LibGuides: Modern Languages: Find Literary Criticism

Literary Movements

There are many excellent guides to particular literary movements, periods, or people groups. Here are just a few:

African Literature and Its Times by Joyce Moss; Lorraine Valestuk; David Galens
ISBN: 0787637270
Publication Date: 2000-06-16
This volume focuses on major fiction, poetry and non-fiction from Africa. Organized by title, it discusses 50 works through detailed essays.
Encyclopedia of German Literature by Matthias Konzett (Editor)
ISBN: 1579581382
Publication Date: 2000-03-01
First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century
ISBN: 1558623736
Publication Date: 1998-12-11
Covering aspects of literature of the 20th century, this reference title includes more than 2000 entries on authors, 50 national surveys that review the literature of countries around the world and 50 additional entries that discuss topics, such as genres, movements and trends.
Latin American Literature and Its Times by Joyce Moss (Editor); Lorraine Valestuk (Editor); David Galens
ISBN: 0787637262
Publication Date: 1999-08-13
This volume focuses on major fiction, poetry and non-fiction from Latin America. Organized by title, it discusses 50 works through detailed essays.
Literature and Its Times
ISBN: 0787606065
Publication Date: 1997-09-26
Information about the historical background of over 300 often-studied literary works from around the world.

People, Places, Proverbs, and Allusions

Understand the full significance of an unusual turn of phrase, allusion or symbol in a literary work by consulting one of the following:

Dictionary of Literary Symbols (online)
Provides analysis and explanations of symbols from English, European, and American literature, as well as the Bible.
Hutchinson Dictionary of World Mythology (online)
Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (online)

Cyclopedia of Literary Places by R. Kent Rasmussen (Editor); R. Baird Shuman (Consultant Editor)
ISBN: 1587650940
Publication Date: 2003-02-01
Cyclopedia of Literary Places is a title-driven reference work that analyzes the use of place in literary works. Joining the Masterplots family of literary reference works, it completes the foundation of sources for the three primary approaches to literary criticism: story (Masterplots and Masterplots II), character (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters) and setting. It is organized and presented in a form that will be familiar to users of Salem's Cyclopedia of Literary Characters.

Modern Language Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Browse the Reference collection for dictionaries and grammatical aids for Chinese (PL1000's), French (PC2000's), German (PF3000's), and Spanish (PC4000's).

The library also has multi-volume encylopedias in French, German and Spanish:

Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Larousse, 10 vol. (Ref PC2625 .G63 1982 for index, request other volumes from Storage)
Enciclopedia Hispánica, 18 vol. (Ref PC4704 .E52 1992, request volumes from Storage)
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie, 30 vol. (Ref PF3031 .G67 1986, request volumes from Storage)

Literary Terms & Theory

Use the following to understand basic literary theory and terminology.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (online)

A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory by J. A. Cuddon; C. E. Preston (Editor)
ISBN: 0631202714
Publication Date: 1998-10-23
The fourth edition of J. A. Cuddon's classic dictionary has been thoroughly revised and updated to maintain it as the most comprehensive and accessible work of its kind currently available, for students, teachers and general readers alike.
A Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory by Jeremy Hawthorn
ISBN: 0340692219
Publication Date: 1998-05-07
Now in its third edition, this critically acclaimed glossary has been revised and expanded to include many new terms in this volatile and fast-changing field.
A Handbook to Literature by William Harmon; Clarence Hugh Holman; William Flint Thrall
ISBN: 0130127310
Publication Date: 1999-07-15
For undergraduate/graduate-level literature courses.This comprehensive text is the definitive reference text on literature and literary criticism in English. The text itself is an alphabetical listing of the terms that pertain to literature in English. Now in its eighth edition, it has been used by more than one million students.

Author Biographies

Cyclopedia of World Authors

African Writers
ISBN: 0684196514
Publication Date: 1996-12-30
The Scribner Writers Series has set the standard for literary reference for more than 25 years. In addition to addressing the lives and careers of important writers, the articles discuss the themes and styles of major works and place them in pertinent historical, social and political contexts for today's readers.
Latin American Writers by Carlos A. Solé (Editor); Maria I. Abreu (Editor)
ISBN: 068418463X
Publication Date: 1905-06-01
This collection of bio-critical essays on Latin American writers from the 16th century to the present, is enhanced by Supplement I, covering writers who have come to the fore since the publication of the base set in 1989.