Literary Criticism Available at the Washington County Public Library

• 803Fis Benet's Readers Encyclopedia, 4th ed, Completely revised and updated, ed. Bruce Murphy (1996)
  Literary terms, authors, subjects, titles and characters, including mythological characters from Western, African, Eastern and Middle Eastern mythology. Example: "accismus: a form of irony involving an insincere modesty or a feigned refusal of something actually deserved. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Casius' reluctance to accept the crown is an example of accismus."
• 809Blo The Bloomsbury Guide to Women's Literature, ed. Claire Buck (1992)
  Includes women of all nationalities, from antiquity to the early 90's. Also discusses women's involvement in literary traditions throughout the world along with a brief discussion of feminist literary criticism.

• 809Mas Masterplots (12 vols), rev. 2nd ed, ed. Frank Magill (1996)
  1801 plot summaries and critical evaluations of the "world's finest literature." From Abraham and Isaac to Zorba the Greek. Includes a chronological index which serves as an informal history of literature. Features geographical, author and title indexes.
• 810.3Oxf The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature (4 vols.), ed. Jay Parini (2004)
  Most up-to-date resource on a much requested subject covering several hundred authors, genres, literary movements and cliques (such as the Algonquin Round Table), focusing on selected works of undisputed literary merit. Vol. 2, for example, has in-depth analysis of fourteen selected works, including The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, The Sun Also Rises, and To Kill a Mockingbird
• 810.9Mod Modern Black Writers, 2nd ed, ed. Manitou Wordworks(2000)
  Over two hundred entries representing authors from thirty six countries, including fiction writers, poets and dramatists. Includes popular subgenres like Detective and Sci-Fi writers (which means that's where you will go to find information about Walter Mosley and Samuel L. Delaney, just to use two examples). Published by St. James Press, the format is similar to the Gale Literary Criticism series where a variety of critical viewpoints are presented.
• 810.9975Com The Companion to Southern Literature: themes, places, people, movements, and motifs, ed Joseph M. Flora and Lucinda H. MacKethan (2002)
  Everything southern from Abolition to Yoknapatawpha fits into this 1000+ plus compendium. Curious about "Yellow Dog Democrats" or "Quadroon Balls"? This is really more of an encyclopedia of the South, with entries on major political figures, civil-rights leaders, writers and more. But the focus is on the way these people shaped and influenced the literature of the south. Check out the entry for "Appalachian Literature."
• 813.009Ada A Thematic Guide to the American Novel, by Lynda G. Adamson (2002)
  The author consulted high school and college level reading course syllabi along with books like YALSA's Outstanding Books for the College Bound, to develop of 150 books falling into 50 thematic categories. "Absurdity of War," for example, has discussions of Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, Going After Cacciato, by Tim O'Brien, and Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. Each section is followed by a list of additional related novels. There is also an appendix that lists "Suggested themes in 150 American Novels." Finally, there are Author/Title and Subject/Character indexes.
• 813.3Gal A Nathaniel Hawthorne Encyclopedia, by Robert L. Gale (1991)
  Hawthorne “A-Z.” Includes an extensive bibliography of articles and books about Hawthorne. (By the way, because so many of Hawthorne's works included elements of the surreal and supernatural, he is also featured in the Encyclopedia of Fantasy (808.3Clu).
• 818.309Sov Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z, by Dawn B. Sova (2001)
  A new series (new to us, anyway) which offers a wealth of information on literary figures most often assigned to High School students. Subtitled "the essential reference to his life and work," each entry includes publication and dramatization history, a plot synopsis and list of characters. There is a chronology of Poe's work, an extensive bibliography and a listing of Poe research collections complete with contact information.
• 823.809Pad The Brontes: A to Z, by Lisa Paddock and Carl Rollyson (2003)
  "The essential reference to their lives and work;" see entry for E.A. Poe: A to Z above.
• 920.03Aut Authors and Artists for Young Adults (47 volumes), 920.03Com; Something About the Author (93 vols.) Gale Press
  

  Designed for use by middle school and high school students, these are solid choices for student research. Providing good (but possibly dated) information, neither of these sets will provide "the answer" for researchers, but used with other resources, particularly if other resources are not available, they are worth consulting.

Refdesk@wcpl.net

Updated 12/15/05