INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY HISTORY AND INTERPRETATION

This research guide will accompany you on your journey of discovery in Dr. Brown's ENGL 14 class, as you explore the power of language to shape our understanding of the world, especially through the genres of poetry and the essay.  As part of this class, you will meet in the library with librarians who will help you learn how to do research on literary topics, and who will also introduce you to some of the rare and unusual literary treasures in the library's collection. 

The research workshops and sessions for this course that will meet in the University Library will take place as follows:

1.  Friday, September 29:  Training & Instruction Room #203 (2nd floor)

2.  Wednesday, October 11:  Archives & Special Collections (3rd floor)

3.  Monday, October 23: Training & Instruction Room #203 (2nd floor)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON POETRY AND THE ESSAY

These reference books provide excellent introductory articles about poetry as a genre, as well as biographical and critical background about poets and their work:

The following encyclopedia is the major reference book devoted to the essay as a genre.  It includes articles about aspects of the essay in general, as well as articles about individual essayists and significant essays of particular importance.

DICTIONARIES OF LITERARY TERMS

The following reference books are very helpful in explaining the many specialized terms that are used by scholars when they talk about poetry.

The following reference books are excellent resources to start with when researching the essay and other literary genres. They provide succinct yet thorough definitions and explanatory articles on the terms used by scholars when they talk about all aspects of literature.

REFERENCE SOURCES FOR RESEARCHING CONTEXT

The following online reference works are excellent sources for learning more about the historical, cultural, and literary context of individual authors and their works.

To determine which of the reference works listed above contain articles on a particular author or literary work, look in the Gale Literary Index.  In the Search box, type the author's name, surname first (for example -- Kipling, Rudyard). General articles about the author are listed first. Then, listed in alphabetical order by title in the "Works by this Author" section, are articles that discuss specific literary works.

CRITICISM OF POETS AND THEIR WORKS

The following sets provide convenient critical introductions to poets and their works:

The following online reference works discuss a poet's work as a whole, with critical analysis of a few better-known poems.

The following multivolume set provides extensive criticism of poets and their works.

FINDING BOOKS OF AND ABOUT POETRY

To find books of criticism about poetry, do a Subject search in OSCAR, the library's catalog.  To find books about a particular poet, type the author's name, surname first (for example --  Kipling, Rudyard). OSCAR will now show you the books we have about the author.  Look especially for the ones that say "Criticism and Interpretation" after your author's name.

To find the books of poetry written by a poet, do an Author search in OSCAR.  Type the author's name with the surname first (for example -- Kipling, Rudyard) to see a list of all the books that we have written by that author.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND INDEXES OF CRITICISM

These bibliographies list books and journal articles in which you can find analysis of specific poems:

For an online index that identifies reference books containing articles about individual poems and their authors, use the Gale Literary Index.  Click the "Author Search" link, then type the poet's name, surname first (for example - - Kipling, Rudyard).  Scroll down the list of results until you find your poem listed in alphabetical order in the "Works by the Author" section.

ONLINE DATABASES FOR DOING LITERARY RESEARCH

These online databases are excellent sources to use to find works written by poets and essayists, as well as scholarly books and articles about them.

Guides to Citing Sources in MLA Citation Style

The MLA Handbook is the official, authoritative source to use for creating your citations in correct MLA format.  It utilizes in-text citations and a works cited page at the end.  The following sections of the handbook are the ones you will use most often.

Another tool that can be helpful when using the MLA citation style is the following: