Literary Criticism and Language: Find Books

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Standard Reference Tools in the Library's First Floor Reference Collection

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms (PN44.5 .M86 1997): Defines concepts in literary criticism. Indexed.

A Dictionary of Classical Reference in English Poetry (PR508.C68 S63 1984): Explains in brief articles allusions to events, people and deities from classical mythology in English language poetry.

Dictionary of Poetic Terms (PN1042 .M93 2003): Defines poetic terms and devices. Also included are appendices of anthologies and poetic terms by type and function.

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory (PN81 .E43 1993): Articles on authors and their works as well as on critics and critical schools of thought. Indexed.

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (PN1021 .N39 1993): Brief articles discuss poets, poetic terms and devices, literary movements and criticism of poetry. Not indexed.

 Criticism and Biography

Contemporary Poets (PR603 .C6 2001): Bibliographic information and criticism for currently publishing poets. Includes lists of poetry collections and some suggested criticism.

Critical Survey of Poetry (PR502 .C85 1982): Essays on poets from around the world who write in a number of different languages. Also included is a list of selected criticism for each poet. Index in last volume.

Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century (PN771 .E5 1999): Articles on writers in a variety of languages from around the world, with suggested further reading. Index in last volume.

 Other Resources

Index of American Periodical Verse (PN1021 .I47): Designed to help students and researchers locate contemporary poems in periodicals that publish poetry. Poems are listed by author and by title. Covers 1971-1979 and 1981 to 2002.

Literary Movements for Students (PN597 .L58 2002): Detailed articles on major literary movements in world literature. Suggested articles and books for further reading, articles on important works for each period and more.

Masterplots and Masterplots II (Various Call Numbers): Summaries and selected readings on novels, poems, plays, children's fiction, summaries of poems, suggested criticism and more. There are multiple editions and specialized editions of this work. To find copies of Masterplots, please search the Library catalog.

Poetry Explication (PR502 .K8 1980): This resource indexes articles that explicate and criticize poems written by American and British poets. It covers 1925 to 1980.

Reference Guide to American Literature (PS21 .R43 1987): Articles and selected resources on authors and literary movements throughout American history. An index can be found in the last volume.