LITERARY CRITICISM RESEARCH

FINDING BOOKS

Use the author's name as a subject when searching PantherCat, the online catalog, for books about literary works, lastname firstname. This will usually result in a list of entries of materials, usually broken into subcategories, e.g.:
Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941
Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 - Bibliography
Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 - Characters
Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 - Criticism and interpretation
Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 - Style
Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 - Technique
Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 (Voyage Out)
The subject subdivision “Criticism and interpretation” indicates general criticism of an author’s work. Sometimes entire books are written about a single literary work, such as The Voyage Out. Usually, however, criticism of a particular work is found in a brief discussion or chapter in general books about an author’s works. Books about an author’s works are generally shelved together after the works themselves.
FINDING ARTICLES
For recent journal articles and books (especially multi-author works), the most comprehensive index/bibliography to use is the MLA Bibliography. This index consists of bibliographic records concerning literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Coverage from 1963 to present can be found in electronic version (library home page: "Find Articles: Resources A-Z"). For articles before 1963, check the paper version, MLA International Bibliography, Z 7006 .M64.
The Humanities Index/Humanities Full Text is also valuable, although less comprehensive. The electronic version, Humanities Full Text, covering 1983 to present, can be found on the library home page: "Find Articles: Resources A-Z." For articles before 1983, check the paper version, Humanities Index, located in the reference collection, (REF) AI 3 .R4912x.
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Bibliographies can save time and effort when doing extensive research projects. Book-length bibliographies, which may contain annotations, are found in the catalog under the subject subdivision “Bibliography.” Shorter bibliographies, printed as sections of books, are often mentioned in the “Notes” area of the online catalog display. Some useful general bibliographies of literary criticism are listed below.
CITATION SEARCHING
For advanced literary research, being able to find recent references to earlier criticism is useful. Besides footnotes in books, a systematic tool for finding such references is the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), (compact shelving) NX 1 .A7x (1976-1999). The index, with other citation indexes, is also available from 1987-date in electronic format (UWM Libraries' home page: "Find Articles: Resources A-Z"), under the name Web of Knowledge.
The selected titles below are among many in the UWM Libraries' collections.


OTHER INDEXES
Abstracts of English Studies[1958-1991] (compact shelving) PE 1 .A24
British Humanities Index[1962-date](REF) AI 3 .B72x
Dramatic Criticism Index (1972)(REF) Z 5781 .B8
Essay and General Literature Index[1900-date](REF) AI 3 .E752
Literary Criticism Index(REF) PN 523 .W45x 1984


BASIC HANDBOOKS FOR LITERARY TERMS, CHARACTERS AND ALLUSIONS
Allusions: Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and HistoricalPN 43 .A4 1982
Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature     (2ed)(REF) PR 19 .B58x 1995
Characters in 19th-Century Literature(REF) PN 56 .4 .H69x 1993
Characters in 20th-Century Literature(REF) PN 56 .4 .H37 1990
Dictionary of Literary and Thematic TermsPN 44 .5 .Q56 1999
Dictionary of Literary Characters(REF) PR 19 .L37 2004
Dictionary of Literary Themes and MotifsPN 43 .D48 1988
Masterplots Cyclopedia of Literary CharactersPN 44 .M3 1963a
Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of LiteraturePN 41 .M42 1995
Multicultural Dictionary of Literary TermsPN 41 .C28 1999
New handbook of literary terms (REF) PN 41 .M48 2007
Oxford Companion to Classical Literature     (2ed)PA 31 .H69 1989
Oxford Companion to French LiteraturePQ 41 .H3 1961
Oxford Companion to Spanish Literature (1978)(REF) PQ 6006 .O95
Routledge dictionary of literary terms(REF) PN 41 .D4795 2006


