Merner-Pfeiffer Library: Research Guide - English, Literature, Languages

Databases

Use these print and online resources for finding articles and essays on your topic.
ft = some or all works cited include full text

The first three databases you should consult to find articles about literature are:

• MLA Bibliography (Modern Language Association Bibliography)  –Indexes books, articles, and essays published yearly on literature worldwide. [The online version includes 1963- present.] We have the print version from 1921 ­ 1999 in the Periodicals Room,  Z 7006.M64.We have the print version from 1921 ­ 1999 in the Periodicals Room,  Z 7006.M64.
• JSTOR Full text of 65 literature journals -ft
• Project Muse – full text of numerous scholarly journals in literature, language, classics, and French studies [includes recent issues.] -ft

Next, try these if you still need articles:

• Literature Resource Center LRC includes Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, Dictionary of Literary Biography Online, text from many Gale reference books, full text from 200 journals, Scribner Writers Series, Twayne authors series, a literary timeline, a Guide to Conducting Literary Research with MLA style. Avoid using "Work Overviews", especially those that are unsigned; they are not critical. -ft
• Expanded Academic ASAP This database covers all disciplines and is useful for some literature topics. -ft
• Wilson Select Plus –contains indexing and full text for selected journals from Wilson's "Humanities Index" among others. –ft.

More literature databases and indexes:

• "Essay and General Literature Index"  -Indexes essays that appear in books of collected essays. We have the print version in our Reference Room R AI3.E752 from 1900 ­ 2001.
• Books in Print
• "Humanities Index" An index to journal articles. We have the print version in our Periodicals Room from 1907 to 2000.
• What Do I Read Next? (TEL) Reading guidance database

 

 

Guides to Explications

• Poetry Explication R Z 2014.P7K8 1980
• Guide to British Poetry Explication R Z 2014 .P7M34 1991
• Twentieth Century Short Story Explication - R Z 5917 .S5W35, 8 vol.
• MLA Bibliography, Literature Resource Center, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select ­ (see above)
   

Dictionaries

• Oxford English Dictionary Online
• Oxford English Dictionary R PE 1625 .M7 1933; (also compact edition on Ready Reference shelves with magnifying glass)
• Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson, 1755 2 vol ­ R PE 1620 .J6 967
• Dictionary of American English R PE 2835 .C72
• More dictionaries are in the R PE 2800 ­ 2900's
• Your Dictionary.com ­ online English and foreign language dictionaries and a thesaurus
• Merriam Webster Online ­ dictionary, thesaurus, pronunciation
   

Style Resources

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers ­ R LB2369.G53
• A Research Guide for Students
• Using Modern Language Association Format ­ a handout prepared by
• Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• Citing Sources: Guide to Library Research
• Online! Citation Styles
• Researching and Documenting Sources, Purdue's Online Writing Lab

Web Sites

Grammar and Writing

• Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
• Guide to Grammar and Writing
• Nantahala Review - An online journal published by the Appalachian College Association featuring poetry, fiction, non-fiction, photography, and essays by regional writers
• Nuts and Bolts of College Writing
• Online Writing Lab, Purdue

English and American Literature

• American Authors
• American Writers
• Life in Elizabethan England: A Compendium of Common Knowledge 1558 - 1603
• English Server
• Geoffrey Chaucer
• Library of Southern Literature
• Literary Resources on the Net
• Literature Summaries
• Luminarium.org ­ Middle English, Renaissance and 17th-century literature
• Mississippi Writers Page
• Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet
• New Chaucer Society
• Poetry Portal
• Romantic Chronology
• Romantic Circles
• Twentieth Century Poetry in English
• Voice of the Shuttle literature links
• Women Romantic-Era Writers

Classical Literature

• Bulfinch's Mythology
• Online Medieval & Classical Library

Other Literatures

• French Connection
• German Studies Web
• Indigenous Peoples Literature
• Reading Women Writers and African Literature

Foreign Languages

• BBC Languages
• I Love Languages.com
• Learn Spanish
• LinguaWeb

Electronic Texts

• African American Women Writers of the 19th Century
• American Verse Project ­ volumes of poetry prior to 1920
• Bartleby.com: Great Books Online
• Blake Digital Text Project
• Complete Works of William Shakespeare
• Contemporary American Poetry Archive
• Electronic Canterbury Tales
• netLibrary
• Project Gutenberg
• Victorian Women Writers Project

Reference Sources

Use these sources for selecting and narrowing your topic and doing background reading.

• Afro-American Writers ­ R PS153.N5A386, 4 vol.
• American Literary Scholarship ­ R PS3.A47
• Articles on American Literatures ­ R Z1225.L49, R Z1225.L492
• Cambridge History of American Literature ­ R PS88.C3
• Critical Survey of Poetry ­ Ready Reference PR502.C85
• Critical Survey of Short Fiction ­ Ready Reference PN3321.C7
• Crowell's Handbook of Contemporary Poetry ­ PS323.5.M3
• Dictionary of Literary Symbols ­ R PN56.S9F47
• Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature ­ R PQ7081.A1E56
• Encyclopedia of the Essay ­ R PN4500.E63
• Guide to American Literature R Z1225.J65
• Handbook to Literature ­ Ready Reference PN41.H3355
• Literary History of the United States ­ R PS88.L522
• Literature and Its Times ­ R PN50.L574, 5 vol.
• Merriam Webster Dictionary of Allusions ­ R PN43.W384
• Modern American Writers ­ R PS151.M54
• Oxford Companion to African American Literature ­ R PS153.N5O96 1997
• Oxford Companion to English Literature ­ R PR19.O94
• Oxford Companion to Shakespeare ­ R PR2892.O94
• Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature - R PS21.E537 4 Vol.
• Reference Guide to American Literature ­ R PS129.R44
• Reference Guide to Short Fiction ­ R PN3373.R36
• Shakespeare for Students ­ R PR2987.S47Year's Work in English Studies ­ R PE58.E6