Resources for Literary Criticism
Not all authors or literary works have been studied, so you may found that researches in some of the databases below yield no results.
You can try different databases -- the Alternative Resources listed in this page, for example -- or resources such as Google Scholar to make sure that you have searched all possible places.
Tips:
- For criticism of individual works, you may also want to research different works by the same author in case these have been analyzed.
- When in doubt, contact me!
Keep in mind:
The MLA International Bibliography, the Gale Literary Criticism, and the World Shakespeare Bibliography Online normalize the spelling of authors' and subjects' names; e.g., Shakspear, Shakespear, Shackspeare, and Shakspere (etc.) are indexed as Shakespeare. The preferred form of the name is given in "name as subject" at the top of the page in the MLA International Bibliography and as "Person -- by or about" in the Gale Literary Criticism.
The Cambridge Collections Online, JSTOR, and Project MUSE are excellent indexes but also include much material that is not literary. You may have luck adding to your search an additional term such as literary or criticism.
- MLA International BibliographyThe MLA International Bibliography uses subject headings that are not always obvious or intuitive. These are listed in the Thesaurus at the top of the page in the MLA International Bibliography. Subjects include literature and drama (English and world), linguistics, literary theory, folklore, rhetoric, composition, and pedagogy. Book reviews of literary and scholarly works are excluded, but review articles so identified by the publication in which they appear are normally included. Tutorials on using the MLA International Bibliography are available on YouTube and on the MLA Site.
- Cambridge CoreAccess to articles and select ebooks published by Cambridge University Press.
- Gale Literature Resource CenterBiographical essays on various authors as well as criticism and interpretation of plays, novels, poetry and short stories.
- JSTORScholarly journals in many academic fields, especially arts, literature, humanities, and biology.
- Project MUSEFull text access to journals and ebooks in classics, education, history, literature, math, philosophy, politics, religion, and visual and performing arts.
- Times Literary SupplementAccess to the Times Literary Supplement from 1902 to 2019.
- World Shakespeare Bibliography OnlineSummarizes books, articles, book reviews, dissertations, theatrical productions, audiovisual materials, electronic media related to Shakespeare.
The resources listed below are not limited to literature but often contain information about authors, literary works, or literary movements that is not indexed in such resources as the MLA International Bibliography and the Gale Literary Resources. These resources tend to have their own thesauruses and indexes.
- Academic Search PremierIncludes articles from scholarly journals and popular magazines covering a wide variety of disciplines with the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
- Alternative Press IndexIncludes article abstracts covering cultural, economic, political & social change.
- America: History and LifeScholarly articles about the history of the United States and Canada.
- Film & Television Literature IndexIncludes article abstracts covering film & television topics including theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.
- Historical Abstracts with Full TextProvides selective indexing of world history articles from thousands of journals and books in a wide variety of languages excluding the United States and Canada from 1450 to the present.
- International Medieval BibliographyProvides citations to articles about Europe, the Middle East and North Africa in the period 400-1500.
- Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages & RenaissanceArticles abstracts for journal articles and reviews published in medieval and renaissance journals.
- Philosopher's IndexIncludes article abstracts for journal articles, books, book chapters in philosophy.
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses GlobalIndexes doctoral dissertations completed in the U.S. Includes some master's theses and foreign language dissertations.
- PsycInfo (APA PsycInfo)Scholarly articles in psychology, plus medicine, psychiatry, education, social work, criminology, social science, business, & organizational behavior.
- Religion and Philosophy CollectionCovers world religions, major denominations, biblical studies, religious history, epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, moral philosophy and the history of philosophy.
- ScopusScholarly journal articles and conference papers on any topic in science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts & humanities. Includes cited references and h-index information.
- SocINDEX with Full TextScholarly journal articles about sociology and other social and behavioral sciences. Includes culture & social structure; economic development; evaluation research; family & social welfare; management and complex organizations; policy planning.
- Theologische Realenzyklopädie OnlineMore than 25,000 original scholarly articles, published 1976-2004, on theological subjects relevant to researches in history, philosophy, religion, and medieval studies,
- Women's Studies InternationalIncludes abstracts for articles, newsletters, books, proceedings, and dissertations covering current topics in feminist research.
- WorldCatAccess to worldwide library catalog of books, journals, DVDs, CDs, scores, and sound recordings.
Getting Full Text Articles and Chapters
In a database, look for
UConn Full Text will help you
1. Get the full text online if UConn subscribes to it
2. Request what we do not own through Interlibrary Services
3. Request scans of articles and chapters we own in print through Interlibrary Services