BIOGRAPHICAL/CRITICAL SOURCES
American Short Fiction Criticism and Scholarship,
    1959-1977
(REF) Z 1231 .F4 W43 1982
American WritersPS 129 .A55 1974
Ancient Writers: Greece and RomePA 3002 .A5 1982
Black Literature CriticismPS 153 .N5 B556 1992
Contemporary African American novelistsPS 374 .N4 C658 1999
Contemporary Authors [1962-date]Find Articles: Resources A-Z
Contemporary Literary Criticism [1973-date]PN 771 .C59
Contemporary Literary CriticsPS 78 .B56 1982
Critical Survey of Long Fiction(REF) PR 821 .C7 1983
Critical Survey of Short Fiction (1981)(REF) PN 3321 .C7
Encyclopedia of Literary Critics and Criticism(REF) PN 75 .E53 E53 1999
European Writers(REF) PN 501 .E9 1983
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism (REF) PN 81 .J556 1994
Find Articles: Resources A-Z
Latin American Writers(REF) PQ 7081 .A1 L37 1989
Literary Cultures of Latin America(REF) PQ 7081 .A1 L525 2004
Literature Lover's Companion(REF) PN 451 .L58x 2001
Masterpieces of Latino Literature(REF) PQ 7081 .A1 M29 1994
Modern American LiteraturePS 221 .C8 1969
Modern American Women WritersPS 151 .M54 1991
Modern British Literature(REF) PR 473 .T4
Modern French Literature (1977)PQ 306 .M57
Modern Mystery, Fantasy, and Science Fiction WritersPN 3448 .D4 M63x 1993
Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers(REF) PR 115 .N55 2000
Reference Guide to American Literature     (3ed)PS 129 .R44 1994
Reference Guide to World Literature (2ed)(REF) PN 524 .R44 1995
Shakespearean Criticism [1984-date]PR 2965 .S43x
Twentieth Century Literary Criticism [1978-date]PN 771 .G27
Twentieth Century Romance and Gothic Writers(REF) PR 888 .L69 T86 1982
Twentieth Century Short Story Explication (3ed/1977 & supps)PN 3373 .T89x 1977
World Authors 1950-1970 (1975)(REF) PN 451 .W3
World Authors 1970-1975(REF) PN 451 .W3 1980
World Authors 1975-1980(REF) PN 451 .W672 1985
World Authors 1980-1985(REF) PN 451 .W672 1991


POETRY CRITICISM
American and British Poetry: a Guide to the Criticism,
    1925-1978
PS 303 .A44x 1984
Critical Survey of Poetry: English Language Series(REF) PR 502 .C85 1982
Critical Survey of Poetry: Foreign Language Series(REF) PN 1111 .C7 1984
Poetry Explication (3ed)Z 2014 .P7 K8 1980


DRAMA CRITICISM
American Drama Criticism: Interpretations, 1890-1977
    (2ed, supps)
PS 332 .E3x 1979
Black DramaFind Articles: Resources A-Z
Drama Criticism (1966-1971)Z 1231 .D7 C6
European Drama Criticism, 1900-1975 (2ed)PN 1721 .P3x 1977
Major Modern DramatistsPN 1861 .M27 1984
National Theatre Critics' Reviews [1943-1996]PN 1601 .C8
New York Times Theater Reviews [1870-2000]
Proquest Historical: New York Times [1851-3 years ago]
(compact shelving) PN 1581 .N38
Find Articles: Resources A-Z


Literature and Language: Library of Congress Classification Information

PPhilology, linguistics, classical philology
PAByzantine and modern Greek literature and language; Medieval and modern Latin literature and language
PBCeltic literatures and language
PCRomance languages, e.g., French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
PDOld Germanic and Scandinavian languages
PEEnglish language
PFGermanic languages, e.g., Dutch, German
PGSlavic literatures and languages, e.g., Czech, Polish, Russian
PHFinno-Ugarian literatures and languages, e.g., Estonian, Finnish
PJOriental literatures and languages, e.g., Arabic, Hebrew
PKIndo-Iranian literatures and languages, e.g., Armenian, Hindi, Urdu
PL:Eastern Asian, African, Oceanic literatures and languages, e.g., Chinese, Japanese
PMAmerican Indian and artificial languages
PNLiterature (general), including general criticism, poetry, drama, performing arts, and collected works
PQRomance literatures, e.g., French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
PREnglish literature
PSAmerican literature
PTGermanic literatures, e.g., Dutch, German, Scandinavian

literary.llb {mat/llb} 9 April 2008


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