Guide to Reference Resources for Literary Criticism
by Michael Russo
Full Text Literary Criticism
Dictionary of Literary Biography (Vols. 1- )
Call no: Various call numbers
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference
Office
Organized by author. Includes in-depth critical essays on the life and work of each author. Some authors get more than one article.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook (1980-1992, even years only) Call no: PS 221 D5
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference
Office
Organized in two main sections: Articles about the year's events and obituaries and tributes. There are also lists of major literary prizes awarded during the year as well as a necrology of authors who have died.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Documentary Series (Vols. 1- )
Call no: PS 129 D48
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference
Office
Objective: To make significant documents available and to supplement the Dictionary of Literary Biography.
Coverage: All periods of literary development, all authors of note, and all genres and formats of literature are covered.
Indexing: Indexing is cumulative, from volume to volume. The last volume contains the latest cumulative index. Indexing is mostly by author, but there is some subject indexing.
Contemporary Authors (Vols. 1- )
Call no: Z 1224 C6
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference
Office
The first volume dates back to 1964 and includes information on authors who were born in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.
Contemporary
Authors New Revision Series
(Vols. 1- )
Call no: Z 1224 C6
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference
Office
Scope: This series revises and updates entries that have appeared previously in the original Contemporary Authors. Revisions are based on significant changes in an author's status or work.
Indexing: This series has its own cumulative index. It appears at the end of the latest volume.
Contemporary Authors Autobiography
Series (Vols. 1- )
Call no: PN 453 C63
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference Office
Coverage: This series includes information on over 100,000 twentieth century authors. Authors in every genre and writing in every form are included.
Indexing: There is a cumulative author-title-subject index at the end of each volume.
Features: Includes a bibliography after each article.
Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism (Vols. 1- )
Call no: PN 610 C53
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference Office
Scope: This series excerpts criticism of works from classical antiquity through the 14th century. Excerpts are fully cited in a bibliography at the end of each entry.
Indexing: The author index in each volume is cumulative. The title index is specific to each volume. There is also an index of critics cited.
Literature
Criticism from 1400 to 1800
(Vols. 1- )
Call no: PN 86 L57
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference Office
Scope: The series is a critical discussion of the works of 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th century novelists, poets, playwrights, philosophers, and other creative writers. The series does not include Shakespeare. Individual authors are covered in volumes 1-12. Themes are covered in volumes 13-47. Volumes 48 et sequitur. return to the standard author entry.
Organization: Each entry begins with author information, such as his or her name and pseudonyms, dates, major works, a brief biography, and, when available, a picture. This section is followed by excerpts from criticism, arranged chronologically, and fully cited. This is followed by further readings in other Gale publications.
Indexing: At the end of each volume, there are cumulative author, topic, title, and nationality indexes. (There is no title index in the topics volumes.)
Shakespearean Criticism (Vols. 1- )
Call no: PR 2965 S43
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference Office
Scope: In Vols. 1-10, each of Shakespeare's works is discussed. Vols. 11-26 discuss the performance history (stage and screen) of each play. Vols. 27-present provide post-1960 criticism.
Organization: A thematic introductory section is followed by excerpts of criticism of particular plays arranged thematically, then chronologically.
Indexing: At the end of each volume there are three indexes—a cumulative character index, a cumulative topic index, and a cumulative topic index by play.
Features: Full bibliographic citations are included with each critical excerpt. Also, there are some illustrations.
Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism (Vols. 1- )
Call no: PN 761 N5
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference Office
Scope: Includes excerpts from criticism of the work of 300 novelists, philosophers, and other creative writers who died between 1800 and 1899.
Organization: Each volume is arranged by author, beginning with author information, such as his or her name and pseudonyms, dates, major works, a brief biography, and, when available, a picture. This section is followed by excerpts from criticism, arranged chronologically, and fully cited. This is followed by suggested further readings in other Gale publications.
Indexing: At the end of each volume, there are cumulative author, topic, and nationality indexes. There is a title index specific to each volume.
Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (Vols. 1- )
Call no: PN 771 T85
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference Office
Scope: Presents criticism of the works of more than 500 novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers and other creative writers who lived between 1900 and 1999. Every fourth volume in the series is devoted to topics rather than individual authors.
Organization: Each entry begins with author information, such as his or her name and pseudonyms, dates, major works, a brief biography, and, when available, a picture. This section is followed by excerpts from criticism, arranged chronologically, and fully cited. This is followed by cross-references to other Gale publications.
Indexing: At the end of each volume, there are cumulative author, topic, and nationality indexes. There is a title index specific to each volume. There is also a separate cumulative title index for the entire series. Cross-indexing to other Gale publications is built into these indexes.
Contemporary Literary Criticism (Vols. 1- )
Call no: PN 771 C59
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference Office
Scope: Presents criticism of the works of more than 2,000 of today's novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers and other creative writers living or who died after December 31, 1999. The work includes passages from published criticism. Authors are included based on critically acclaimed work or receipt of a major award. The series also includes writers about whom criticism is hard to find, e.g., science fiction and foreign authors. Authors may be discussed in more than one volume of the series.
