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About Reference Sources
If you're having a hard time getting ideas for your paper topic or you need to look up basic information about a particular area of English, try looking at one of the reference works listed below.
Dictionaries and encyclopedias provide concise, detailed, scholarly descriptions theories, issues, methods, and more. Use them for background information and to find effective search terms for online databases.
The works on this page are general in nature. For more specialized encyclopedias, reference works, and websites, see the following topic pages:
Online Reference Sources
Oxford English Dictionary by Call Number: View EbookNeed to know what a word meant when the author used it in the 1600s? Use the OED to find the origin of words with examples throughout history, obscure meanings, derivatives, and obsolete uses.
Encyclopedia of Literature and Criticism by Call Number: View EbookPublication Date: 1990Explore literature topics through essays covering history, theory, criticism, poetry, drama, the novel, and much more. Entries include suggestions for further reading.
Web Resources
- Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism (OWL at Purdue University)Find quick overviews of literary theories (formalism, structuralism, etc.), including notable theorists, further readings, and questions to ask when critiquing a work. Though not a scholarly source (i.e., you shouldn't cite it), it is great for background information.
- Folger Digital TextsThe Folger Shakespeare Library is one of the largest and best-known Shakespeare collections in the world. This site will eventually hold all the texts of all of Shakespeare's plays and poems, starting in 2012 with the most-taught plays. Synopses of the plays and character descriptions are also included.
- Voice of the Shuttle – LiteratureLook here for links on literature topics and authors, from medieval times and the Renaissance to the Romantics, Victorians, Modernists, and more.
- NINES – Nineteenth Century Scholarship OnlineFind peer-reviewed articles, bibliographies, and more related to the long 19th century, both British and American.
- Romantic CirclesCo-managed by former Augsburg English major Dave Rettenmaier, this peer-reviewed, scholarly website contains resources for the study of Romantic literature and culture.
- Poetry FoundationFind poet biographies and selected poems. Use the poetry tool to search by first line, category, the poet's location, and more. The glossary is also great for poetry terms, including forms, types, rhythm and meter, schools, periods, techniques, theory, and criticism.
- The Poetry Center Digital ArchiveA collection of audio recordings of leading 20th-century poets, including Marianne Moore and Langston Hughes. Collected by the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, they are available as streaming files or as individual downloads.
- Writer's WebTopics are explored by stages of the writing process. Developed by writing consultants, faculty and students at the University of Richmond.
Print Reference Sources
The Longman Dictionary of Literary Terms: Vocabulary for the Informed Reader by Call Number: Reference PN44.5 .K46 2006This dictionary has clear and concise definitions of literary terms.
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols by Call Number: Reference PN56.S9 F47 2007Find descriptions and meanings of literary symbols with references to a variety of sources, including the Bible, Greek and Roman classics, and Shakespeare.
A Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory by Call Number: Reference PN44.5 .H37 2000Find short descriptions of both common and obscure literary theory terms with references to theorists and their work for further reading.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory by Call Number: Reference PN212 .R68 2005Learn about the core concepts and terms of narrative theory, including theoretical approaches and topics by genre with references for further reading.
Arts and Humanities Through the Eras by Call Number: Ref NX 440 A787 2005ISBN: 0787693847Publication Date: 2004-12-01Look in this five volume set for overviews of literature and writers throughout antiquity, including prose, poetry, drama, speeches, and more.- v. 1 Ancient Egypt, p. 111
- v. 2: Ancient Greece and Rome, p. 117
- v. 3: Medieval Europe, p. 143
- v. 4: Renaissance Europe, p. 117
- v. 5: Age of the Baroque and Enlightenment, p. 149
- v. 1 Ancient Egypt, p. 111
Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares by Call Number: Reference PN56.H6 I26 2007 v. 1–2Find in-depth essays about recurring horror figures and themes (vampires, zombies, haunted houses, etc.) in fiction and film, with discussions of their origins and lasting influence in popular culture.
Encyclopedia of Literary Modernism by Call Number: Reference PN56.M54 E53 2003Focusing on the 1890–1939 period, this work has entries on key authors, works, movements, theories, places, and events associated with literary modernism.