that the MLAIB does not have abstracts, or summaries, of the items it contains. This means that you will need to rely on the titles of the criticism and the terms found in the SUBJECT TERMS field of the records in order to learn what is being discussed. To identify the correct words and phrases to use in a search, be sure that you consult the MLA THESAURUS in the upper tool bar.
JSTOR
The information landscape in any given major is big. Any one particular database will cover only a portion of this domain. JSTOR is a full-text database that can search directly for words and phrases as they appear within a certain range of words in the text of a journal article or a book article. This accuracy makes it popular with students. To determine if JSTOR should be regarded as one-stop shopping or be used in tandem with other databases, remember that JSTOR offers access only to those full-texts it has a licensing agreement to offer through a publisher. Multi-database searching will lead you to additional relevant sources that you otherwise could have missed relying on JSTOR alone.
Annee Philologique
This is the database that remedies the absence of classical Greek and Latin literary criticism in the MLAIB above.

Dictionary of Literary Biography
The individual author essays in the DLB are intended for the serious reader who is new to an author's writing. The essays can serve as a scholarly alternative to the more densely worded introductions in the Norton textbooks. Like the Norton textbooks, the DLB contains bibliographies for further reading. There are also illustrations. Some of these are facsimiles of an author's work in progress, allowing you a window into an author's thinking process.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
The historical dictionary of the English language, and guide for researchers to the meaning, history, and usage of words across the English-speaking world. To try it out: see what you can learn about an unfamiliar word you encounter in your reading.
Oxford Reference Online Premium
Check your knowledge or bone up on topics in literature or that are related to literature. This collection of dictionaries and encyclopedias from Oxford University Press provides authoritative background and further reading that can help you write with clarity.
Literary Reference Center Plus
Outlines, overviews, and basic criticism that can help you in your initial inquiry into a work of literature.

Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Background on all aspects of poetry and poetics.

Why books?

Books are often more general and easier to understand than articles. In that books offer more background information and a wider array of viewpoints to select from, starting with a book can help you identify a guiding question or a larger conversation in which to situate your thinking, research, and writing.
Books are not daunting. They contain familiar "wayfarer markers" like a table of contents, chapter headings, and an index. These lead to the specific pages where the topic you are after is being discussed.
Books are at the heart of the scholarly conversations and debates about literature. In that they weigh and compare multiple viewpoint, their footnotes and bibliographies are springboards to additional insights.
Books are arranged following rules created by the Library of Congress. This organization helps you do research more effectively and efficiently. A librarian would be glad to review this with you.
Books are companionable. Many students value the ease with which they can be laid out on a desk, read, and absorbed.