Organization: Each entry begins with author information, such as his or her name and pseudonyms, dates, major works, a brief biography, and, when available, a picture. This section is followed by excerpts from criticism, arranged chronologically, and fully cited. This is followed by cross-references to other Gale publications. There may also be an interview with the author.
Indexing: At the end of each volume, there are cumulative author, topic, and nationality indexes. There is a title index specific to each volume. There is also a separate cumulative title index for the entire series. Cross-indexing to other Gale publications is built into these indexes.
Masterplots
Call no: various call
numbers
Location: Wall shelving just outside Reference Office
This series has gone through an evolution from the time of its inauguration in 1949. It has been revised and expanded many times. The basic idea of this publication is to present literature in digest form. Works of enduring literary value are summarized. As the series developed, a modest amount of criticism and character analysis were added to supplement the plot summaries.
In 1963, a Cyclopedia of Literary Characters in two volumes was added to the series. This Cyclopedia provides thumbnail character sketches to supplement the plot summaries of some of the works covered in the previous series volumes.
And then, starting in 1986, came Masterplots II, which attempted to update and expand the earlier Masterplots editions. Masterplots II comes in five smaller series: American Fiction, World Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and European Fiction. Each of these series is indexed by title and author at the end of the last volume in the series.
Scope: Masterplots, over the life of the series, summarizes works in every genre of literature, except the essay. Choices of literature are not limited to those written in English.
Indexing: Negotiating the print version of Masterplots can be quite confusing, considering the numerous versions that have been produced over the years. Fortunately, there is a cumulative index volume covering all the editions from 1949 to 1980. Indexing herein is by title and author.
African American Writers (Vols. 1 & 2)
Call no: PS 153 N5 A344 2001
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Articles provide an introduction to the work of specific authors. Each article includes a short biography, a survey of principle writings, and an assessment of the author's work as a whole.
Indexing: Indexed alphabetically by author.
American Writers (4 main vols., 11 supplemental vols.)
Call no: PS 129 A55
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Essays on the lives, careers, and work of American writers of every period. Some articles in the main volumes are updated in the first Retrospective Supplement. Additional writers are treated in the ten subsequent supplements.
Indexing: Indexing is alphabetical by author.
Features: Each article includes a bibliography for further research.
British Writers (8 main vols.; 6 supplemental vols.)
Call no: PR 85 B688
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: This set complements the American Writers series and mirrors it in scope and content.
Indexing: The main volumes are organized chronologically, with the eighth volume serving as an author-title index. The supplemental volumes are arranged mostly alphabetically by author.
Indexes to Literature and
Literary Criticism
Drama:
Where
to find published plays: When you know the author, title, or
subject matter of a play . . .
The Drama Scholars' Index to Plays and Film Scripts (3 vols.)
Call no: PN 1655 S33
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Indexes collections and periodicals as an aid to finding plays and film scripts. Coverage extends from 1700 to 1983.
Indexing: Authors and titles are indexed together in one continuous alphabet.
Index to Plays 1800-1926 (1 vol. and supplement)
Call no: Z 5781 A1F5
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: (For date coverage, see above.) Indexes 7,872 plays by 2,203 playwrights.
Indexing: Each volume is divided into two indexes: an author index and a subject/title index.
Chicorel Theatre Indexes to Plays
Location: Reference Stacks
Library has:
Volumes 1
& 2—Chicorel Theatre Index to Plays in Anthologies, Periodicals, Discs
& Tapes
Call no: Z 5781 C485
Volume 3—Chicorel Theatre Index to Plays in Anthologies, Periodicals, Discs & Tapes in England
Call no: Z 5781 C486
Volume 8—Chicorel Theatre Index to Plays in Periodicals
Call no: Z 5781 C487
Volume 9—Chicorel Theatre Index to Plays for Young People
Call no: Z 5784 C5 C55
Volume 25—Chicorel Theatre Index to Plays in Anthologies and Collections 1970-1976 Call no: Z 5781 C4846
Scope: As described in titles above. This is an aid to finding play scripts rather than criticism.
Indexing: Each volume has one alphabetical index containing author, title, anthology, and editor entries.
Index to Plays in Periodicals, (revised and expanded edition & supplement) Call no: Z 5781 K43
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: This aid to finding plays indexes 267 periodicals where play scripts have been published. Indexing in the main volume extends through 1976, while the supplement volume carries the indexing through 1987.
Indexing: The indexing is alphabetical in separate title and author indexes.
An Index to One-Act Plays (plus five supplements)
Call no: Z 5781.L83
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: This finding aid and its supplements index over 5,000 plays published from 1900 to 1964.
Indexing: The indexing is alphabetical in separate title and author indexes.
Ottemiller's Index to Plays in Collections, 7th ed.
