Literary Criticism

Literary Criticism Resources & Guides

Novels for Students (REF 808 NOV)
Each volume of Novels for Students contains easily accessible and content-rich discussions of the literary and historical background of works from various cultures and time periods. Each novel included in this new resource was specially chosen by an advisory panel of teachers and librarians.

Within the pages of Novels for Students, young researchers will discover everything they need to complete homework assignments and lead classroom discussions. Here's what they'll find at their fingertips:

Introductory essays that place each novel in its historical and literary context
Easy-to-understand discussions of the novel's themes, plot and characters
Analysis of the novel's literary construction
Age-appropriate critical commentary on the novel's significance for our times
A literary glossary that defines difficult terms
A timeline that juxtaposes literary and world events
Illustrations
Additional sources for further study

Nineteenth - Century Literature Criticism *(REF 809.04)* Provides commentary on the careers and works of acclaimed poets, novelists, short story writers, dramatists and philosophers who died between 1800 and 1899. Each volume presents overviews of four to eight authors with chronologically arranged criticism representing the entire range of response to each author. Entries typically include an author portrait, an introduction to the author, a primary bibliography, annotated criticism and an annotated list of further reading sources. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text. Contemporary Literature Criticism (REF 809) Volumes available: 1 - 86 Nineteenth - Century Literature Criticism *(REF 809.04)* Volumes available: 1 - 48 Twentieth Century Literature Criticism (REF 809.03) Volumes available: 1 - 50
Click on the above series title to find out which authors are covered in the available volumes		How to Cite

Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations Series Edited by Harold Bloom
Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations presents a selection of the best current criticism on the most widely read and studied poems, novels, and dramas of the Western world, from timeless classics like Oedipus Rex and The Iliad to such modern and contemporary works as Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea and Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera.

Each title features:

Critical essays reflecting a variety of schools of criticism

Notes on the contributing critics, a chronology of the author's life, and an index

An introductory essay by Harold Bloom.

The Greenhaven Press Literary Companion To American Literature series: This series provides an engaging approach to readers seeking literary analysis and criticism of the lives and works of leading American, British, and world authors. Every title in the Literary Companion Series is a user-friendly and lucid resource for young adults researching the world's great literary lives and works. Contributing writers' essays are taken from a broad spectrum of sources and are expertly edited to meet the reading levels of young adults. Every book includes an in-depth biography of the author that emphasizes the social and historical context of his or her life and works. Each essay's introduction summarizes the contributing author's themes and insights and provides a guide for locating main ideas. The addition of vocabulary aids also increases comprehension

		Contemporary Literary Criticism Contemporary Literary Criticism--Select is an extensive collection of critical essays on contemporary authors. Each CLC--Select entry contains a biographical/critical introduction, listing of principal works and sources for further study.

		LitFinder for Schools LitFinder for Schools includes full-text poetry, short stories, essays, plays, and speeches, including 126,500 poems, 5,000 short stories, 2,800 essays, 1,800 speeches, and 1,000 plays. Also includes biographies, work summaries, photographs, and a glossary.

		Scriber's Writers Series Scribner Writer's Series includes 15-20 page signed essays on more than 1,600 authors and literary genres drawn from the acclaimed Scribner print series.

General Literary Criticisms

Internet Public Library - Literary Criticism Colleciton: http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/
The Literary Criticism Collection brings together hundreds of critical and biographical sites with annotations. It is international in scope, but emphasizes authors from North America, the British Isles, and the former British Empire. The collection is arraged by author, title, and nationality/literary period.

IPL Online Literary Criticism Guide: www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/guide.html
A great starting places for finding online critical writing. This resource is particularly good for finding information on English-language authors, but also includes many authors whose works have been translated into English.

Internet Public Library - Literary Criticism: www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48496
Geared toward students, this site offers students an explanation of literary criticisms, where to find them along with Terms & Concepts, Author Information, Criticisms and Summaries, Finding Articles, Writing the Paper, and more.

Library Spot - Literary Criticism: www.libraryspot.com/litcrit.htm

UCSB - Voice of the Shuttle: http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=3

Teaching Resources, Lesson Plans, etc.

42 Explore - Literary Criticism: http://42explore.com/litcrit.htm
Geared to students, this site offers a wide range of Internet sources including guides for critical reading, tips for writing about literature and suggestions for activities incorporating literary criticism.

Analyzing Literature: www.gpc.edu/~lawowl/handouts/analyzing-literature.pdf
This page, from the Georgia Perimeter College Online Writing Lab, is a reproducible guide to analyzing literature. While older students can use this guide independently, teachers can summarize the information here for their younger students.

EdSITEment - Critical Ways of Seeing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Context: http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=447
This lesson, from EDSITEment, asks students to combine Internet historical research with critical reading. They then produce several writing assignments exploring what readers see in "Huckleberry Finn" and why they see it that way.

Glencoe Literature Library: www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/
Each title offers a brief description of the novel or play, a list of its related readings, and a link to its individual study guide. Each study guide includes background information and reproducible activity pages for students.

Literary Criticism - An Overview of Approaches: www.literatureclassics.com/ancientpaths/litcrit.html
Explores the purpose of criticism, the various approaches along with the advantages and disadvantages of their individual use.

Literary Criticism as a Tool for Interpreting Literature: www.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/crit.html
Answers the following questions: What is Interpretation?, What kinds of Questions Help with Interpretation?, Why Should We Interpret Literature?, What is Literary Criticism?, Why is Criticism Important to Students?, Is All Literary Criticism Valid?, When Do I Use Criticism?, How Do I Incorporate Literary Criticism in My Paper?, and more.

Read, Write, Think - In Literature, Interpretation is the Thing: www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=818
In this lesson, from ReadWriteThink, students examine how classic works of literature often reflect attitudes of a particular time that conflict with modern attitudes. Using Shakespeare's "Hamlet," they look beyond this conflict by examinin...

Read, Write, Think - Word Maps: Developing Critical, Analytical Thinking About Literary Characters: www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=773
Word maps can help students represent and analyze the various feelings, thoughts, and actions of a character in a story. In this lesson, students read the short story "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry and focus on the two main characters in the story. With the use of a word map, they identify the characters' qualities or traits based on their actions. They discuss the characters' feelings and actions, reflecting upon these in their journals and making connections to their own lives.

Teaching Literature - Literary Criticism: www.teachingliterature.org/teachingliterature/criticism.htm
Areas covered: Glossary of Literary Theory / Criticism, Webquests: Applying Critical Perspectives, Formalist / Structuralist / Genre Criticism, New Criticism, Reader Response Criticism, Feminist Criticism, Psychoanalytic Criticism, Archetypal / Myth Criticism

What is Literary Criticism?: http://mciu.org/~spjvweb/whatislit.html
Geared to students, this site answers the question: Why Use Literary Criticism, and explores not only what to look for when using them, but also what to avoid.