English Resources   Tags: english, literary criticism, shakespeare  

Biographies Reference Bank.  In-depth, full-text profiles plus up-to-date bibliographies. With coverage of newsmakers and figures of prominence from a wide range of fields, it encompasses biographical coverage from a host of high quality Wilson biographical resources, including Current Biography, the World Authors Series, and the Junior Authors & Illustrators series.

Contemporary Authors.  Biographical information on modern novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters in the award-winning Contemporary Authors series. Sketches typically include personal information, addresses, career history, writings, work in progress, biographical/critical sources and authors' comments and/or informative essays about their lives and work.

Here is a list of suggested databases that you can use from any computer with an Internet connection. If you’re unsure which database(s) to use, try one listed below, or go to the Research Help Desk for further assistance.

Academic Search Complete. A multi-disciplinary full text database containing full text for nearly 4,500 journals, including more than 3,700 peer-reviewed titles. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for all 8,250 journals in the collection. This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study. 

America: History and Life. Includes approximately 6,000 citations of book and media reviews from a selection of over one hundred key journals in US and Canadian history and related fields.  Covers 1964 to present.

Assessible Archive.  Contains 19th and 20th century primary material found in leading historic periodicals and books. Eyewitness accounts of historical events, descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements.

Black Drama. Black Drama contains approximately 1200 plays by 201 playwrights, together with detailed, fielded information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. The database also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays. Some 440 of the plays are published here for the first time, including a number by major authors.

British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries. Includes the immediate experiences of 201 women, as revealed in approximately 38,000 pages of diaries and letters, 1500-1900.

Early English Books Online. Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700 - from the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.

Eighteenth Century Collections Online. A comprehensive digital edition of The Eighteenth Century, the world’s largest library of the printed book on microfilm.

International Medieval Bibliography. The leading bibliography of the European Middle Ages (c. 400-1500)

JSTOR. Full-text backfiles of scholarly journals, some dating from the turn of the century.  Does not include the current 3-5 years.   

Literature Criticism Online. The Literature Criticism Online Digital Archive includes ten core literature reference series (see listed below). Search them individually, or simultaneously.

* Children's Literature Review (covers v.1 1976 - v.135 2008)  From Louisa May Alcott to Judy Blume, this 1167 item illustrated series critically assesses the major works of more than 600 the most popular and influential writers and illustrators of children’s and young adult literature. Typical entries consist of a listing of their major works and awards and criticism from significant reviews and commentaries.

  * Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism (covers v.1 1988 - v.101 2008)  A source of wide-ranging critical opinion on early literature, this series contains excerpts from criticism through the ages on the works of philosophers, poets and playwrights, political leaders, scientists, mathematicians and writers. Approximately  90-95% of the 405 critical essays are full text. Entries feature: a biography and textual history, criticism, suggested sources for further reading, and author, topic, nationality and title indexes.

* Contemporary Literary Criticism (covers v.1 1973 - current volume) This series profiles  novelists, poets, playwrights and other creative fiction and nonfiction writers by providing full-text or excerpted criticism taken from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers and scholarly journals. It encompasses more than 600 significant authors and includes more than 266 major retrospective authors re-crafted from the series' earlier volumes. It is searchable by author name, title, subject/genre, critic name or keyword full-text.       

* Drama Criticism (covers v.1 - v.31 2008) For each play or playwright featured, a full range of critical opinion is presented, along with a biographical sketch, a chronological list of the writer's major works and more. Approximately 90-95% of the 181 critical essays are full text.   

* Literature Criticism from 1400-1800 An authoritative resource on the greatest writers of the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Restoration eras that fulfills a need for information on historical periods, literary trends and topics, and the achievements of noteworthy individuals.

* Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism (covers v.1 1981 - vol. 196 2008) Commentary on the careers and works of acclaimed poets, novelists, short story writers, dramatists and philosophers who died between 1800 and 1899. Entries typically include an author portrait, an introduction to the author, a primary bibliography, annotated criticism and an annotated list of further reading sources. Approximately 90-95% of the 1,035 critical essays are full text.

* Poety Criticism (covers v.1 1991 - vol.88 2008) Provides an introductory biographical sketch, an author portrait, a primary bibliography, annotated full text and excerpted criticism of the poets' works and sources for additional reading,  when available, comments from the poets themselves are included. Approximately 90-95% of the 505 critical essays are full text.

* Shakespeare Criticism

* Short Story Criticism (covers v.1 1988 - vol. 111 2008) This series presents critical views on the most widely studied writers of short fiction. Each volume includes overviews of three to six short story writers, works, or topics and a historical survey of the critical response.

* Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (covers v.1 1978 - current volume) This series presents substantial excerpts from the best criticsm on the works of novelists, poets playwrights, short story writers & other creative writers who died between 1900-1999. Each volume presents overviews of four to eight authors with chronologically arranged criticism representing the entire range of response to each author. Every fourth volume is a topics volume covering major literary movements, trends, and other topics. Approximately 90-95% of critical essays are full text.

New York Times Historical Archive. The New York Times Archive offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Articles in the database are available in full text as PDF files.

Newspaper Source Plus (EBSCO). This database includes 1,520 full-text newspapers, providing more than 28 million full-text articles. In addition, the database features more than 601,300 television and radio news transcripts, videos & podcasts.

Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period. Contains 60 volumes of Romantic Poetry, extensive contemporary critical reviews, as well as material specially written for this database by leading scholars.

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