The Scarlet Letter
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 Literary Criticism  

The following resources will assist you in your exploration of The Scarlet Letter 

 Reference



How to Cite

   Novels for Students (REF 808 NOV Vol. 1)
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.
  • 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

 Non-fiction

Literary Companion Series - Readings on The Scarlet Letter (813 REA)
Features an in-depth biography of the author, essays, complete with introduction and summation of themes and insights, annotated table of contents, chronology author's life and career as well as concurrent historical events.

 

 Bloom's Major Literary Characters - Hester Prynne (813 HES)
Features "The Analysis of Character" by Harold Bloom in addition to a selection of critical essays that provide in-depth analysis of the character, along with a concise character profile that discusses the character's key personality traits and physical characteristics.
 


 Internet Resources

Biography of Nathanial Hawthorne: http://www.2020site.org/literature/nathaniel_hawthorne.html

Citizen Hester: The Scarlet Letter as Civic Myth: http://alh.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/13/2/181

Hawthorne by Henry James: http://www2.newpaltz.edu/~hathawar/nhhj1.html

Hawthorne and His Mosses, by Herman Melville: http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/hahm.html

Hawthorne In Salem: http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Introduction.html

IPL Online Literary Criticism - The Scarlet Letter: http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?ti=sca-4

Nathaniel Hawthorne - Literary Criticism: http://www.literaryhistory.com/19thC/Hawthorne.htm

Nathanial Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter - Classic Texts: Traditions and Interpretations: http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/clastext/clspg143.htm

Nathanial Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter - 1850: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=d8AbdwW3tscC&oi=fnd&pg=PA183&dq=%22nathaniel+hawthorne%
 22,+%22scarlet+letter%22,+critical+reception&ots=sgaTxWEL2S&sig=xjyLOVv7mZv7spg0JLTz52fc5kA#PPA77,M1

Nathanial Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter, Essays, Articles, Reviews: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OHFFpZosoC8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=%22nathaniel+hawthorne%22,+
 %22scarlet+letter%22,+critical+reception&ots=BT0xhknSAV&sig=IZtAxQ1kMiLwc7vBbU4eMBgyZm0#PPP1,M1

Personal Recollections of Nathanial Hawthorne by Horatio Bridge: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=xVauAAAAIAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=%22nathaniel+
hawthorne%22,+%22scarlet+letter%22,+criticism&ots=57ko4yVMCV&sig=u-y0RSsqSq3hhlc3YO0Q22oNlhc#PPP1,M1

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathanial Hawthorne (text): http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/hawthorn/scarlet-letter.pdf
 

 

The following online databases will require user ID and Passwords for use off site.  Please refer to PHS LMC Online Database Log In Information Handout.

 Online Databases

  Student Resource Center Gold
Student Resource Center Gold Offers more than 1,100 full-text periodicals and newspapers, primary sources, creative works, and multimedia, including hours of video and audio clips and podcasts

 

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.

The Twayne Authors Series
Comprises 600 full-text titles from the Twayne Literary Masters series, 200 each from Twayne World, US, and English Authors.


If you do not find what you're looking for in the above resources, try the search tips listed below.
 

 Internet Search Tips

  1. Type the URL (web site address) of a search directory/engine in the address box: ex: www.google.com or http://scholar.google.com/, etc.
     
  2. (Be sure to type the address exactly the way you see it, including any uppercase letters and punctuation).
     
  3. Type in keyword(s). (If your keyword has two or more parts such as: "the Scarlet Letter", be sure to put quotes around it so that the search engine only finds the Internet sites on Carl Jung as opposed to all of the sites containing the word scarlet plus all of the sites containing the word letter.
     

  4. If you would like to search for something specific about the Scarlet Letter, try a combined keyword search by adding a comma followed by a space and your other search term. For instance; if I wanted to find literary criticisms of the Scarlet Letter,  I would enter the following:

     "the Scarlet Letter", "literary criticism"

    Hit Enter on your keyboard, or click on Search, then scan the description of the "hits" (entries) and click on the links that sound best.
     

  5. Be sure to evaluate each Internet site for the following:
  6. Remember: if you choose to use any information (text or graphics) found on the Internet, online databases, or print material, you must cite every resource you used.  Use the Works Cited Guide to access MLA format.
     
  7. Keep in mind Region 15's  Plagiarism Policy
     

Created by Liza Zandonella, Library Media Specialist.

 

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