Library
Finding Literary Criticism
Literary criticism is the analysis, evaluation, description, or critique of works of literature. Criticism is usually found in one of the following three major sources: reference books, circulating books, and journal article / book reviews.Reference
Books
Circulating
Books
Journal
Articles and Book Reviews
Web
Sites
Literary
Critism Quick Reference
Reference Books
When searching for criticism in reference books, consider the writer's time period, form of literature, and nationality. Click on a link below to get information about reference book sources.Principal
Sources
Poetry
Drama
Short
Stories
Surveys
Bibliographies
A good beginning source, the set provides treatments for the most studied authors. Entries include evaluations of biographies, autobiographies, and overviews of critical sources. .Contemporary Authors
Contains biographical sketches of approximately 100, 000 writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, film, and television. Entries include a listing of works by the author and sources for criticism.
Contemporary
Authors New Revision Series
Provides completely update information on authors
listed in previous volumes of Contemporary Authors.
Older author sketches are assessed and revised
here.
Contemporary
Authors Permanent Series
Consists of updated listings for deceased and
inactive authors removed from original volumes.
Only two volumes available at the USF Library
.
Contemporary
Literary Criticism
Presents excerpts from current criticism of
the works of today's novelists, pets, playwrights,
short story writers, scriptwriters, and other
creative writers.
Something
About the Author
Contains heavily illustrated sketches on juvenile
and young adult authors and illustrators from
all era and nationalities.
Popular
World Fiction
Presents histories and critical analyses of
the works of world authors who have been translated
into English and who have found a wide audience
in America. The set also covers American and
British authors popular after 1900.
American
Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies
Provides information about the lives, careers,
and critical analyses of the works of American
authors.
British
Writers
Similar to its American counterpart, this series
provides information about the
lives, careers, and critical analyses of the
works of British authors.
Poetry
Poetry
Criticism
Furnishes excerpts from criticism of the works
of the most-studied poets of all eras and nationalities.
Drama
McGraw
Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama
Presents factual information and critical evaluations
of the works of major and minor dramatists. International
in scope.
The
Crown Guide to the World's Great Plays from
Ancient Greece to Modern Times
Organized alphabetically by dramatist, this
guide provides criticism for plays from many
eras and nations.
Short Stories Critical Survey of Short Fiction
Provides biographical sketches of prominent authors along with critical analyses of their major works. Volume one also provides an overview of the short story as a genre.Surveys The Cambridge History of English Literature
Provides detailed accounts of the successive movements of English literature, from the very beginnings to the nineteenth century.
Critical
Temper: A Survey of Modern Criticism on English
and American Literature from the Beginnings
to the Twentieth Century
Presents a view of the best twentieth-century
criticism on English and American literature
from the period of Old English to the beginning
of modern times.
Bibliographies Rather than providing the actual pieces of criticism, bibliographies provide citations to other criticisms in books and journals. Check our catalog or periodicals holdings to determine if the library carries the potential book or journal article.
A
Guide to Critical Reviews
The set provides citations to critical reviews
of American plays, musicals, and foreign drama.
Twentieth
Century Short Story Explication
Identifies critical articles and book excerpts
that focus on short stories and their authors.
Essay
and General Literature Index
Indexes books containing criticisms of individual
authors and their writings.
Circulating Books
Circulating books can provide more in-depth criticism on a specific writer or work, or a small group of writers and their works. Use the online catalog to locate books. For criticism on an author or his work, start with a subject search under the author's last name. Several subjects may be relevant. For example,Hemingway, Ernest
| 1. Hemingway, Ernest 1899 1961 | 23 entries |
| 2. Hemingway, Ernest 1899 1961 Addresses, Essays, Lectures | 1 entry |
| 3. Hemingway, Ernest 1899 1961 Biography | 3 entries |
| 4. Hemingway, Ernest 1899 1961 Correspondence | 7 entries |
| 5. Hemingway, Ernest 1899 1961 Criticism and Interpretation | 9 entries |
| 6. Hemingway, Ernest 1899 1961 Farewell to Arms | 4 entries |
| 7. Hemingway, Ernest 1899 1961 Interviews | 2 entries |
Journal Articles and Book Reviews
Journal articles can provide very specific criticism or detailed study of an individual author's work. Examples of literary journals in the library include: American Literature, English Journal, and The Explicator.Book reviews
provide criticism in a shorter fashion. Examples
of sources for
book reviews include: New York Times Book Review,
Chicago Tribune, and The Economist.
Use the following online databses and print indexes to locate specific articles or book reviews which critique an author's work.
Online Databases
MLA
International Bibliography (EBSCOhost)
A journal index covering articles published
from 1963 to the present. Areas covered include
literature, folklore, language and linguistics.
No full text is available.
Literature
Resource Center (InfoTrac)
A rich literary database filled with biographical,
bibliographical and critical content pertaining
to all time periods. Literary genres include
fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, history
and journalism. Completely full text.
Expanded
Academic ASAP (InfoTrac)
A magazine and journal article database for
the last twelve years. Citations, extended
citations, abstracts, and in some cases, the
full-text of articles are available. For
an upgraded version of this database, use InfoTrac
OneFile.
Another magazine and journal database, ProQuest dates back to 1984. In addition to including citations, abstracts, and full-text articles, ProQuest offers many images.
Article1st
Article1st through FirstSearch has searching
capabilities dating from 1990 to present. The
database retrieves citations for magazine and
journal articles and provides some full-text
articles.
Print Indexes
Humanities
Index
Provides citations to articles from literary journals.
Look under the author's name for criticism. Volumes
are not cumulative.
MLA
International Bibliography
International in scope, the index provides citations
to literary articles from the United States
and abroad.
Arranged alphabetically by author, this index provides review sources to titles dating back to 1918.