ENG102: Writing About Literature (Torregrossa)
eReference Resources
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text online versions of hundreds of top quality reference books in all major subjects from art to medicine, psychology to history, and technology to literature. Includes bilingual and biographical dictionaries.
- Dictionary of Literary Biography - Gale This link opens in a new windowFull text database providing biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genre. The award-winning Gale Literature: Dictionary of Literary Biography provides comprehensive access to the series dedicated to making literature and its creators better understood and more accessible to students and interested readers while simultaneously satisfying the standards of librarians, teachers, and scholars. The series provides reliable information on authors and their works in an easy to understand, engaging format, while placing writers in the larger perspective of literary history. Dictionary of Literary Biography includes the main series, documentary, and yearbook volumes.
- Gale eBooks (Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new windowFull text database providing subject specific dictionaries, encyclopedias and general reference books as well as the online version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Subjects include science, history, medicine, psychology and mental health, literature, drama, film, popular culture, business, law, and more.
Specifc Encyclopedias
The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781409425625Publication Date: 2014-01-08From vampires and demons to ghosts and zombies, interest in monsters in literature, film, and popular culture has never been stronger. This concise Encyclopedia provides scholars and students with a comprehensive and authoritative A-Z of monsters throughout the ages. It is the first major reference book on monsters for the scholarly market.
The Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780747533436Publication Date: 1997Presents a multiplicity of authors, texts and themes gathered together into one authoritative source. The key attractions are entries on writers, entries on individual works, Biblical and mythological characters and events, literary and critical terms and movements, and entries describing historical, cultural and social events.
The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780521831796Publication Date: 2006-01-26An authoritative and international survey of world literature in English. The Guide covers everything from Old English to Contemporary Writing from all over the english-speaking world. It covers poems, novels, literary journals and plays.
Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780816054978Publication Date: 2005-11-01Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature, Second Edition offers a comprehensive account of the literary works, writers, and concepts of the Middle Ages, from 500 to 1500 CE. Covering not only European literature but also that of India, the Far East, and the Muslim world.
What is Literary Criticism?
Watch until 1:58
Literary criticism versus reference information
| Literary criticism | Reference works |
|---|---|
| Found in books, scholarly journal articles, library databases, and sometimes websites | Found in print encyclopedias, library databases, and some websites |
| Usually provides an opinion related to a theme, writing style, or historical/political context | Can provide thematic background, plot summaries, author biographies |
| Although the literary criticism examples below are in different formats, these resources are considered literary criticism because they analyze and focus on particular works or writings using a particular theory or lens. | These various sources below provide background, an overview, and other information related to a work of literature but they are not considered literary criticism as they do not include in depth analysis. |
Examples of literary criticism:
- A scholarly journal article that examines the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain through the lens of Critical Race Theory.
- An Book that analyzes the critical and theoretical approaches found in Toni Morrison’s writings.
- A eBook that analyzes the novel Frankenstein.
Examples of reference works:
- An article in Credo Reference introducing the life and literary work of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.
- A plot summary of the novella “The Yellow Wallpaper” from Gale Literature Resource Center.
- A description in an eBook of the different types of poetry stanzas.
Synthesizing your Notes
Tips for your writing your thesis statement:
- Write a thesis question that is clear, complex, and focused.
- Locate quotes from the literary works you read to support your thesis
- Thesis GeneratorUse this handy tool to help you craft your thesis statement.