Research Help: English Research Guide: British Lit.

Course Guides

ENGL 2200: British Literature I (Tracy)
by Renée Fratantonio Last Updated Aug 1, 2025 26 views this year
ENGL 2210: British Literature II (Mabee)
by Renée Fratantonio Last Updated Aug 22, 2025 9 views this year
Shakespeare Guide
by Renée Fratantonio Last Updated Aug 7, 2025 61 views this year

Biographies

British Writers by Ian Scott-Kilvert (Editor)
Call Number: Ref. PR85.B688

ISBN: 9780684157986

Publication Date: 1979-01-01

Read detailed biographies for British writers. Includes bibliographies.
Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)
Call Number: REF PS243 A54

The massive collection of blue books in the reference collection. They are organized by different subjects. Best bet: find the latest index to identify which volumes your author appears in.

Quick Reference Help

Edinburgh Encyclopaedia of Modern Criticism and Theory by Julian Wolfreys (Editor)
ISBN: 0748613013

Publication Date: 2002-03-20

Edinburgh Encyclopaedia of Modern Criticism and Theory

Offers the student and scholar of literary and cultural studies the most comprehensive guide to the history and development of criticism in the humanities.

These resources can help you get a better understand of terms, theories and concepts used in literary criticism.

A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory by J. A. Cuddon; C. E. Preston (Editor)
Call Number: Ref. PN41.C83 1998

ISBN: 0631202714

Publication Date: 1998-10-23
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism by Michael Groden (Editor); Martin Kreiswirth (Editor)
Call Number: Ref. PN81.J554 1994

ISBN: 0801845602

Publication Date: 1993-12-01

Introduction to Modern Literary Theory
This is a website for a class taught at Mount Mary College by Dr. Kristi Siegel. It gives a great overview of modern literary theoretical approaches.

Criticism

The books in the reference collection (DLB, CLC, TCLC, etc.) are amazing resources for literary criticism. The best way to use them is to find the most recent index in any of the series (they are all part of a collective publication) and find your author. The index will tell you in which title and which volume your author is in. For example you may see: TCLC 28 or DLB 99. That tells you the series and then the volume. You just have to pull that specific volume.

Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism
Call Number: Ref. PN761.N5
Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC)
Call Number: Ref. PN771.G27
Shakespearean Criticism
Call Number: PR2976.C6

MLA International Bibliography with Full Text
The MLA International Bibliography with Full Text combines the definitive index for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film with full text for more than 1,000 journals, including many of the leading publications in these fields.

The MLA International Bibliography with Full Text is produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA) and is international in scope. The bibliography covers scholarly publications from the early 20th century to the present, including journal articles, books, articles in books, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites, and dissertations. Next to basic search and advanced search, you can also search via the thesaurus: a proprietary, searchable collection of thousands of subject terms, and personal names used in indexing the bibliography. The database includes the MLA Directory of Periodicals which provides detailed information on thousands of journals and book series in the fields of literature, language, linguistics, film, rhetoric and composition, and folklore. Entries cover:

publication details
contact information
submission requirements and editorial policies
subscription terms
electronic availability and advertising
useful statistics such as circulation, average number of articles submitted and published, time from submission to decision, and time from decision to publication.
All periodicals and book series indexed in the MLA International Bibliography are listed in the directory.
Literature Criticism Online: Children's Literature Review
Literature Criticism Online: Children's Literature Review covers more than 750 authors and includes numerous entries focusing on individual titles and topics in children’s and young adult literature, including picture books, folklore and graphic novels.
JSTOR Arts & Sciences, JSTOR Life Sciences, and JSTOR eBooks
An advanced, multidisciplinary database featuring secondary resources in history, scholarly articles, over 57,000 eBooks and other resources spanning the humanities and sciences.

Websites

Subject Guide

Renée Fratantonio

she/her

Contact:

rfratant@fitchburgstate.edu

978-665-4219