Call no: Z 5781 O8 1988
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Aids the user in finding plays by indexing 1350 collections published from 1900 to 1985. Over 6,500 titles and 2,500 authors are indexed.
Indexing: Indexing is alphabetical in separate author, title, and collection indexes.
Play Index (8 vols.)
Call no: Z 5781 P53
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: These eight volumes index the locations of over 30,000 plays of all types in English, covering the years from 1949 to 1992.
Indexing: Each volume is indexed in one continuous alphabet, which includes author, title, subject, and form.
Index to Full Length Plays (3 vols.)
Call no: Z 5781 T49
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Indexes roughly 3,000 titles and over 2,000 authors of full-length plays published in English from 1895 to 1964.
Indexing: Separate title, author, and subject
indexes.
Guide to British Drama Explication (Vol. 1)
Call no: Z 2014 D7 D68 1996
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Covers all of British drama from the beginnings to 1640.
Indexing: Alphabetical by playwright.
Poetry:
Where
to find poems: When you
know the author, title, first line, or last line of a poem and need the entire
text of the poem . . .
Index of American Periodical Verse (16 vols.)
Call no: Z 1231 P7 I47
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Indexes poems published in periodicals and “little magazines” from 1971 to 1982, 1984 to 1986, and 1996.
Indexing: Indexing is alphabetical in separate title and author indexes.
Poetry Index Annual (12 vols.)
Call no: PN 1022 P63
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Indexes poems found in anthologies published from 1982 to 1993.
Indexing: Indexing is alphabetical in two separate indexes, one for title, author, first line and translator, and the other for subject and keywords.
Last Lines (2 vols.)
Call no: PN 1022 K55
Location: Reference Table 5
Scope: Coverage stops with these volumes, which were published in 1991.
Indexing: Indexing is in four separate indexes: last line, author, title, and keywords.
The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry
Call no: PN 1022 H39 1990
Location: Index Table 5 and behind Reference
Desk
Scope: Indexes poems that have appeared in
anthologies up to and including 1997
Indexing: There are three indexes—one by title,
first line and last line; one by author; and one by
subject.
&&&&&
What poems mean:
When you need an interpretation of the meaning of a particular
poem . . .
American and British Poetry: A Guide to the Criticism 1925-1978 Call no: Z 1231.P7 A44 1984
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Indexes poems of 1,000 lines or less.
Indexing: Alphabetical by name of poet.
Poetry Explication: A Checklist of Interpretation Since 1925 of British and American Poems Past and Present
Call no: Z 2014 P7K8
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Covers the years 1925 to 1977, but is limited to poems of less than 500 lines.
Indexing: Indexed alphabetically by poet.
Guide to American Poetry Explication (2 vols.) (Updates Poetry Explication: A Checklist)
Call no: Z 1231 P7 G85 1989
Location: Reference Stacks
Volume 1—Colonial and Nineteenth Century
Volume 2—Modern and Contemporary
Guide to British Poetry (4 vols.) (Updates Poetry Explication: A Checklist)
Call no: Z 2014 P7 M34
Location: Reference Stacks
Volume 1—Old English-Medieval
Volume 2—Renaissance
Volume 3—Restoration-Romantic
Volume 4—Victorian-Contemporary
Short
Stories:
Where to find
published short stories:
When you know the author, title, or subject matter . .
.
Short Story Index 1949-1999
Call no: Z 5917 S5 C6
Location: Reference Stacks
Indexed by author, title, and subject in one index.
Index to Short Stories, 2nd ed.
Call no: Z 5917 S5 F5
Location: Reference Stacks
This index was published in 1923 and updated twice—in 1929 and 1936. Authors and titles are indexed together in one index.
&&&&&
What short stories mean: When you need an interpretation of the
meaning of a particular short story . . .
Twentieth Century Short Story Explication (10 vols.)
Call no: Z 5917 S5 W33
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: Includes interpretations of short stories published from 1900 to 1994.
Indexing: Each volume is indexed separately, alphabetically by author, then by short story beneath each author.
General
Indexes:
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (74 vols.)
Call no: Z 2011 M69
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: These volumes cover the years 1921 to 1999. The series covers a variety of subjects relative to the English language, including literature.
Indexing: Each volume is indexed separately and includes both an author/subject index and a scholars index.
The American Humanities Index (25 vols.)
Call no: AI 3 A278
Location: Reference Stacks
Scope: This index to creative, critical, and scholarly writing indexes over 500 English language literary journals and magazines spanning the years 1975 to 1999.
Indexing: Each year is indexed separately. Each volume consists of one alphabetical author-subject index.
Essay and General Literature Index (14 bound vols. and some loose-leaf updates)
Call no: AI 3 E752
Location: Index Table 5
Scope: Covers man subjects in the humanities, including literature, from 1900 to 2000. This series indexes books of essays, not periodicals.
Indexing: Each year is indexed separately. Each volume consists of one alphabetical author-subject-title index.
Online
/ CD ROM Indexes
(Accessible through the Indexes and Databases link on the library home page--unless otherwise noted)