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:

• Academic Onefile
• 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